List of college bowl games

Bowl Championship Series games
From the 1998 season until the 2005 season, four BCS bowl games determined the national champion on a rotating basis. The other three games consisted of the champions of the 6 major conferences not playing in the championship game, as well as two at-large teams.

A change implemented before the beginning of the 2006 season allowed for the creation of a fifth BCS bowl, the BCS National Championship Game. The BCS National Championship Game is now played at the site of each of the four BCS bowls, but is played as a separate game one week after the regular BCS game. For example, in January 2007, Glendale hosted first the Fiesta Bowl, then the BCS National Championship Game a week later. The sponsor of the host game also sponsors the BCS National Championship Game (e.g., Tostitos will sponsor the game when in Glendale, Allstate will sponsor the game when in New Orleans, and so on).

Other current bowl games
Besides BCS games, there are a number of other postseason invitationals. Generally, two conferences will agree to send teams of a particular standing to a game beforehand. For instance, the Rose Bowl traditionally features the Big Ten and Pac-10 conference champions. Generally, the payout to the participating teams in a Bowl Game is closely correlated to its prestige. For comparison, each of the BCS bowls (including the National Championship) has a payout of $17 million.

Future (proposed) games
(Note the 'LA Christmas Bowl' would be a partial throwback to the one-off 1924 Los Angeles Christmas Festival Bowl Game. )

Both of these proposed games were turned down by the NCAA for 2010. There are currently 35 licensed college bowls, which just about maxes out the possible eligible teams (the four-year average of bowl-eligible squads is 71.8). If one of the current games folds or loses its certification, however, the Cure or LA Christmas Bowls could step in.

All-Star games

 * East-West Shrine Game - Orlando, Florida (1926–present)
 * Senior Bowl - Mobile, Alabama (1950–present)
 * Texas vs. The Nation Game - El Paso, Texas (2006–present)
 * East Coast Bowl - Petersburg, Virginia (2001–present)
 * Aztec Bowl - Mexico (1950–present)
 * HBCU Senior Bowl - Montgomery, Alabama (2009–present)
 * Blue-Gray Football Classic - Montgomery, Alabama (1938–2001, 2003)
 * Hula Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii (1946–2008)
 * North-South All-Star Classic - Houston, Texas (2007)
 * Las Vegas All-American Classic - Las Vegas, Nevada (2002–2006)
 * Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic - Jackson, Mississippi (2005)
 * The Silver and Gold Gridiron Classic - Atlanta, Georgia (2008)

Regular season rivalries called bowls

 * Black and Blue Bowl - Memphis and Southern Miss
 * Bowden Bowl - Clemson and Florida State, so named because from 1999 through 2007, the two teams, which played every year in the ACC, were respectively coached by Tommy Bowden and his father Bobby Bowden. The "Bowden Bowl" ended with Tommy's resignation during the 2008 season, before that season's Clemson–Florida State game.
 * Crab Bowl Classic - Maryland and Navy
 * Egg Bowl - Mississippi and Mississippi State
 * Friends of Coal Bowl - Marshall and West Virginia
 * Iron Bowl - Alabama and Auburn
 * Magnolia Bowl - LSU and Mississippi
 * Palmetto Bowl – Clemson and South Carolina
 * Textile Bowl - Clemson and North Carolina State

Division I FCS

 * Gridiron Classic - rotating campus sites (2006–present)

Division II

 * Mineral Water Bowl - Excelsior Springs, Missouri (1948–1951, 1954–1975, 1992–present)
 * Dixie Rotary Bowl - Saint George, Utah (1986–2008)
 * Pioneer Bowl - Various locations (1997–2007, 2009)
 * Kanza Bowl - Topeka, Kansas (2009-present)

Division III

 * Aztec Bowl - Toluca, Mexico (1950–53, 1955, 1957, 1964–66, 1970–71, 1971–80, 1984, 1986–2007)
 * Knute Rockne Bowl - Atlantic City, New Jersey (1969–1972; 1976–1977)
 * Oyster Bowl – Hampton, Virginia (1999–present); regular season game, formerly a Division I event

NAIA bowl games
There is a large list of bowl games for NAIA available at -- You can help Wikipedia by expanding this section.
 * College Fanz First Down Classic, 2007-present
 * NAIA national football championship (1956-present); previously called Aluminum Bowl (1956), Holiday Bowl (1957-1960), Camellia Bowl (1961-1963), Championship Bowl (1964-1976 Division I), Apple Bowl (1977 Division I), Palm Bowl (1978-1979 Division I), and Championship Bowl (1980-1996 Division I)

