Las Vegas Bowl


The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game. It will be played at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada starting in 2020 and is played every December. From 1992 until 2019, the game was played at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events.

Conference tie-ins

As the Las Vegas Bowl was effectively the replacement for the California Bowl, it inherited that bowl's tie-ins with the champions of the Big West Conference and the Mid-American Conference. These remained intact until 1996, after which the Big West's champion earned a berth in the Humanitarian Bowl while the MAC's champion was given a berth in the Motor City Bowl. 1997 through 1999 saw a team from the Western Athletic Conference face an at-large team, and the Mountain West Conference took over for the WAC for the 1999 and 2000 games. Since 2001, the Mountain West and Pac-12 Conferences have matched up in Las Vegas.
From 2001 until 2005, the second place team in the Mountain West was chosen to face the Pac-12. Beginning in 2006, after its contract with the Liberty Bowl expired, the Mountain West agreed to send its champion to the Las Vegas Bowl to face the Pac-12's 5th or 6th place team. From 2006 until 2013, the Mountain West would send a secondary team if the champion qualified for the Bowl Championship Series or, as per the rules of the Hawai'i Bowl, was Hawai'i. The 2016 game would have pitted the Pac-12's #6 team against the winner of the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game, provided that the winner of the game does not automatically qualify for one of the College Football Playoff's six bowls as the highest-ranking member of the "Group of Five". However, since the Pac-12 only had six bowl eligible teams and two of them qualified for New Years Six bowls, the bowl elected to invite Houston Cougars of the American Athletic Conference instead of a Pac-12 team.
To heighten the profile of the game with its move to Allegiant Stadium, the Las Vegas Bowl announced a new, five-year, alternating tie-in between the SEC and Big Ten beginning 2020. An SEC team will play the Las Vegas Bowl in even-numbered years, while a Big Ten team will play in odd-numbered years. The conference not playing in the Las Vegas Bowl will play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. The Mountain West moved its top selection from the Las Vegas Bowl to the newly-established LA Bowl.

History

The game originated from the California Raisin Bowl, which was played in Fresno from 1981 to 1991. In 1992, Fresno State, formerly of the Big West, moved to the Western Athletic Conference. The Big West and MAC then pulled out of Fresno and sought a new home for their conference champions. They found it in Las Vegas, where organizers were looking for a way to boost hotel revenue. In those days, the Christmas season was a slow period for Las Vegas hotels and casinos. The first Las Vegas Bowl was played in 1992.
The NCAA adopted an overtime rule for the 1995 post-season and all games thereafter. In 1995, Toledo defeated Nevada, 40–37, in the first ever overtime game in Division I-A college football. The following season, the policy of overtime was adopted for regular season games to break ties.
In 2001, ESPN Regional Television purchased the Las Vegas Bowl from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
On December 25, 2002, UCLA interim coach Ed Kezirian was victorious in his only game as the UCLA head coach as UCLA won 27–13 over New Mexico. In that game, New Mexico sent Katie Hnida in to kick an extra point which was the first time a woman played in a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football game. The kick was blocked.
The 2007 Las Vegas Bowl featured a rematch between Mountain West Champion BYU and UCLA who defeated BYU during the regular season. UCLA scored first on a field goal after a fumble by BYU quarterback Max Hall. BYU answered with a touchdown reception by Austin Collie. BYU went up 17–6 with Michael Reed catch for a touchdown. A fumble by BYU with 19 seconds left in the first half allowed UCLA to score and cut the lead to 17–13. UCLA cut the deficit to 17–16 on a 50-yard field goal. With two minutes left UCLA took over at their own two-yard line. They were able to drive down to the BYU 13-yard line with 3 seconds left. The 28-yard field goal attempt was partially blocked by BYU defensive tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna and fell short giving BYU their second Vegas Bowl victory in three tries, also making the Cougars the first school to win back-to-back Las Vegas Bowls. The following year, though, the Arizona Wildcats denied BYU their third consecutive Las Vegas Bowl win by winning 31–21.
On September 25, 2013, Royal Purple was announced as the new title sponsor for the next three years. Following the expiration of Royal Purple's sponsorship of the title from 2013 to 2015, the game is officially known as the Las Vegas Bowl.
With the relocation of the Oakland Raiders approved by the National Football League, Allegiant Stadium is being constructed to replace Sam Boyd Stadium. The Las Vegas Bowl along with the other events currently held at Sam Boyd Stadium will move to the new stadium upon completion.

Sponsors

The bowl was known as the SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl from 2001 to 2002. From 2003 to 2008, the title sponsor was the Pioneer Corporation. From 2009 to 2012, the game was known as the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, as the sponsor was MAACO. From 2013 to 2015, the game was known as the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl as the sponsor was Royal Purple. For the 2016 edition, the game was known as the Las Vegas Bowl presented by GEICO as GEICO was the presenting sponsor. On July 12, 2018, it was announced that Mitsubishi would be the new title sponsor, with the game renamed as the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl as part of a two year deal.

