Bowl Facts

Date & Time:
   Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. (PST)
Location:
   Sam Boyd Stadium will serve as the venue for the Las Vegas Bowl.
Attendance:
   The last three Las Vegas Bowls have been sold out and the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl attracted a state-record crowd of 44,615.
Participants:
   The Las Vegas Bowl will feature the first selection from the Mountain West Conference vs. the fourth or fifth selection from the Pac-10 Conference.
Television:
   The bowl will once again be televised by ESPN. The 2007 game drew a 2.93 national rating (2,131,000 HHI), which ranked an impressive twelfth among all 32 bowl games in the country.
Radio:
   The bowl will be heard throughout the country and overseas on the Sports USA Radio Network, with Larry Kahn serving as play-by-play announcer.
Las Vegas Bowl Affiliations:
   The Las Vegas Bowl announced in August 2005 that it had extended its contract with the Pac-10 Conference for an additional four years through the 2009 season, getting the fourth selection in 2006 and 2008 while getting the fifth selection in 2007 and 2009. In addition, the bowl extended its contract with the MWC for the first selection/champion through the 2009 season.
Bowl Events:
  Participants in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl will be treated to a Welcome Reception at the ESPNZone; a Media Conference and Luncheon at the Las Vegas Convention Center; a Team Charity Visit to Sunrise Hospital; Show Night in Las Vegas at the must-see show KA by Cirque Du Soleil at the MGM Grand; the Outback Buffet Bowl and traditional Pep Rally at the spectacular Fremont Street Experience; a kids day at Mandalay Bay Shark Reef and the Tailgate Extravaganza at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Host Hotels:
   Mountain West- Planet Hollywood / PAC-10- Venetian
Tickets:
   Tickets for the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl are available by calling 702-732-3912.
History:
 

Organized by community leaders out of a need to fill hotel rooms during a traditionally slow period in a world-class destination city, the Las Vegas Bowl first kicked off on Dec. 18, 1992, and has been nationally televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC every year.

Originally pitting the champions of the Big West and Mid-American conferences, the game’s initial offering was a nail-biter as Bowling Green held on to slip by Nevada 35-34 in what was hailed by many as the best bowl game that year.

Known for the next decade as the first bowl each season, the event was switched to later in the month starting in 2001 when hometown entry UNLV defeated Arkansas on Dec. 21. Moves to Christmas Day and then to Christmas Eve were staged and, indeed, the now-named Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl keeps inching down the calendar looking for a perfect day to pit football teams from the Pac-10 and Mountain West conferences against each other at Sam Boyd Stadium.

DID YOU KNOW?
The first-ever Division I-A overtime game took place at the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl when Toledo outlasted Nevada 40-37.

In the last 10 years, the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl has hosted teams from the Pac-10, Mountain West, Western Athletic, Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences. Pac-10 teams have played in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl eight times and hold a 4-4 record. Schools now in the MWC have combined to play in 12 such games and sport a 7-5 record, including a winning 6-3 mark since splitting from the WAC and forming the new league in 1999.

A natural regional rivalry has emerged between the two leagues and that competitive match up is guaranteed to continue through at least 2009. Both the Pac-10 and MWC announced in 2005 four-year contract extensions with the game, which is now owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT).

DID YOU KNOW?
The first-ever woman to play in a Division I-A football game was Katie Hnida when she attempted an extra point vs. UCLA in 2002.
Past Participants :
  

Pioneer LAS VEGAS BOWL:
BYU 17, UCLA 16
MVP: BYU WR Austin Collie

Pioneer PureVision LAS VEGAS BOWL:
BYU 38, Oregon 8
MVP: BYU TE Johnny Harline

Pioneer PureVision LAS VEGAS BOWL:
Cal 35, BYU 28
MVP: Cal RB Marshawn Lynch

Pioneer PureVision LAS VEGAS BOWL:
Wyoming 24, UCLA 21
MVP: UW QB Corey Bramlet

LAS VEGAS BOWL XII:
Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14
MVP: OSU RB Steven Jackson

SEGA Sports LAS VEGAS BOWL:
UCLA 27, New Mexico 13
MVP: UCLA WR Craig Bragg

SEGA Sports LAS VEGAS BOWL:
Utah 10, USC 6
MVP: Utah RB Dameon Hunter

LAS VEGAS BOWL IX:
UNLV 31, Arkansas 14
MVP: UNLV QB Jason Thomas

LAS VEGAS BOWL VIII:
Utah 17, Fresno State 16
MVP: Utah RB Mike Anderson

LAS VEGAS BOWL VII:
North Carolina 20, San Diego St. 13
MVP: UNC QB Ronald Curry

LAS VEGAS BOWL VI:
Oregon 41, Air Force 13
MVP: OU WR Pat Johnson

LAS VEGAS BOWL V:
Nevada 18, Ball State 15
MVP: UNR LB Sam Crawford

LAS VEGAS BOWL IV:
Toledo 40, Nevada 37 (OT)
MVP: UT RB Wasean Tait