The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game held in the Las Vegas area. First played in 1992, the bowl was originally held at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, before moving to the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, in 2021. The bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events.
The Holy War is the name given to the American college football rivalry game played annually by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah Utes. It is part of the larger BYU–Utah sports rivalry. In this context, the term "Holy War" refers to the fact that BYU is owned and administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the U of U is a secular, public university with a substantial LDS student population. The current president and head football coach at the U of U are also LDS Church members.
Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall is an American football coach for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Lobos in Albuquerque. He previously coached at the University of Virginia. He stepped down after the 2021 season. Mendenhall joined Virginia in 2015 after spending the previous eleven seasons as the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU). He has a career record of 135 victories and 81 losses and has recorded fourteen postseason bowl game appearances with seven victories.
The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The program, which began on September 14, 1968, plays its home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
Ronald Douglas McBride is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Utah from 1990 to 2002 and at Weber State University from 2005 to 2011, compiling a career college football record of 131–101.
The BYU Cougars football team is the college football program representing Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. The Cougars began collegiate football competition in 1922, and have won 23 conference championships and one national championship in 1984.
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that competes in the Big 12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at the current site of Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City since 1927. They have won 28 conference championships in five conferences during their history, and, as of the end of the 2022 season, they have a cumulative record of 711 wins, 476 losses, and 31 ties (.596).
DeWayne Morris Walker is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is currently on the staff for the Arizona State Sun Devils football team. He previously served as the defensive backs coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Walker played college football at the University of Minnesota and professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL), with Edmonton Eskimos in 1982, and in the United States Football League (USFL), with the Oakland Invaders in 1984 and the Arizona Outlaws in 1985. Walker served as the head football coach at New Mexico State University from 2009 to 2012, compiling a record of 10–41 in four seasons.
Max Hall is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). After playing college football for BYU, he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Hall played in a total of six NFL games for the Cardinals. Hall spent 2012 as an assistant coach for BYU. He then played the 2013 CFL season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The 2007 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. BYU clinched its second consecutive Mountain West Conference (MWC) championship title outright after defeating Utah on November 24. It was BYU's second consecutive, undefeated season in the MWC, its fourth MWC championship since the league began in 1999, and its 23rd conference title. At the beginning of the season the Cougars had won an MWC record 16 straight league games dating back to 2005 and were on a ten-game overall winning streak, the longest winning streak in the country at the time. The Cougars began the season with the second longest winning streak in the country at 11 wins until their loss to UCLA in the second regular season game. The Cougars ended this season ranked 14th in the nation, highest of all schools from non-AQ conferences. This finish was the highest back-to-back rankings in the AP Poll since the Cougars won the national championship in 1984.
The 2007 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the UCLA Bruins and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The game was played on December 22, 2007, starting at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, where the bowl has been played since 1992. It was televised on ESPN.
The 2008 Mountain West Conference football season was the 10th since eight former members of the Western Athletic Conference banded together to form the MW. The University of Utah won their fourth conference championship, ending the year 13–0 with a victory over Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.
The 2008 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The 2006 Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the Brigham Young University Cougars and the Oregon Ducks. The game was played on December 22, 2006, starting at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, where the bowl has been played since 1992. It was televised on ESPN.
The 2008 Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Mike Stoops, in his fifth year at Arizona. The Wildcats played their home games at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona and compete in the Pacific-10 Conference. Arizona finished the 2008 regular season with a record of 7–5, and faced BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20, their first postseason appearance since 1998; they defeated the Cougars 31–21 for a final record of 8–5. In that game, the Wildcats' 31 points were the most put up by the team in any of their bowl appearances. Senior wide receiver Mike Thomas, playing in his final game as a Wildcat, also got the Pac-10 record of most receptions by any wide receiver in the Pac-10. Senior Quarterback Willie Tuitama was named MVP for the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, by throwing 328 yards, 2 pass TD's and 1 rush TD.
The 2009 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars were led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall and played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The 2010 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars, led by head coach Bronco Mendenhall, played their home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium and were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play and were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated UTEP 52–24.
The 2014 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rebels were led by fifth year head coach Bobby Hauck and played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 2–11, 1–7 in Mountain West play to finish in last place in the West Division.
The 2015 Las Vegas Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 19, 2015, at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Whitney, Nevada. The 24th edition of the Las Vegas Bowl featured the BYU Cougars against the Utah Utes, earning the game the moniker the Holy War in Sin City. The game sold out 24 hours after the matchup was announced. It began at 12:30 p.m. PST and aired on ABC. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by lubricant manufacturer Royal Purple, it was officially known as the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.
The 2022 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 17th annual New Mexico Bowl, the game featured the SMU Mustangs from the American Athletic Conference and the BYU Cougars, an FBS independent. The game began at 5:37 p.m. MST and aired on ABC; this time was switched with that of the Las Vegas Bowl due to an NFL scheduling decision. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season.
