Poinsettia Bowl
The Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was created in 2005. The game was created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl and is played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is currently sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union and is known as the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, and as of 2008 features a team from the Mountain West Conference and a team from the Pac-10.
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History
In the week leading up to the 2005 Poinsettia Bowl, the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen accepted an invitation to the 2008, 2009, or 2010 Poinsettia Bowls if Navy was bowl eligible in those seasons. The fact that there are several naval bases in and around San Diego contributed to this decision by the independent Midshipmen. The Poinsettia Bowl announced that if Army had become bowl-eligible in 2006, they would have been given an automatic bowl invite. The Cadets wound up with a losing record and were not invited. It was announced in July 2007 that beginning with the 2008 game, the Pac-10will send their seventh-place (in 2008) or sixth place (in 2009 and 2010) replacing the at-large team.
The 2006 game matched Texas Christian University, a 10-2 team from the Mountain West Conference against Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference, who finished the regular season with a record of 7-5. TCU defeated Northern Illinois by the score of 37-7.
As a result of Navy's win over North Texas, a game that set a new NCAA record for most points scored in a college football game, Navy returned for the 2007 contest. However, they could not win against the Utah Utes, losing 35-32. The referees, however, made an official statement at the end of the game saying they had made a wrong call, which could have changed the outcome of the game.
Starting with the 2008 season, and continuing through 2009, if a Pac-10 team does not get the necessary six wins for bowl eligibility that the Poinsettia Bowl would select a WAC team to take its place.