San Francisco Bowl

Last updated
San Francisco Bowl (defunct)
San Francisco Bowl Logo.jpg
Previous stadiums Pacific Bell Park (2002–2013)
Levi's Stadium (2014–2019)
Previous locations San Francisco, California (2002–2013)
Santa Clara, California (2014–2019)
Operated2002–2019
Conference tie-ins Pac-12 (2006–2019)
Big Ten (2014–2019)
Previous conference tie-ins Big East (2002–2004)
Mtn West (2002–2005)
ACC (2005–2010)
Army (2011)
Navy (2012)
BYU (2013)
Payout US$3.6 million (2019) [1]
Sponsors
Diamond Foods (2002–2009)
Kraft Foods (2010–2012)
Foster Farms (2014–2017)
Redbox (2018–2019)
Former names
San Francisco Bowl (2002)
Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl (2002–2003)
Emerald Bowl (2004–2009)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (2010–2012)
Fight Hunger Bowl (2013)
Foster Farms Bowl (2014–2017)
Redbox Bowl (2018–2019)
2020 matchup
Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns
2021 matchup
Canceled due to lack of network and sponsor

The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it was the Emerald Bowl from 2004 to 2009, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl from 2010 to 2013, the Foster Farms Bowl from 2014 to 2017, and the Redbox Bowl from 2018 to 2020. San Francisco Bowl naming returned during planning for a 2021 game.

Contents

The game had four sellouts—2006 (UCLA vs. Florida State), 2008 (Cal vs. Miami), 2009 (USC vs. Boston College), and 2011 (Nevada vs. Boston College)—and three of the highest rated bowls ever televised on ESPN. It also gained a national reputation for the quality of hospitality provided to the participating teams.

The game was most recently played in December 2019. From 2002 to 2013, it was played at Pacific Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in San Francisco, California. [2] From 2014 through 2019, it was played at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.

At the end of July 2020, organizers canceled the 2020 edition of the bowl due to the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, the 49ers released a statement noting that "the decision has been made to not renew the current agreement to host the game moving forward". [3] On September 10, 2021, the game was again canceled for the 2021–22 bowl season, putting its future in jeopardy. [4] [5]

History

The game was founded by John Marks, president of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, San Francisco Giants executive Pat Gallagher and sports industry veteran Gary Cavalli, former Associate Athletic Director at Stanford University and president of the pioneering American Basketball League, for the purpose of utilizing the Giants' new ballpark, bringing visitors to San Francisco during a traditionally slow time of the year, and rewarding two successful teams with a week in San Francisco.

Plans for the inaugural 2002 San Francisco Bowl were established on Dec. 2, 2002, when the Air Force Falcons football program accepted a bid to play against an undetermined team from the Big East Conference. [6] Their initial sponsor was Diamond Foods, a producer of walnuts and other nuts under the Emerald brand name, resulting in the name Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl, and later the Emerald Bowl.

In 2010, Kraft Foods became the sponsor of the bowl and announced the new name, which the corporation launched as part of a broader hunger relief program. [7] [8] Mondelēz International continued to support the game and the program related with Feeding America in 2013.

In August 2014, the bowl's official website listed the game's name as the San Francisco Bowl once again. [9] However, on November 11, 2014, it was announced that the San Francisco Bowl Game Association had reached a multi-year naming rights deal with Northern California-based poultry company Foster Farms, resulting in the game being named the Foster Farms Bowl. [10]

On July 12, 2016, the San Francisco 49ers NFL team announced that it had taken over management of the Foster Farms Bowl from the San Francisco Bowl Game Association, and also announced a new, four-year broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports, replacing ESPN. [11]

In September 2018, Redbox (a chain of video rental kiosks) announced it had become the new title sponsor. [12] [13]

Conference tie-ins

The game had a contract to host the Pac-12's sixth-place team during the 2010 through 2013 seasons. There were multiple contracts that determined the opponent. In 2011, the Pac-12 team's opponent was Illinois, replacing Army, which did not achieve bowl eligibility; in 2012, it was Navy; and in 2013, it was BYU. Had these teams not qualified for bowl eligibility, they would have been replaced by teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) or the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Beginning with the 2014 season, teams come from the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences. [14] With Oregon's appearance in the 2018 edition, Colorado and Washington State are the only Pac-12 members who have not appeared in the game.

