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 by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah Utes, nearly annually. 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 with a 98% LDS student population and the U of U is a secular, public university, which has a substantial but far less monolithic student population. Currently, the U of U president and head football coach are Latter-day Saints.
Kyle David Whittingham is an American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as the head football coach at the University of Utah, a position he has held since 2005, and he is the all-time leader in wins for the Utah Utes. Prior to becoming the head coach at Utah, Whittingham served as Utes defensive coordinator for ten seasons. He won AFCA Coach of the Year and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award in 2008 after leading the 2008 Utah Utes football team to an undefeated season and a win in the 2009 Sugar Bowl over the 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team. He and Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy are the second longest tenured FBS coaches, trailing only Kirk Ferentz.
The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is 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.
The Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars and the University of Utah (Utah) Utes have a longstanding intercollegiate rivalry. The annual college football game is frequently referred to as the Holy War. In the 1890s, when BYU was still known as Brigham Young Academy (BYA), the two schools started competing athletically. The schools have met continually since 1909 in men's basketball, and met once a year in football from 1922 to 2013, with the exception of 1943–45 when BYU did not field a team due to World War II. Both schools formerly competed in the Mountain West Conference, but both teams left the MWC in 2011—Utah joined the Pac-12 Conference and BYU became a football independent while joining the West Coast Conference for other sports. Both teams currently compete in the Big XII Conference, with BYU joining in 2023 and Utah being added to the conference in 2024.
Marc Bronco Clay Mendenhall is an American college football coach who is the head coach of Utah State University. He was previously the head coach at the University of New Mexico (UNM) for the 2024 season, the University of Virginia from 2016 to 2021, and Brigham Young University (BYU) from 2005 to 2015. He has a career record of 140 victories and 88 losses and has recorded fourteen postseason bowl game appearances with seven victories.
Ronald Douglas McBride is an American former college football 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).
The 2009 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by 5th year head football coach Kyle Whittingham, played its home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by sixth year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their homes game in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were members of the Mountain West Conference. 2010 was the Utes' final year in the Mountain West, as they began play in the Pac-12 in 2011.
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 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 2014 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by tenth year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in fifth place in the South Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they defeated Colorado State.
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 2016 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by twelfth year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the South Division. They were invited to the Foster Farms where they defeated Indiana.
The 2017 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by thirteenth-year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. They competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 3–6 in Pac-12 play to finish in fifth place in the South Division. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they defeated West Virginia.
The 2018 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Utes were led by 14th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games in Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT. They were members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2020 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Utes were led by 16th-year head coach Kyle Whittingham and played their home games at Rice–Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
