Cactus Bowl

Cactus Bowl
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl
Stadium	Chase Field
Location	Phoenix, Arizona
Previous stadiums	Arizona Stadium (1989–99) Chase Field (2000-2005 2016-present) Sun Devil Stadium (2006–15)
Previous locations	Tucson, Arizona (1989–99) Phoenix, Arizona (2000–05) Tempe, Arizona (2006–15)
Operated	1989–present
Conference tie-ins	Big 12, Pac-12
Previous conference tie-ins	WAC (1990–1997) Big 12 (1998–2001) Big East (1998–2005) Pac-10 (2002–2005)
Payout	US$3.3 million per team (as of 2011) [1]
Sponsors
Domino's Pizza (1990–1991) Weiser Lock (1992–1995) Insight Enterprises (1997–2011) Buffalo Wild Wings (2012–2013) TicketCity (2015) Motel 6 (2016–present)
Former names
Copper Bowl (1989) Domino's Pizza Copper Bowl (1990–1991) Weiser Lock Copper Bowl (1992–1995) Copper Bowl (1996) Insight.com Bowl (1997–2001) Insight Bowl (2002–2011) Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (2012–2013) TicketCity Cactus Bowl (2015)
2016 matchup
West Virginia vs. Arizona State (West Virginia 43–42)

The Cactus Bowl, officially the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989. Originally played in Tucson at Arizona Stadium as the Copper Bowl, the game moved to Chase Field in Phoenix in 2000 and then to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe in 2006.

For the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons, the Cactus Bowl is being played at its previous home of Chase Field in Phoenix while Sun Devil Stadium undergoes renovations.^[2] During this time, the game will be one of four bowl games that are played in baseball-specific stadiums; the Miami Beach Bowl, played at Marlins Park, the St. Petersburg Bowl, played at Tropicana Field, and the Pinstripe Bowl, played at Yankee Stadium, are the others.

History

For the first ten years, the game was played at Arizona Stadium, on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. In 2000, the bowl's organizers moved the game to Bank One Ballpark, a baseball-specific stadium, in downtown Phoenix. Finally, in 2006, the game moved to Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University in Tempe to replace the Fiesta Bowl which had moved to University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale.

The game was played under its original name, the Copper Bowl, from 1989 until 1996 when title sponsorship rights were assumed by Insight Enterprises. Insight kept the naming rights until 2012, after which restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings bought them.^[3] Buffalo Wild Wings declined to renew sponsorship following the 2013 game.^[4] However, instead of reassuming the Copper Bowl name, the organizers opted to name the game the Cactus Bowl. The name previously belonged to a Division II postseason all-star game played in Kingsville, Texas beginning in 2001 and continuing until 2011. The Cactus Bowl name was the originally planned name of the game when first conceived.^[5] In 2014, TicketCity secured the naming rights for the game.^[6] For 2015, Motel 6 acquired the title sponsorship.^[7]

It has featured teams from the WAC, the Big 12, the old Big East and Pac-10. Starting in 2006, the Insight Bowl began featuring an annual matchup between teams from the Big Ten and the Big 12. Starting in 2014, it will feature a Pac-12/Big 12 matchup.

The 2006 game saw the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I FBS postseason history, as Texas Tech came back from a 38–7 third-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota 44–41 in overtime.

For the first three playings of the Copper Bowl, TBS carried the game. Beginning in 1992 and continuing until the 2005 playing, the game aired on ESPN. After a four-year hiatus, during which NFL Network carried the game, ESPN regained the rights beginning in 2010.

Game results

This slightly different logo was used when the game was played in Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona.

MVPs

Most appearances

Television broadcasting rights

The Cactus Bowl has been broadcast by three different networks, TBS (1989–1991), ESPN (1992–2005, 2010–2016), and NFL Network (2006–2009)

Wins by conference

References

External links

• Official website