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.
LA Bowl | |
---|---|
Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk | |
Stadium | SoFi Stadium |
Location | Inglewood, California, U.S. |
Operated | 2021–present |
Conference tie-ins | |
Sponsors | |
| |
2022 matchup | |
Fresno State vs. Washington State (Fresno State 29–6) | |
2023 matchup | |
Boise State vs. UCLA (UCLA 35–22) |
The Mountain West Conference and Pac-12 Conference announced tie-ins for the new bowl in July 2019, under a five-year agreement.[1] 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.[2] The game is owned and operated by the owners of SoFi Stadium,[3] StadCo LA, LLC.[4]
Three weeks before the scheduled bowl game debut on December 30, 2020, the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
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)."[6] 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.[3]
On October 21, 2023, the bowl announced that it had signed a new multi-year sponsorship deal with former NFL star Rob Gronkowski.[7] 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[8]
Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 18, 2021 | Utah State | 24 | Oregon State | 13 | 29,896 | notes |
December 17, 2022 | Fresno State | 29 | Washington State | 6 | 32,405 | notes |
December 16, 2023 | UCLA | 35 | Boise State | 22 | 32,780 | notes |
Year | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team | Pos. | ||
2021 | Deven Thompkins | Utah State | WR | Nick Heninger | Utah State | DE | [9] |
2022 | Jordan Mims | Fresno State | RB | Devo Bridges | Fresno State | DE | [10] |
2023 | Ethan Garbers | UCLA | QB | Darius Muasau | UCLA | LB | [11] |
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).
Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
Mountain West | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2021, 2022 | 2023 |
Pac-12 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2023 | 2021, 2022 |
[needs update]
Team | Performance vs. Opponent | Year |
---|---|---|
Most points scored | 35, UCLA vs. Boise State | 2023 |
Fewest points allowed | 6, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
Margin of victory | 23, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
First downs | 27, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
Rushing yards | 280, UCLA vs. Boise State | 2023 |
Passing yards | 280, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
Most points scored (losing team) | 22, Boise State vs. UCLA | 2023 |
Most points scored (both teams) | 57, UCLA vs. Boise State | 2023 |
Fewest yards allowed | 182, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
Fewest rushing yards allowed | 45, Fresno State vs. Washington State | 2022 |
Fewest passing yards allowed | 117, Boise State vs. UCLA | 2023 |
Individual | Player, Team | Year |
Points scored | 12, multiple (most recently): TJ Harden (UCLA) Ethan Garbers (UCLA) George Holani (Boise State) |
2023 |
Passing touchdowns | 2, shared by: Jake Haener (Fresno State) Ethan Garbers (UCLA) |
2022 2023 |
Rushing yards | 209, Jordan Mims (Fresno State) | 2022 |
Passing yards | 280, Jake Haener (Fresno State) | 2022 |
Receiving yards | 142, J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA) | 2023 |
Rushing touchdowns | 2, shared by: Jordan Mims (Fresno State) George Holani (Boise State) TJ Harden (UCLA) |
2022 2023 2023 |
Receiving touchdowns | 1, multiple (most recently): J. Michael Sturdivant (UCLA) Kyle Ford (UCLA) Hudson Habermehl (UCLA) |
2023 |
Tackles | 12, Alexander Teubner (Boise State) | 2023 |
Sacks | 3, Nick Heninger (Utah State) | 2021 |
Interceptions | 1, shared by: Hunter Reynolds (Utah State) Akili Arnold (Oregon State) Kitan Oladapo (Oregon State) LJ Early (Fresno State) Alex Johnson (UCLA) |
2021 2021 2021 2022 2023 |
Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
Touchdown run | 66 yds., George Holani (Boise State) | 2023 |
Touchdown pass | 62 yds., Cooper Legas to Deven Thompkins (Utah State) | 2021 |
Kickoff return | 25 yds., Savon Scarver (Utah State) | 2021 |
Punt return | 16 yds., Logan Loya (UCLA) | 2023 |
Interception return | 11 yds., Alex Johnson (UCLA) | 2023 |
Fumble return | N/A | |
Punt | 56 yds., James Ferguson-Reynolds (Boise State) | 2023 |
Field goal | 37 yds., Everett Hayes (Oregon State) | 2021 |
Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | ABC | Joe Tessitore | Greg McElroy | Laura Rutledge |
2022 | Molly McGrath | |||
2023 | Dave Flemming | Brock Osweiler | Kayla Burton |
Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | ESPN Radio | Jorge Sedano | Tom Ramsey | Kelsey Riggs |
2022 | Rod Gilmore | Quint Kessenich | ||
2023 | Mike Couzens | Tom Ramsey |