Field configuration

Because Pacific Bell Park (as it was named when it first hosted the bowl) is a baseball park and not normally used for football, arrangement of the field required both teams to be on the same sideline (southeast), separated by a barrier at the 50-yard line (in shallow right-center field). The opposite sideline (northwest) ran along the third base line, with an end zone near the first base dugout, and the other near the left field wall. Primary seating was in the third base grandstand, with temporary bleacher seating in right-center field.

Results

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

DateBowl nameWinning teamLosing teamAttnd.
December 31, 2002 San Francisco Bowl No. 21 Virginia Tech 20  Air Force 13  25,966
December 31, 2003 San Francisco Bowl Boston College 35 Colorado State 2125,621
December 30, 2004 Emerald Bowl Navy 34 New Mexico 1930,563
December 29, 2005 Emerald Bowl Utah 38No. 24 Georgia Tech 1025,742
December 27, 2006 Emerald Bowl Florida State 44 UCLA 2740,331
December 28, 2007 Emerald Bowl Oregon State 21 Maryland 1432,517
December 27, 2008 Emerald Bowl California 24 Miami (FL) 1742,268
December 26, 2009 Emerald Bowl USC 24 Boston College 1340,121
January 9, 2011 Fight Hunger Bowl  No. 13 Nevada 20 Boston College 1341,063
December 31, 2011 Fight Hunger Bowl Illinois 20 UCLA 1429,878
December 29, 2012 Fight Hunger Bowl Arizona State 62 Navy 2834,172
December 27, 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl Washington 31 BYU 1634,136
December 30, 2014 Foster Farms Bowl Stanford 45 Maryland 2134,780
December 26, 2015 Foster Farms Bowl Nebraska 37 UCLA 2933,527
December 28, 2016 Foster Farms Bowl Utah 26 Indiana 2427,608
December 27, 2017 Foster Farms Bowl Purdue 38 Arizona 3528,436
December 31, 2018 Redbox Bowl Oregon 7 Michigan State 630,212
December 30, 2019 Redbox Bowl California 35 Illinois 2034,177
2020Redbox BowlCanceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15]
2021San Francisco BowlCanceled due to no TV deal or corporate sponsor. [16]

Source: [17]

MVPs

Cal running back Jahvid Best (no. 4) accepts the 2008 Emerald Bowl Offensive MVP trophy from Emerald Bowl Executive Director Gary Cavalli Jahvid Best accepts 2008 Emerald Bowl Offensive MVP trophy.JPG
Cal running back Jahvid Best (no. 4) accepts the 2008 Emerald Bowl Offensive MVP trophy from Emerald Bowl Executive Director Gary Cavalli
GameOffensive MVPDefensive MVP
PlayerTeamPos.PlayerTeamPos.
2002 Bryan Randall Virginia TechQB Anthony Schlegel Air ForceLB
2003Derrick KnightBoston CollegeRB T. J. Stancil Boston CollegeFS
2004Aaron PolancoNavyQBVaughn KeleyNavyCB
2005Travis LaTendresseUtahWR Eric Weddle UtahCB
2006 Lorenzo Booker Florida StateRB Tony Carter Florida StateCB
2007 Yvenson Bernard Oregon StateRB Derrick Doggett Oregon StateLB
2008 Jahvid Best CaliforniaRB Zack Follett CaliforniaLB
2009 Damian Williams USCWR Luke Kuechly Boston CollegeLB
Jan. 2011 Rishard Matthews NevadaWR Luke Kuechly Boston CollegeLB
Dec. 2011 Nathan Scheelhaase IllinoisQB Terry Hawthorne IllinoisDB
2012 Marion Grice Arizona StateRB Will Sutton Arizona StateDT
2013 Bishop Sankey WashingtonRB Hau'oli Kikaha WashingtonDE
2014 Kevin Hogan StanfordQB James Vaughters StanfordLB
2015 Tommy Armstrong Jr. NebraskaQBJaleel WadoodUCLAS
2016 Joe Williams UtahRB Tegray Scales IndianaLB
2017Elijah SindelarPurdueQB Ja'Whaun Bentley PurdueLB
2018 Dillon Mitchell OregonWR Josiah Scott Michigan StateCB
2019 Chase Garbers CaliforniaQBZeandae JohnsonCaliforniaDE

