The Holiday Bowl is an American college football bowl game held in San Diego, California since 1978. The bowl is played at Petco Park in Downtown San Diego. The baseball park, home of the San Diego Padres, is reconfigured to accommodate a football field. The bowl was held at San Diego Stadium from its inception in 1978 to 2019, when the stadium was scheduled to be demolished.
San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's naming rights were owned by San Diego-based telecommunications company Qualcomm, and the stadium was known as Qualcomm Stadium or simply The Q. The naming rights expired on June 14, 2017, and were purchased by San Diego County Credit Union, renaming the facility as SDCCU Stadium on September 19, 2017; those naming rights expired in December 2020. Demolition of San Diego Stadium began in December 2020, with the last freestanding section of the stadium's superstructure felled by March 22, 2021. Following the demolition of San Diego Stadium, the San Diego State Aztecs' new Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in August 2022, was built in a different area of the land.
The Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played in San Diego from 2005 to 2016. The game was originally played from 1952 to 1955 between military services teams; in 2005 it was re-created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl. The new Poinsettia Bowls were played in late December each year at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, California. The game's last sponsor was the San Diego County Credit Union, and it was named the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
The San Diego State Aztecs football team is the football program that represents San Diego State University. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The team plays their home games at Snapdragon Stadium.
The 2007–08 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS regular season in college football.
The 1984 Holiday Bowl was a bowl game contested in college football for the 1984 season. Played on December 21 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, it pitted the unranked Michigan Wolverines against the top-ranked BYU Cougars. Despite six turnovers and being down by seven in the fourth quarter, BYU rallied and won the game, 24–17. The attendance of 61,248 was a record for Jack Murphy Stadium at that time.
The 2012 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 20, 2012 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California in the United States. The eighth edition of the Poinsettia Bowl began at 5:00 p.m. PST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Mountain West Conference co-champion San Diego State Aztecs against the BYU Cougars, and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Cougars accepted their invitation after earning a 6–4 record in their first ten games of the season, while the Aztecs accepted their invitation after finishing with a 9-3 record in their season
The 2014 Poinsettia Bowl was post-season American college football bowl game held on December 23, 2014, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The tenth edition of the Poinsettia Bowl pitted the Navy Midshipmen against the San Diego State Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference. The game began at 6:30 p.m. PST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that conclude the 2014 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union and is officially known was the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
The 1986 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2016 Poinsettia Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2016 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The twelfth and final edition of the Poinsettia Bowl featured the BYU Cougars against the Wyoming Cowboys. It began at 6:00 p.m. PST and aired ESPN. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games concluding the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. This was the final edition of the Poinsettia Bowl as the bowl's operator, the San Diego Bowl Game Association, elected to cancel the game to focus its efforts on the Holiday Bowl.
The 2016 Holiday Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game, played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on December 27, 2016. This was the last time the Holiday Bowl was played at Qualcomm Stadium. Beginning in 2017, the game was played at SDCCU Stadium, the home of the SDSU Aztecs. The 39th edition of the Holiday Bowl featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference versus the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Sponsored by small business loan company National Funding, the game is officially known as the National Funding Holiday Bowl.
The 1988 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2018 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aztecs were led by eighth-year head coach Rocky Long and played their home games at SDCCU Stadium. San Diego State was a member of the Mountain West Conference in the West Division. They finished the season 7–6, 4–4 in Mountain West play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the Frisco Bowl where they lost to Ohio.
The 2018 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2018. It was the 41st edition of the Holiday Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. This was the second season in which the Holiday Bowl was held at the SDCCU Stadium. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
The 2019 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2019. Kickoff was at 8:07 p.m. EST. The game was aired on FS1. It was the 42nd edition of the Holiday Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. This was the third season in which the Holiday Bowl was held at the SDCCU Stadium. The game was sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union and officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
The 2021 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Nick Rolovich for the first seven games of the season. Rolovich was fired on October 18 after refusing to comply with Washington's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert took over as the team's interim head coach for the reminder of the season. He was announced as the Cougars 34th head coach following their Apple Cup victory on November. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.
The 2021 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST and televised on CBS. It was the 88th edition of the Sun Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, the game was officially known as the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, after its mascot, Tony the Tiger.
The 2022 LA Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The second annual LA Bowl, the game featured Fresno State from the Mountain West Conference and Washington State from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:37 p.m. PST and aired on ABC. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and independent investment bank Stifel, the game was officially known as the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl presented by Stifel.
The 2022 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2022, at Petco Park in San Diego, California. The 43rd annual Holiday Bowl, the game featured the Oregon Ducks from the Pac-12 Conference and the North Carolina Tar Heels from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 5:06 p.m. PST and was aired on Fox. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
The 2023 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2023, at Petco Park in San Diego, California. The 44th annual Holiday Bowl featured the Louisville Cardinals from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the USC Trojans from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at approximately 5:00 p.m. PST and was aired on Fox. It was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. Sponsored by multichannel video programming distributor DirecTV, the game was officially known as the DirecTV Holiday Bowl.
