The LA Bowl is an annual NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, first played in December 2021. The bowl has tie-ins with the Mountain West and Pac-12 conferences. The Pac-12 or it's "legacy schools" (the 10 schools departing the conference this year for the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC) will continue to fulfill the Pac-12 tie-in obligation through the 2025 season.[1]
The Mountain West Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced tie-ins for the new bowl in July 2019, under a five-year agreement.[2] The game was officially unveiled in February 2020. It matches up the Mountain West champion (or the next-highest pick available if the conference champion is selected for the New Year's Six) against the fifth pick from the Pac-12. Previously, the Mountain West champion had received an automatic bid to the Las Vegas Bowl.[3] The game is owned and operated by the owners of SoFi Stadium,[4] StadCo LA, LLC.[5]
Three weeks before the scheduled bowl game debut on December 30, 2020, the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
On June 16, 2021, the game was renamed the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl as part of a naming rights agreement with comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Announcing the renaming on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel remarked that "never before has a bowl game been named after a human being (as far as I know, I didn't check)."[7] The game is the first bowl named for a living figure; other bowls have been named in honor of deceased people:
The investment bank Stifel was later added as a presenting sponsor.[4]
On October 21, 2023, the bowl announced that it had signed a new multi-year sponsorship deal with former NFL star Rob Gronkowski.[8] On December 1, 2023, it added an additional naming rights partnership with Starco Brands Inc, officially naming the bowl the Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk[9]
Updated through the December 2023 edition (3 games, 6 total appearances).
Won (3): Fresno State, UCLA, Utah State
Lost (3): Boise State, Oregon State, Washington State
Updated through the December 2023 edition (3 games, 6 total appearances).
The bowl has been televised by ABC since its inception.