The Holiday Bowl is a key part of the college football bowl season. However, in the coming years, this bowl will see some change.
The Holiday Bowl has been held in San Diego since its first game in 1978. That will not be changing anytime soon. However, as Brett McMurphy revealed, the stadium where the game is played will change.
"Holiday Bowl moving to Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego State’s home stadium, after spending the last two seasons at Petco Park. Holiday will pit a former Pac-12 school or Oregon State/Washington State vs. ACC team this year."
Ever since the inaugural edition of the Holiday Bowl between Navy and BYU , the game had been held at San Diego Stadium, which went by many sponsored names in its lifetime, most notably Qualcomm Stadium. It was home to the San Diego Chargers until their move to Los Angeles in 2017 and the San Diego State Aztecs until the stadium closed in 2019.
The Holiday Bowl then moved to Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres, for a couple of years. But now, the game has returned to the home of the Aztecs and will be held at the 34,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium, the main stadium for the city of San Diego.
The change affects the teams eligible for the Holiday Bowl in a small way. In its most recent edition, the Holiday Bowl has been between a PAC-12 program and an ACC program. However, the PAC-12 is now essentially the PAC-2, and its former members have spread around the country to the other Power Four conferences, including the ACC.
The ACC will still keep its spot, and in a way, the PAC-12 will keep its spot as well. The selected ACC team will face one of the former PAC-12 teams or the two programs still associated with the brand, the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars.
Which teams have been successful in the Holiday Bowl?
The Holiday Bowl has a rich and fascinating history, which it has gained during nearly 50 years of existence. The ACC only joined the game in 2022. Before that, the Big Ten and the Big 12 faced the PAC-12 team.
The BYU Cougars have made the most appearances in the game (11) and were involved in the first seven editions, winning four. Their reward for their 1984 victory in the Holiday Bowl was the national championship, which was their first, and so far, only national championship.
The Holiday Bowl has seen the likes of Barry Sanders, Colt McCoy, Bucky Irving and a host of other players dominate on the San Diego field. Many of these have gone on to have successful NFL careers.
The Holiday Bowl has always pitted two strong programs that did not make the playoffs against each other. Even in a new stadium, it will deliver on that promise.
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