By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

It’s almost Christmas, and that means it’s time to go bowling—college football style!

For decades, bowl games have been the heart of the postseason for NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams.

Before the days of playoffs, national champions were decided by polls from sportswriters and coaches.

To spice things up, cities started hosting regional festivals featuring bowl games. Over time, systems like the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and the current College Football Playoff (CFP) came along to settle things on the field.

Still, the traditional bowl games remain a big deal.

The term “bowl” comes from the Rose Bowl Stadium, inspired by the Yale Bowl.

Over time, it’s become shorthand for major football games. Back in the day, bowl games only featured the very best teams, with strict rules about who could play.

Fast forward to now, and we’ve gone from just 10 bowl games in 1971 to a whopping 43 in 2023. Eligibility has loosened too, with teams sitting at .500—or even below—sometimes getting the call to play.

The first official college bowl game was way back in 1902, a matchup between Michigan and Stanford organized by the Tournament of Roses.

After a brief pause, it became an annual event in 1916 and eventually found a permanent home at the Rose Bowl Stadium in 1923.

Other cities took note and started their own bowl traditions, drawing tourists to warmer climates. What started as New Year’s Day exclusives has since spread to indoor stadiums and colder regions.

The “Big Four” bowls—Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Cotton—were once the ultimate destinations in college football, all tied to specific conferences.

For example, the Rose Bowl paired champions from the Pac-10 and Big Ten. But these tie-ins sometimes kept the top-ranked teams from squaring off, leaving voters to decide the champion. That messy process earned the name “Mythical National Championship.” (Looking at you, UCF!)

In the 1990s, things started to change with systems like the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance.

The BCS followed, introducing a rotating championship game among the major bowls.

Today’s CFP has taken it further, with a twelve-team playoff format—expanding from just four playoff teams the previous few seasons.

Bowl games have grown into cultural and commercial giants. Many have corporate sponsors, blending old-school names with flashy branding. (Remember when the Citrus Bowl became the Capital One Bowl for a bit?)

The postseason now stretches from mid-December to early January, with games filling nearly every day of the calendar.

Some things never change, though. The Rose Bowl is still the biggest stage, holding the record for the largest bowl game crowd at over 106,000 fans in 1973.

And while bowl games are mostly a U.S. tradition, they’ve made their way north. Canadian college football has its own bowls leading to the Vanier Cup, and the CFL features the Banjo Bowl, an annual rivalry matchup.

Bowl games have come a long way, growing from a few exclusive contests into a sprawling postseason showcase.

Even though New Year’s Day isn’t as packed as it used to be, the excitement of bowl season is as strong as ever.

This year marks the debut of the 12-team playoff format, designed to give the top programs a real shot at the national title.

The playoffs kick off on December 20th and 21st, though the first-round games aren’t technically bowl games.

Starting with the quarterfinals, the familiar bowl names return. The Fiesta Bowl leads off on December 31st, followed by the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl on January 1st.

The semifinals take place with the Orange Bowl on January 9th and the Cotton Bowl on January 10th.

The grand finale? The National Championship game in Atlanta on January 20th.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and bowl season is here to make it even better!