The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (previously the Humanitarian Bowl and the MPC Computers Bowl) is an NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has been played annually since 1997 at Albertsons Stadium on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. As of 2013, the bowl pits a team from the Mountain West Conference against a team from the Mid-American Conference.
The game is televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks. Cincinnati defeated Utah State, 35-19, in the inaugural game in 1997. The current Famous Idaho Potato Bowl champions are the home state University of Idaho, who defeated Colorado State in the 2016 edition of the bowl. During this game, the Vandals set bowl records for total offense, first downs, and points scored; the losing Rams set a bowl record for passing yardage, with individual Rams players equaling or setting bowl records for touchdown passes and receiving yardage.
Video Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
History
The Humanitarian Bowl was launched in part to give the Big West Conference a bowl to send its champion to; after the 1996 season, the Big West lost its automatic tie in with the Las Vegas Bowl, where its champion met the Mid-American Conference champion. From 1997 to 1999, the opponent was a team from Conference USA, while in 2000 the Western Athletic Conference sent a representative. The Big West stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season.
After the 2000 Humanitarian Bowl, the organizers extended a permanent invite to the WAC to replace the Big West as host of the game and struck an agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference to provide a bowl-eligible team if it had yet to fill its bowl allotment. The WAC champion would receive the automatic bid to the game unless that team received a better offer from another bowl game or qualified for the Bowl Championship Series. The bowl also had to contend with the "hometown guarantee" tie-in with the Hawai'i Bowl, which guaranteed a spot to The University of Hawai'i-Manoa if it was bowl eligible and did not make the BCS.
In 2009, the Mountain West Conference replaced the ACC as the WAC's opponent, but ended its agreement after one season. For the 2010 playing, the Humanitarian Bowl inherited the MAC's International Bowl tie-in after the Toronto-based bowl folded. The WAC stopped sponsoring football in 2012 and the Mountain West inherited its spot as host.
Sponsors
The game was sponsored by Micron Technology, an Idaho-based manufacturer, from 1999 to 2002 under the name Crucial.com, which sold computer memory upgrades from Micron. The bowl game then briefly had no sponsor for the January 2004 game. In December 2004, the name was changed to the MPC Computers Bowl. MPC Computers, which is also based in Idaho, was formerly MicronPC, the computer manufacturing division of Micron, but was later split off as a separate company. In April 2007, it was announced that the bowl will again be called the Humanitarian Bowl. In May 2007, Boise-based Roady's Truck Stops was announced as the new sponsor, thus renaming the game the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl. On May 25, 2010, uDrove, a maker of applications for the transportation industry, became the sponsor of the Humanitarian Bowl, signing a four-year agreement to replace Roady's. On August 3, 2011, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) signed a six-year naming rights deal to sponsor the bowl, renaming it the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. In December 2017, IPC announced that they would be sponsoring the bowl for an additional five years.
The game is the longest running cold weather bowl game currently in operation. The payout is $750,000, but teams are required to provide a corporate sponsor, purchase a minimum number of tickets, and stay at a selected hotel for a minimum stay. Because of this, 7-4 UCLA declined an invitation to the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl.
Highway Angel
From 2008 through 2012, bowl organizers, in conjunction with the Truckload Carriers Association, featured a "Highway Angel of the Year" to game attendees. Highway Angels are truck drivers who performed a heroic feat to save the life of another motorist.
Maps Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Game results
MVPs
Most appearances
Boise State, the game's host school, is tied with Idaho for most wins with three, and Fresno State has won twice. Boise State and Utah State have made the most appearances, four each; the Broncos last played twelve years ago in 2005. Idaho was a member of a different conference for each of its three appearances.
- Teams with multiple appearances
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: Air Force, Akron, Boston College, Cincinnati, Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio, San Diego State, Wyoming
Lost: Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Southern Miss, Toledo, Tulsa, UTEP, Virginia, Western Michigan
Appearances by conference
Through the December 2017 playing, there have been 21 games (42 total appearances).
Game records
Television and radio coverage
- List of Famous Idaho Potato Bowl broadcasters
See also
- List of college bowl games
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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