The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game played at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. From 1992 until 2019, the game was played at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events.
The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.
Karl James Dorrell is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Colorado. Dorrell most notably served as the head football coach of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 2003 to 2007, compiling a record of 35–27. He led the UCLA Bruins to five bowl appearance in five seasons, but did not coach in the fifth after he was fired in December 2007. Dorrell was the first and only African American head football coach in UCLA's history to date. In 2020, Dorrell was hired as the new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. In his first season at CU, he was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' Utes; the women's gymnastics team is known as the Red Rocks.
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 Utah Utes football program is a college football team that competes in the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) 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 since 1927. They have won 25 conference championships in five conferences during their history, and, as of the end of the 2021 season, they have a cumulative record of 691 wins, 469 losses, and 31 ties (.591).
The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" displayed on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symbolizes California’s Central Valley, specifically the San Joaquin Valley, the agricultural valley from which they draw their support.
The 2007 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and were coached by Karl Dorrell for the regular season. It was Dorrell's fifth, and final season as the UCLA head coach. UCLA's season was marked by numerous injuries, particularly at quarterback. Original starting quarterback Ben Olson injured his knee early in the season and missed over four games. Backup quarterback Patrick Cowan also suffered a knee injury but returned for two more games before suffering a collapsed lung against Arizona. Coach Karl Dorrell was fired following the loss in the 77th UCLA–USC rivalry football game, the final regular season game for the Bruins. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker became the interim coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl, in which the Bruins lost to BYU, 17–16. The Bruins finished 6–7 overall, 5–4 in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they were tied for fourth place.
The 2010 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS post-season college football bowl game. The game was played Wednesday, December 22, 2010, at 5 p.m. PST at 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas, broadcast on ESPN. The game featured Utah against Boise State.
The 2011 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by seventh year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. After playing the previous 12 seasons in the Mountain West Conference, this was Utah's first season in the new Pac-12 Conference in the South Division. They are the first former "BCS Buster" to join a BCS conference. They finished the season 8–5, 4–5 to finish in a tie for third place in the South Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated Georgia Tech 30–27 in overtime.
The 2011 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. The Trojans were led by head coach Lane Kiffin in his second season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and are members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. After a triple-overtime loss to Stanford, the Trojans won their last four games, including a 50–0 win over rival UCLA in the regular-season finale. USC ended their season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll with a 10–2 record overall and finished first in the South Division with a 7–2 record in Pac-12 play. However, as part of a post-season ban mandated by the NCAA, the Trojans could not participate in the conference championship game or play in a bowl game. USC concluded their season with two thousand-yard receivers, a thousand-yard rusher, and a 3,000-yard passer for the first time since the 2005 season, when Kiffin served as offensive coordinator.
The 2011 Pac-12 Conference football season began on September 1, 2011 with Montana State at Utah and UC Davis at Arizona State. The conference's first game was played on September 10 with Utah at USC, and the final game played was the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, December 2. Oregon defeated UCLA to claim their third straight conference title. This is the first season for the conference as a 12-team league. In July 2011, Colorado and Utah joined the conference, at which time the league's name changed from the Pacific-10 Conference.
The 2012 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas was an American college football bowl game held on December 22, 2012, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, as part of the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season. The 21st edition of the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas began at 12:30 p.m. PST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Washington Huskies from the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) against the Mountain West Conference co-champion Boise State Broncos and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Huskies advanced to the game after earning a 7–5 record, while the Broncos accepted their invitation after earning a 10–2 record in the regular season. Boise State kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the game to defeat Washington, 28–26, and win their third consecutive Maaco Bowl Las Vegas game.
The 2013 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS college football season. They played their home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 10–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie for second place in the South Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they defeated Fresno State.
The 2013 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs were by second-year head coach Tim DeRuyter and played their home games at Bulldog Stadium. They were members of the Mountain West Conference in the West Division. They finished the season 11–2, 7–1 in Mountain West play to win the West Division. They defeated Utah State in the inaugural Mountain West Championship Game to be crowned Mountain West champions. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they were defeated by USC.
The 2013 Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game determined the 2013 football champion of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The game, played at Bulldog Stadium on the campus of California State University, Fresno, was the first football conference championship game for the Mountain West Conference. The game featured the West Division champions Fresno State Bulldogs hosting the Mountain Division champions Utah State Aggies.
The 2014 Pac-12 Conference football season was the fourth season of college football for the Pac-12 Conference as a 12-team league. The season began on Thursday, August 28, 2014, and the first conference game was on Saturday, September 6, 2014, when USC played at Stanford. The final game was the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 5, 2014, with FOX televising the game. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Arizona Wildcats, 51–13 for the conference championship and went on to play in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks defeated the Florida State Seminoles 59–20 in the semifinal game in the Rose Bowl, but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 42–20 in the championship game.
The 2014 Las Vegas Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 20, 2014, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. The 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, it featured the Utah Utes from the Pac-12 Conference against the Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The game started at 12:30 p.m. PST and aired on ABC and Sports USA Radio Network. Sponsored by motor oil manufacturer Royal Purple, the game was officially known as the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. Utah beat Colorado State by a score of 45–10.
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 2018 Las Vegas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EST. It was the 27th edition of the Las Vegas Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors, the game was officially known as the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl.
