ORLANDO, Fla. (CureBowl.com) – ESPN Events and the Orlando Sports Foundation (OSF) announced on Friday that the 2025 StaffDNA Cure Bowl will be between the Old Dominion Monarchs and the South Florida Bulls at Camping World Stadium. Kickoff of the 11th-annual contest is set for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 5 p.m. EST on ESPN.

“On behalf of the Orlando Sports Foundation, we are honored to welcome Old Dominion and South Florida to the StaffDNA Cure Bowl,” said Alan Gooch, Orlando Sports Foundation CEO and StaffDNA Cure Bowl Executive Director. “Gameday is going to be special, as college football fans, cancer survivors and supporters, both team’s bands and the Orlando Community come together for the Owens Corning March 2Cure at T-Mobile Fiber Fan Fest before entering Camping World Stadium to watch the ODU Monarchs compete against the USF Bulls.”

ODU is making its fourth bowl appearance, while USF is heading to its 13th bowl game.

The Monarchs (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt), who finished as the runners up in the Sun Belt East Division, will face the Bulls (9-3, 6-2 American), who posted a fourth-place finish in the American Conference, for the first time on the gridiron. The game will also mark the first appearance for either team in the Cure Bowl.

USF has been ranked as high as 18th on the season and has spent five weeks in the AP Top 25 Poll, as well as a week holding down the No. 24 spot on the College Football Playoff Rankings.

“StaffDNA Cure Bowl’s mission has always been about bringing teams together to find a cure for cancer,” said Orlando Sports Foundation Board of Directors President Ted Coltrain. “Old Dominion and USF will carry on our tradition of raising awareness for cancer research.”

The StaffDNA Cure Bowl is one of many fundraising events hosted by the Orlando Sports Foundation that supports cancer research. Over $6.35 million has been raised for the cause since 2015.

Tickets start at $25 plus fees and are currently on sale at CureBowl.com.

The Owens Corning March 2 Cure is a free block party that kicks off on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. EST with the T-Mobile Fiber Fan Fest on the fields adjacent to Camping World Stadium. The event will be highlighted by a cancer tribute march featuring the team bands, dignitaries, cancer survivors, cancer supporters, and the Orlando community before entering the stadium.

The StaffDNA Cure Bowl will have its official team announcement press conference on Selection Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, at 3 p.m. EST at Camping World Stadium in the Varsity Club room prior to Florida Citrus Sports announcements. The press conference is open to local media. Media contacts are listed below for more information.

Old Dominion University (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt)  

• ODU earned a runner-up finish in the Sun Belt East Division with a 6-2 conference record.

• ODU went undefeated at home on the season, and its nine victories marked the program’s most since 2016.

• The Monarchs will enter the Cure Bowl having won five straight games.

• ODU recently had 11 players earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors. Quarterback Colton Joseph led the way by being named the Offensive Player of the Year, while offensive lineman Zach Barley earned first team all-league honors.

• The Monarchs will enter with a 1-2 all-time record in bowl games. ODU recorded its first bowl victory over Eastern Michigan at the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl in 2016.

• ODU is coached by head coach Ricky Rahne, who is in his sixth season at the helm in Norfolk.

“The Cure Bowl was a bowl we targeted early on as a top bowl for our 9-3 program. It will be a great experience for our student-athletes and fans alike,” ODU Athletics Director Dr. Wood Selig said. “We will be honored to represent the Sun Belt Conference in one of the premiere bowl games. We are grateful to be selected to compete in such a prestigious bowl and know Monarch fans will represent ODU extremely well.”

“Our team is incredibly excited for this opportunity. The Cure Bowl offers an incredible location and a stellar opponent,” ODU Head Coach Ricky Rahne said. “As the son of a breast cancer survivor, this game holds special meaning to me, and I’m honored to have our team chosen for this game and we look forward to representing Old Dominion.”

University of South Florida (9-3, 6-2 American) 

• USF has spent five weeks in the AP Top 25 Poll on the season and has been ranked as high as No. 18. The Bulls also spent another week holding down No. 24 on the College Football Playoff Rankings.

• USF quarterback Byrum Brown is a 2025 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award semifinalist.

• The Bulls had a record 11 players earn all-conference accolades earlier this week. First team selections Mac Harris (LB) and De’Shwan Rucker (CB) led the way, while quarterback Byrum Brown, who became just the 12th player in FBS history to post a 3,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing season, earned second team honors.

• USF recently closed out its fourth six-win conference season in program history, and the program’s first undefeated home campaign since 2002.

• This season marks the Bulls’ 13th bowl appearance. USF will enter with an 8-4 all-time record in bowl games with its last win coming last season in the Hawai’i Bowl.

• Brian Hartline was named USF’s new head coach earlier this week.

“The Cure Bowl supports a tremendous cause that we are excited to champion, and we look forward to our Bulls taking on a very talented Old Dominion team on Dec. 17,” CEO of USF Athletics Rob Higgins said. “It’s a short drive for Bulls Nation to Camping World Stadium, and I look forward to a great turnout in Green and Gold as we pursue a third straight bowl win for just the second time in program history.”

“We are excited to go and finish this season strong against a very good Old Dominion team in the Cure Bowl,” Interim USF Head Coach Kevin Patrick said. “Our guys are preparing for the opportunity to post a third straight bowl win and to compete for a 10th win on the year, something that has only been accomplished here two other times.”

About StaffDNA®

StaffDNA created the industry’s first Digital Marketplace for Healthcare Careers®. This innovative digital platform improves healthcare hiring through a superior process, empowering both healthcare professionals and facilities. Nursing, allied, therapy, physician, and advanced practice professionals can now see fully transparent pay and job details for temporary, staff, and per diem contracts and find the jobs they love. The platform also makes hiring more efficient for facilities by allowing them to communicate directly with candidates who qualify for open positions. StaffDNA has won over 50 national, regional and local awards for being a Best Place to Work, having a World Changing Idea, being one of the Fastest-growing Private Companies and more. To learn more, visit http://www.staffdna.com or call (888) 998-7323. The StaffDNA app is available to download in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

About the StaffDNA Cure Bowl

The StaffDNA Cure Bowl is more than a game. It is a platform to raise awareness for cancer research and recognize those that are fighting cancer or have survived cancer. Funds raised from the StaffDNA Cure Bowl directly benefit cancer research organizations such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Since 2015, the bowl has helped raise a collective $6.35 million to benefit cancer research. To learn more, visit CureBowl.com

About the Orlando Sports Foundation

The Orlando Sports Foundation (OSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for cancer research. The OSF holds several events throughout the year, including the Cure Bowl, which is an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college football bowl game played each December.

With the combined support of Central Floridians, loyal sports fans, and strategic partners, the OSF is further dedicated and committed to serving the challenges of cancer awareness and elimination, by invigorating the Central Florida athletic community thru its Cure All Stars events, supporting youth organizations with standards of benevolence, integrity, and moral excellence.

The OSF works with our stakeholders to involve the entire community to join us in our quest to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer. The OSF focuses on research because we all know we will have to continue to manage the problem until we solve it. We focus our efforts on cancer because it touches so many lives worldwide, cancer does not discriminate. Together, we can tackle this. Click here to donate.

About ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2025-26 academic year, the 35-event schedule includes three early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, two college volleyball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

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