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2019 edition (18 games, 36 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
RankTeamAppearancesRecordWin pct.
T1 Boston College 31–2.333
T1 UCLA 30–3.000
T3 California 22–01.000
T3 Utah 22–01.000
T3 Illinois 21–1.500
T3 Navy 21–1.500
T3 Maryland 20–2.000
Teams with a single appearance

Won (11): Arizona State, Florida State, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Stanford, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington
Lost (9): Air Force, Arizona, BYU, Colorado State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Miami (FL), Michigan State, New Mexico

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2019 edition (18 games, 36 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLost
Pac-12 1394.6922007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 20192006, 2011, 2015, 2017
Big Ten 734.4292011, 2015, 20172014, 2016, 2018, 2019
ACC 615.16720062005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010*
Mountain West 413.25020052002, 2003, 2004
Independents 312.33320042012, 2013
Big East 2201.0002002, 2003 
WAC 1101.0002010* 

Game records

TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored62, Arizona State vs Navy2012
Most points scored (losing team)35, Arizona vs Purdue2017
Most points scored (both teams)90, Arizona State vs Navy2012
Fewest points allowed6, Oregon vs. Michigan State2018
Largest margin of victory34, Arizona State vs Navy2012
Total yards648, Arizona State vs. Navy2012
Rushing yards380, Arizona State vs. Navy2012
Passing yards396, Purdue vs. Arizona2017
First downs36, Arizona State vs. Navy2012
Fewest yards allowed185, Nevada vs. Boston College2011
Fewest rushing yards allowed17, Stanford vs. Maryland2014
Fewest passing yards allowed37, Arizona State vs. Navy2012
IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
All-purpose yards
Touchdowns (overall)4, Travis LaTendresse, Utah vs. Georgia Tech2005
Rushing yards222, Joe Williams, Utah vs. Indiana2016
Rushing touchdowns3, most recently:
Remound Wright, Stanford vs. Maryland

2014
Passing yards396, Elijah Sindelar, Purdue vs. Arizona2017
Passing touchdowns4, most recently:
Chase Garbers, California vs. Illinois

2019
Receiving yards214, Travis LaTendresse, Utah vs. Georgia Tech2005
Receiving touchdowns4, Travis LaTendresse, Utah vs. Georgia Tech2005
Tackles
Sacks
Interceptions
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run46, Chris Swain, Navy vs. Arizona State2012
Touchdown pass78, Brandon Breazell from Patrick Cowan, UCLA vs, Florida State2006
Kickoff return100, shared by:
John Ross, Washington vs. BYU
William Likely, Maryland vs. Stanford

2013
2014
Punt return72, Rishard Matthews, Nevada vs. Boston CollegeJan. 2011
Interception return86, Tony Carter, Florida State vs. UCLA2006
Fumble return
Punt
Field goal48, Andy Phillips, Utah vs. Indiana2016

Media coverage

From 2002 through 2015, the bowl was televised by ESPN or ESPN2; from 2016 to 2019, it was carried by Fox. [18]

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