The Poinsettia Bowl was an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California, 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 Bowl games were played in late December each year at San Diego Stadium. The game's last sponsor was the San Diego County Credit Union; it was named the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
Paul Clayton Johnson is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001, the United States Naval Academy from 2002 to 2007, and Georgia Tech, from 2008 to 2018, compiling a career college football coaching record of 189–100. Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles won consecutive NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1999 and 2000. Noted for his use of the flexbone spread option offense, Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school in 2014, and became a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference beginning in the 2015 season. The team is currently coached by Brian Newberry, who was promoted in 2022, following his stint as the Midshipmen defensive coordinator. Navy has 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame and won the college football national championship in 1926 according to the Boand and Houlgate poll systems. The 1910 team also was undefeated and unscored upon. The mascot is Bill the Goat.
The 2007 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Paul Johnson until he accepted the head coaching position at Georgia Tech prior to the team's final game of the season. Offensive line coach Ken Niumatalolo was first promoted to interim head coach and then named as the team's permanent head coach.
The 2007 Navy vs. North Texas football game was a regular-season college football game between the Navy Midshipmen and the North Texas Mean Green, played on November 10, 2007 at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas. The game held the record for the most combined points scored in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) regulation game with 136 total points, until 137 combined points were scored by Syracuse and Pittsburgh during their November 26, 2016 matchup.
The 2007 Poinsettia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Navy Midshipmen and the Utah Utes played on December 20, 2007, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Utah defeated Navy 35–32 in a game that came down to the final seconds. The third edition of the Poinsettia Bowl was the first of 32 games in the 2007–2008 bowl season and the final game of the 2007 NCAA football season for both teams.
Kenneth Va'a Niumatalolo is an American college football coach and former player who is the head coach of San Jose State. He was the head coach of the Naval Academy from 2007 to 2022, accumulating the most wins in program history. Niumatalolo played college football at the University of Hawaii. As a quarterback he led Hawaii to their first postseason bowl game in 1989. Niumatalolo is the second person of Polynesian descent to be named head coach of an NCAA Division I FBS college football program and the first ethnic Samoan collegiate head coach on any level. Niumatalolo was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame on January 23, 2014.
The 2008 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. He was promoted from the offensive line coach before the season, after his predecessor, Paul Johnson, accepted the head coaching position at Georgia Tech.
The 2009 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen, led by second-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played their home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The 2004 Emerald Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Navy Midshipmen on December 30, 2004, at SBC Park in San Francisco, United States. The game, which Navy won with a final score of 34–19, was highlighted by a 26-play drive from the Midshipmen that took up almost 15 minutes of game time and set the record for the longest drive in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college football game. The contest was the third time the Emerald Bowl was played and the final game of the 2004 NCAA football season for both teams.
The 2010 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen, led by third-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, played their home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game held on December 29, 2012, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, United States. The 11th edition of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl began at 1:00 p.m. PST, and was televised on ESPN2. It featured the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) and the Navy Midshipmen, who were conference independent. It was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The game, won by the Sun Devils 62–28, drew 34,172 spectators.
The 2014 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy as an independent in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by seventh year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This was the final year as an Independent before the school joins the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 8–5. They were invited to the Poinsettia Bowl where they defeated San Diego State.
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 2015 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by eighth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the Western Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were first year members of the conference. In their entire football history, this was the first season that Navy did not compete as an Independent. They finished the season 11–2, 7–1 in American Athletic play to finish in a tie for the Western Division title with Houston. However, due to their head-to-head loss to Houston, they did not represent the Western Division in the American Championship. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they defeated Pittsburgh.
The 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by ninth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were second year members of the conference. They finished the season 9–5 overall and 7–1 in American Athletic play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in The American Athletic Championship Game where they lost to Temple. They were invited to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost to Louisiana Tech.
The 2017 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by tenth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference and were third-year members of the conference. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in AAC play to tie for third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl, where they defeated Virginia, 49–7.
The 2019 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by 12th-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy competed as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in the West Division.
