Rose Bowl Game History

ROSE BOWL GAME HISTORY

The game was first played in 1902, pitting Michigan against Stanford, but after Michigan's 49-0 win over Stanford, Tournament of Roses officials ran chariot races instead. In 1916 football returned to stay. The Tournament also includes the Tournament of Roses Parade featuring floats covered with flowers and plants. Before the Rose Bowl stadium was built in 1923, games were played in Pasadena's Tournament Park, approximately three miles southeast of the current stadium. For many years the game was televised by NBC in a 1 p.m. PST time slot, the only New Year's bowl airing at that time. Since 1988, it has been broadcast on ABC.

In the game's early years (except during World War I), it always featured a team — not necessarily the conference champion — from the Pacific Coast Conference (ancestor to today's Pacific 10), as well as a team invited from further east. Beginning with the 1947 game, the game's participants were established as the champions of what is now the Big Ten and Pac-10 Conferences. Since 1998, however, with the creation of the Bowl Championship Series system, team selection for the Rose Bowl is now tied into the other three BCS Bowls, although in any given year the Rose Bowl still attempts, if possible, to maintain the traditional Pac-10-Big Ten format. The 2002 game of Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12 Conference) and Miami Hurricanes (who were members of the Big East at that time) was the first since 1946 not featuring the traditional pairing. Starting with the 2007 BCS, the stadium hosting the traditional bowl game will also host the new stand-alone BCS National Championship Game one week later, meaning that the next time the Rose Bowl Stadium will host the title game will be on January 8, 2010. While FOX got the rights to the other three games in negotiations with the BCS, the Rose Bowl Game, which negotiates its own television contracts independent of the BCS, reached an agreement keeping the game on ABC.

The impact of the BCS on the Rose Bowl matchups has resulted in the initial participation by several teams, even in years when the BCS National Championship Game is not contested there. The 2003 Rose Bowl game featured the first appearance by the Oklahoma Sooners. The 2004 Rose Bowl, between the Michigan Wolverines and USC Trojans resulted in the Trojans winning the 2003 AP National Title, effectively sharing the 2003 National Championship with BCS Champion LSU. The 2005 bowl featured Michigan against the Texas Longhorns, which was selected — amid some controversy — over California Golden Bears, a Pac-10 school, from the final at-large bid. Despite the controversy, this was a milestone for Texas and Michigan as it marked the first meeting between the two teams. It was also the first appearance — and victory — by Texas in the Rose Bowl. The 2006 game, which was played for the national championship, featured offensive powerhouses 2005 Texas Longhorns (in its second straight Rose Bowl appearance and second appearance overall, holding a 19-game winning streak) and USC (attempting to become only the second school to claim three straight national championships). Texas won 41-38. Several sports analysts soon after the game were naming it among the most exciting championship games in sports history. In terms of number of TV viewers, it was the highest-rated college football game since the 1987 Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Miami.

For years the game held fast to tradition by going without a sponsor, but in 1998, the game became known as The Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T and in 2002 as The Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation 2. Since 2003, when the agreement with Sony expired, the game has been presented by citi. The Rose Bowl still spurns the sponsorship tradition to a degree, as the sponsor's name is listed less prominently than in other bowl games. In other bowls, the sponsor's name is listed first and as part of the game's name, rather than merely as the presenter of the game.