Game results

Rankings per AP Poll prior to the game being played.
DateWinning teamScoreLosing teamAttendanceNotes
December 18, 1992Bowling Green35–34Nevada15,476notes
December 17, 1993Utah State42–33Ball State15,508notes
December 15, 199452–24Central Michigan17,562notes
December 14, 1995No. 25 Toledo40–37 Nevada12,500notes
December 18, 1996Nevada18–15Ball State10,118notes
December 20, 1997Oregon41–13No. 23 Air Force21,514notes
December 19, 1998North Carolina20–13San Diego State21,429notes
December 18, 1999Utah17–16Fresno State28,227notes
December 21, 2000UNLV31–14Arkansas29,113notes
December 25, 2001Utah10–6USC30,894notes
December 25, 2002UCLA27–13New Mexico30,324notes
December 24, 2003Oregon State55–14New Mexico25,437notes
December 23, 2004Wyoming24–21UCLA27,784notes
December 22, 2005California35–28BYU40,053notes
December 21, 2006No. 19 BYU38–8Oregon44,615notes
December 22, 2007No. 19 BYU17–16UCLA40,712notes
December 20, 2008Arizona31–21No. 17 BYU40,047notes
December 22, 2009No. 15 BYU44–20No. 16 Oregon State40,018notes
December 22, 2010No. 10 Boise State26–3No. 20 Utah41,923notes
December 22, 2011No. 8 Boise State56–24Arizona State35,720notes
December 22, 2012No. 20 Boise State28–26Washington33,217notes
December 21, 2013USC45–20No. 21 Fresno State42,178notes
December 20, 2014No. 23 Utah45–10Colorado State33,067notes
December 19, 2015No. 20 Utah35–28BYU42,213notes
December 17, 2016San Diego State34–10Houston29,286notes
December 16, 2017No. 25 Boise State38–28Oregon36,432notes
December 15, 2018No. 19 Fresno State31–20Arizona State37,146notes
December 21, 2019Washington38–7No. 18 Boise State34,197notes

Source:

MVPs

DateMVPTeamPosition
December 18, 1992Erik WhiteBowling GreenQB
December 17, 1993Anthony CalvilloUtah StateQB
December 15, 1994Henry BaileyWR
December 14, 1995Wasean TaitToledoRB
December 18, 1996Mike CrawfordNevadaLB
December 20, 1997Pat JohnsonOregonWR
December 19, 1998Ronald CurryNorth CarolinaQB
December 18, 1999Mike AndersonUtahRB
December 21, 2000Jason ThomasUNLVQB
December 25, 2001Dameon HunterUtahRB
December 25, 2002Craig BraggUCLAWR
December 24, 2003Steven JacksonOregon StateRB
December 23, 2004Corey BramletWyomingQB
December 22, 2005Marshawn LynchCaliforniaRB
December 21, 2006Jonny HarlineBYUTE
December 22, 2007Austin CollieBYUWR
December 20, 2008Willie TuitamaArizonaQB
December 22, 2009Max HallBYUQB
December 22, 2010Kellen MooreBoise StateQB
December 22, 2011Doug MartinBoise StateRB
December 22, 2012Bishop SankeyWashingtonRB
December 21, 2013Cody KesslerUSCQB
December 20, 2014Travis WilsonUtahQB
December 19, 2015Tevin CarterUtahCB
December 17, 2016Donnel PumphreySan Diego StateRB
December 16, 2017Cedrick Wilson Jr.Boise StateWR
December 15, 2018Ronnie RiversFresno StateRB
December 21, 2019Elijah MoldenWashingtonDB

Most appearances

Updated through the December 2019 edition.
;Teams with multiple appearances
;Teams with a single appearance
Won: Arizona, Bowling Green, California, North Carolina, Toledo, Utah State, Wyoming
Lost: Air Force, Arkansas, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Houston

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2019 edition.
TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored 56, Boise State vs. Arizona State2011
Most points scored 37, Nevada vs. Toledo
34, Nevada vs. Bowling Green 		1995
1992
Most points scored 80, Boise vs. Arizona State 2011
Fewest points allowed3, Boise State vs. Utah2010
Largest margin of victory41, Oregon State vs. New Mexico 2003
Total yards589, UNLV vs. Central Michigan1994
Rushing yards359, Utah vs. Colorado State2014
Passing yards395, Arizona State vs. Boise State2011
First downs33, Toledo vs. Nevada1995
Fewest yards allowed127, Oregon State vs. New Mexico2003
Fewest rushing yards allowed–11, Boise State vs. Arizona State2011
Fewest passing yards allowed33, San Diego State vs. North Carolina1998
IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
All-purpose yards301, Doug Martin, Boise State vs. Arizona State2011
Touchdowns 5, Steven Jackson, Oregon State vs. New Mexico2003
Rushing yards254, Mike Anderson, Utah vs. Fresno State1999
Rushing touchdowns4, shared by:
Wasean Tait, Toledo vs. Nevada
Steven Jackson, Oregon State vs. New Mexico
1995
2003
Passing yards395, Brock Osweiler, Arizona State vs. Boise State2011
Passing touchdowns4, Cody Kessler, USC vs. Fresno State2013
Receiving yards241, Gerell Robinson, Arizona State vs. Boise State2011
Receiving touchdowns2, by several players—most recent:
Marqise Lee, USC vs. Fresno State
Nelson Agholor, USC vs. Fresno State
2013
2013
Tackles20, Troy Polamalu, USC vs. Utah
12, same		2001
Sacks3, Mike Crawford, Nevada vs. Ball State1996
Interceptions2, by several players—most recent:
Kameron Kelly, San Diego State vs. Houston
2016
Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYear
Touchdown run84, Doug Martin, Boise State vs. Utah2010
Touchdown pass78, Jason Mass to Pat Johnson, Oregon vs. Air Force1997
Kickoff return100, Doug Martin, Boise State vs. Arizona State2011
Punt return74, Craig Bragg, UCLA vs. New Mexico2002
Interception return100, Jamar Taylor, Boise State vs. Arizona State2011
Fumble return
Punt69, Garrett Swanson, Fresno State vs. USC2013
Field goal52, Kai Forbath, UCLA vs. BYU2007

Source:

Media coverage

The Las Vegas Bowl has been televised by ABC since 2013; ABC also televised the game in 2001. Other editions of the game were broadcast by ESPN or ESPN2.