This year when college bowl season kicks off, the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas will once again take the field at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kicking off on December 22, the game seats 40,000 fans enjoying the unique atmosphere of a college football bowl. The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, formerly known as the Las Vegas Bowl, usually picks a team from the Mountain West Conference and a team from the Pac-10. The MWC team is usually the conference champion unless that team qualifies for the BCS.
Formerly known as the Las Vegas Bowl, the game originated from the California Raisin Bowl, which was played from 1981-1991 in Fresno, CA. After moving to Las Vegas in 1992, the bowl has featured several different conference matchups, but is also known for the 1995 game which featured Toledo and Nevada, where Toledo’s 40-37 win in overtime was the first overtime game in college football. Overtime for regular season games was adopted by the NCAA the following year.