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 Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sponsors Division I FBS football. The Conference was formed in 1999, splitting from the former 16-member Western Athletic Conference. CSU has won nine MWC tournament championships and won or shared 11 regular season titles. Rams football teams won or shared the Mountain West title in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
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.
James Frank McElwain is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Central Michigan University, a position he has held since 2019. He announced his retirement on November 20, 2024 and will conclude the season as head coach but plans to remain at CMU. McElwain served as the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2015 to 2017, and Colorado State University from 2012 to 2014, where he was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2014. He was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama from 2008 to 2011.
The Colorado State Rams football program represents Colorado State University and is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference. The Rams have long-standing rivalries with Colorado, Wyoming, and Air Force. The team is currently led by head coach Jay Norvell, who was hired in December 2021.
The 2012 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by first year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
The 2013 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by second-year head coach Jim McElwain and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 8–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in third place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated Washington 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 Las Vegas Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 21, 2013, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. The 22nd annual Las Vegas Bowl, it featured the Mountain West Conference champion Fresno State Bulldogs against the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference. The game started at 12:30 p.m. PST and aired on ABC and Sports USA Radio. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. Sponsored by motor oil manufacturer Royal Purple, the game was officially known as the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. The Trojans won by a score of 45–20.
The 2013 New Mexico Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on Saturday, December 21, 2013 at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The eighth annual New Mexico Bowl, it featured the Colorado State Rams, representing the Mountain West Conference, against the Washington State Cougars, representing the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:00 noon MST and was televised on ESPN. It was the first of the 35 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games that concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Sponsored by Gildan Activewear, the game was officially known as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. The Rams won 48–45 after they were down 15 points in the final minutes of the game; they scored a touchdown, Washington State lost two fumbles, after both of which, Colorado State scored, and after the latter of which, as time expired, they kicked a field goal to win the game.
The 2014 Mountain West Conference football season was 16th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). In the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the MW had 12 football members: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, and Wyoming.
The 2015 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by first-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. They were members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a four way tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to inaugural Arizona Bowl where they lost to fellow Mountain West member Nevada.
The 2016 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by second-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. It was their last season before moving to a new stadium in 2017. They were a member of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they lost to Idaho.
The 2016 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aztecs were led by sixth-year head coach Rocky Long and played their home games at Qualcomm Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 11–3, 6–2 in Mountain West play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the Mountain West Championship Game where they defeated Wyoming to be crowned Mountain West champions for the second consecutive year. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they defeated Houston.
The 2017 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by third-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at the newly built Sonny Lubick Field at Colorado State Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Marshall.
The 2017 Las Vegas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2017, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The twenty-sixth annual Las Vegas Bowl was one of the 2017–18 bowl games that concludes the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game aired on ABC.
The 2018 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rams were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Bobo and played their home games at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place in the Mountain Division.
The 2020 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rebels were led by first–year head coach Marcus Arroyo. They played their home games at Allegiant Stadium as members of the Mountain West Conference.
The 2020 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Originally, there was a cancellation of the 2020 season for the Mountain West Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this was reversed when the conference agreed to play a conference-only, eight game season. The Rams were to play their opening game at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado against New Mexico, but the game was canceled due to virus restrictions. The Rams were led by first-year head coach Steve Addazio.
