The Gridiron Classic was the name given to a college football game played between teams from the Pioneer Football League

Pioneer Football League

The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...

 and Northeast Conference

Northeast Conference

The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...

 (NEC) at the end of the 2006-2009 seasons. These conferences had not previously received bids to the Division I FCS football playoffs (formerly the Division I-AA) tournament.

Previously, the Gridiron Classic was an annual post-season college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 all-star

All-star

All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

 game featuring a team representing Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 versus a team from the rest of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was generally held in mid-January at the Citrus Bowl

Citrus Bowl

The Florida Citrus Bowl is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for football, which currently seats around 70,000 people....

 in Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, but for 2004 and 2005 it was played at The Villages Polo Stadium.

On August 19, 2005, Florida Citrus Sports canceled The Villages Gridiron Classic for the year 2006. The organization failed to find a sponsor, after The Villages

The Villages, Florida

The Villages is a master-planned age-restricted retirement community located mainly in Sumter County, Florida, United States, but also includes portions of Lake and Marion counties. The community is controlled by several Community Development Districts , most of which are controlled by H. Gary...

, a retirement community 60 miles north of Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

, decided not to renew the annual game at their facility.

The game on December 6, 2008 was televised on the YES Network from University Field in Albany, NY.

All-star edition

Date	Winning Team		| Losing Team		Location
January 16, 1999	Team Florida	17	Team USA	9	Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
January 15, 2000	Team USA	21	Team Florida	14	Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
January 13, 2001	Team Florida	10	Team USA	0	Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
January 26, 2002	Team Florida	42	Team USA	13	Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
January 25, 2003	Team USA	20	Team Florida	17	Orlando, Florida Orlando, Florida Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
January 31, 2004	North All-Stars	35	South All-Stars	31	The Villages, Florida The Villages, Florida The Villages is a master-planned age-restricted retirement community located mainly in Sumter County, Florida, United States, but also includes portions of Lake and Marion counties. The community is controlled by several Community Development Districts , most of which are controlled by H. Gary...
January 15, 2005	South All-Stars	24	North All-Stars	21	The Villages, Florida The Villages, Florida The Villages is a master-planned age-restricted retirement community located mainly in Sumter County, Florida, United States, but also includes portions of Lake and Marion counties. The community is controlled by several Community Development Districts , most of which are controlled by H. Gary...

Pioneer-NEC edition

Date	Winning Team		| Losing Team		Location
December 2, 2006	San Diego University of San Diego The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...	27	Monmouth Monmouth University Monmouth University is a private university located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, United States.Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956, and later Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter....	7	West Long Branch, New Jersey West Long Branch, New Jersey West Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,097. It is the home of Monmouth University....
December 1, 2007	Dayton Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the University of Dayton's intercollegiate athletic teams, which are based in Dayton, Ohio. The Flyers' home arena is the University of Dayton Arena. The name is a reference and homage to Daytonians Orville and Wilbur Wright who pioneered heavier than air flight...	42	Albany Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY. The University's intercollegiate athletics date back to the late 1890s, but its development was hampered for several decades by inadequate facilities, uncertain financial support, and the relatively...	21	Dayton, Ohio Dayton, Ohio Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
December 6, 2008	Albany Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY. The University's intercollegiate athletics date back to the late 1890s, but its development was hampered for several decades by inadequate facilities, uncertain financial support, and the relatively...	28	Jacksonville Jacksonville Dolphins The Jacksonville University Dolphins are the athletics team of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the National Lacrosse Conference, and as the Pioneer Football League.-Sports...	0	Albany, New York Albany, New York Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
December 5, 2009	Butler Butler Bulldogs All but one of Butler University's 19 intercollegiate teams compete in the Horizon League, along with Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay, Loyola, Milwaukee, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State...	28	Central Connecticut State Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922...	23	Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...