The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on January 4, 1999. Geographically, the MW covers a broad expanse of the Western United States, with member schools located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as an associate member in Hawaii. Gloria Nevarez took over as commissioner of the MW on January 1, 2023, following the retirement of founding commissioner Craig Thompson.
The Pac-12 Conference (Pacific-12) is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. The Pac-12 participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of NCAA football competition. Its two members are Oregon State and Washington State.
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second choice team from the Big 12 Conference. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Pac-12 or Pac-12 "legacy schools" will continue to fulfill their prior conference tie-in role. Traditionally, the Alamo Bowl has been played in December, although it was played in January following the 2009, 2014, and 2015 seasons. This year's game is scheduled for December 28, 2024.
The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. Nicknamed "The Granddaddy of Them All" by broadcaster Keith Jackson, it was the first postseason football game ever established. The Rose Bowl Game was first played in 1902 as the Tournament East–West football game, and has been played annually since 1916. Since 1945, it has been the highest attended college football bowl game. The game is a part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association's "America's New Year Celebration", which also includes the historic Rose Parade. Winners of the game receive the Leishman Trophy, named for former Tournament of Roses presidents, William L. Leishman and Lathrop K. Leishman who played an important part in the history of this game.
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl was named because it was inaugurated in 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. The bowl's current title sponsor is Radiance Technologies, per an agreement announced for the 2020–2025 editions. Only one prior edition of the bowl, in 2013, has not used Independence Bowl branding.
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City Convention Hall in 1964. Since 1965, the game has been held at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Because of the scheduling of the bowl game near the end of the calendar year, no game was played during calendar years 2008 or 2015, while two games were played in calendar years 2010 and 2016.
The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. The 2010 and 2011 editions were instead played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, when Amon G. Carter Stadium underwent a reconstruction project. The game features teams from various collegiate football conferences, the independent United States Military Academy (Army) is also eligible to participate. Since 2014, the game has been sponsored by Lockheed Martin and is officially known as the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Previous sponsors include Bell Helicopter (2006–2013) and PlainsCapital Bank (2003–2004).
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii, area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2022. The bowl is one of the post-season contests run by ESPN Events. Typically played on or near Christmas Eve, the bowl normally features a team from the Mountain West Conference, playing a team from either the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA. Since the 2021 edition of the bowl, it is sponsored by EasyPost. Previous sponsors include ConAgra Foods (2002) and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013), and SoFi (2018–2019).
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, previously the Humanitarian Bowl and the MPC Computers Bowl (2004–2006), is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 1997 at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The game is televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks. Cincinnati defeated Utah State in the inaugural game in 1997.
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 San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it was the Emerald Bowl from 2004 to 2009, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl from 2010 to 2013, the Foster Farms Bowl from 2014 to 2017, and the Redbox Bowl from 2018 to 2020. San Francisco Bowl naming returned during planning for a 2021 game.
Petco Park is a baseball stadium in San Diego, California. It is the ballpark of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium is located in downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Park opened in 2004, replacing San Diego Stadium as the team's home venue, where the Padres played from their inception in 1969 to 2003.
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 Military Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that has been played annually each December in the Washington metropolitan area since 2008. The game was originally held at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. before moving to Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland in 2013. The 2014 through 2019 games featured teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 1986 Freedom Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 1986. It was the third Freedom Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the BYU Cougars 31–10. UCLA tailback Gaston Green was named the Player Of The Game. He ran for a record 266 yards, second only at the time to Curtis Dickey who ran for 276 in the 1978 Hall of Fame Classic. This is still the Pac-10 record for most rushing yards in a bowl game, and fourth highest in NCAA bowl history.
The 2010–11 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season and included 35 team-competitive bowl games and four all-star games. The games began play with three bowls on December 18, 2010 and included the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona played on January 10 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The bowl season concluded with the East–West Shrine Game, the Eastham Energy All-Star Game, the Senior Bowl, the Dixie Gridiron Classic, and the NFLPA Game. One bowl, the Toronto-based International Bowl, has ceased operations.
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 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 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.
