The Poinsettia Bowl is being dusted off and returning after a 10-year hiatus, according to a report.
On3.com reported Saturday morning that the Poinsettia Bowl as well as a bowl in Puerto Rico will be part of this year’s bowl lineup, helping provide inventory after the Bahamas Bowl, LA Bowl and GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit went dark after last year’s games.
The Poinsettia Bowl was played in San Diego from 2005 to 2016, joining the Holiday Bowl to make San Diego one of the few cities with two postseason college football games. The San Diego Bowl Game Association, now Sports San Diego, shuttered the game a decade ago amid challenges to draw crowds and secure sponsorships.
Reached Saturday, Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, would neither confirm nor deny the return of the Poinsettia Bowl.
“We’re always working on other things to benefit San Diego,” Neville said. “Other football events are certainly on our list.”
A new six-year bowl cycle was to begin this year, but bowls and conferences are extending their tie-ins for an additional year while waiting to see if the College Football Playoff is expanded next year.
The situation is even more complicated for the Mountain West and Pac-12 conferences.
Former Pac-12 members have remained candidates for Pac-12-aligned bowls. That’s why Arizona, now a Big 12 member, came here for last year’s Holiday Bowl. The Holiday will again match former Pac-12 teams against an opponent from the ACC.
But the reconstituted Pac-12, which begins July 1, needs to secure bowl tie-ins for its new membership, which includes San Diego State among five other former Mountain West schools.
The LA Bowl previously matched teams from the Pac-12 and Mountain West, so the conferences have been looking for a new landing spot for their teams. On3 reported that the Poinsettia Bowl could offer the same matchup. Another possibility is a new Pac-12 team (like San Diego State) vs. a legacy Pac-12 team.
If the Poinsettia Bowl returns to San Diego, the most likely venue would be Snapdragon Stadium. The game would likely be played in mid-December, at the front of the bowl schedule. The Holiday Bowl is again expected to be played near the end of the bowl schedule.
BYU defeated Wyoming 24-21 in 2016 at Qualcomm Stadium in the 12th final game of the Poinsettia Bowl. SDSU made three Poinsettia Bowl appearances, defeating Navy in the 2010 game, losing to BYU in 2012 and falling to the Midshipmen in 2014.
Poinsettia Bowl history
Year/Result (attendance)
2005: Navy 51, Colorado State 30 (attendance: 36,842)
2006: TCU 37, N. Illinois 7 (29,709)
2007: Utah 35, Navy 32 (39,129)
2008: TCU 17, Boise State 16 (34,628)
2009: Utah 37, Cal 27 (32,665)
2010: SDSU 35, Navy 14 (48,049)
2011: TCU 31, Louisiana Tech 24 (24,607)
2012: BYU 23, SDSU 6 (35,442)
2013: Utah State 21, N. Illinois 14 (23,408)
2014: Navy 17, SDSU 16 (33,077)
2015: Boise State 55, N. Illinois 7 (21,501)
2016: BYU 24, Wyoming 21 (28,114)
Total attendance: 387,171 (average: 32,264)