Junior College Bowl Games

 * Top of the Mountains Bowl

NCCAA bowl games

 * Victory Bowl, NCCAA Championship Game, 1997-present

Defunct bowl games

 * All-American Bowl - Birmingham, Alabama (1977–1990)
 * There were two separate games played in Birmingham during this time. The original game, the Hall of Fame Bowl, moved to Tampa, Florida, effective with the 1986 game, and several years later changed its name to the Outback Bowl. A second game known as the All-American Bowl was then organized, and was played from 1986 to 1990.
 * Aloha Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii (1982–2000)
 * Aviation Bowl - Dayton, Ohio (1961)
 * Bacardi Bowl - Havana, Cuba (1937) (Last game in 1946, Southern Mississippi defeated Havana University, 55-0)
 * Bluebonnet Bowl - Houston, Texas (1959–1987)
 * Bluegrass Bowl - Louisville, Kentucky (1958)
 * Boardwalk Bowl - Atlantic City, New Jersey (1961–1973)
 * Boot Hill Bowl - Dodge City, Kansas (1970–1980)
 * California Bowl - Fresno, California (1981–1991)
 * Camellia Bowl - Lafayette, Louisiana (1948); Sacramento, California (1961–1980)
 * Charity Bowl - Los Angeles, California (1937)
 * Cherry Bowl - Pontiac, Michigan (1984–1985)
 * Cigar Bowl - Tampa, Florida (1947–1956)
 * College All-Star Game - (1934–1976)
 * Cosmopolitan Bowl - Alexandria, Louisiana (1951)
 * Delta Bowl - Memphis, Tennessee (1948–1949)
 * Dixie Bowl - Birmingham, Alabama (1948–1949)
 * Dixie Classic - Dallas, Texas (1922, 1925, 1934)
 * Epson Ivy Bowl - Japan (1988–1996)
 * Festival of Palms Bowl - Miami, Florida (1932–1934) - renamed in 1935 the Orange Bowl
 * Fort Worth Classic - Fort Worth, Texas (1921)
 * Freedom Bowl - Anaheim, California (1984–1994)
 * Garden State Bowl - East Rutherford, New Jersey (1978–1981)
 * Glass Bowl - Toledo, Ohio (1946–1949)
 * Gotham Bowl - New York City (1961–1962)
 * Great Lakes Bowl - Cleveland, Ohio (1947)
 * Gridiron Classic - Orlando, Florida (1999–2005); revived in 2006 as a Division I FCS game
 * Harbor Bowl - San Diego, California (1947–1949)
 * Haka Bowl - Auckland, New Zealand, was to start in 1996, but NCAA revoked certification before first game
 * Heritage Bowl - Atlanta, Georgia (1991–1999)
 * Houston Bowl - Houston, Texas (2000–2005) - originally called the galleryfurniture.com Bowl
 * International Bowl - Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2007-2010)
 * Los Angeles Christmas Festival - Los Angeles, California (1924)
 * Mercy Bowl - Los Angeles, California (1961, 1971)
 * Mirage Bowl - Tokyo, Japan (1976–1993) - a regular season matchup, originally at Korakuen Stadium, later at Olympic Stadium, and finally at the Tokyo Dome
 * Missouri-Kansas Bowl -- Kansas City, Missouri 1948
 * North-South Shrine Game - Miami, Florida (1948–1973)
 * Oahu Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii (1998–2000)
 * Oil Bowl - Houston, Texas (1946–1947)
 * Orange Blossom Classic – Miami, Florida (1933–1978); the name is now used for an occasional regular season game
 * Oyster Bowl – Norfolk, Virginia (1948–1995); a regular season game called a "bowl", now a Division III game
 * Pasadena Bowl - Pasadena, California (1967–1971)
 * Patriot Bowl - Cleveland, Ohio (2007–2008); a regular season game called a "bowl" that featured a team from the Mid-American Conference and (originally) an United States service academy
 * Pecan Bowl - Abilene, Texas (1964–1968); Arlington, Texas (1968–1970)
 * Pineapple Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii (1940–1952)
 * Poi Bowl - Honolulu, Hawaii (1936–1939)
 * Presidential Cup Bowl - College Park, Maryland (1950)
 * Refrigerator Bowl - Evansville, Indiana (1948–1956)
 * Raisin Bowl - Fresno, California (1946–1949)
 * Salad Bowl - Phoenix, Arizona (1948–1952) (First game: Nevada defeated North Texas State Teachers College, 13-6)
 * San Diego East-West Christmas Classic - San Diego, California (1921–1922)
 * Seattle Bowl - Seattle, Washington (2001–2002)
 * Shrine Bowl - Little Rock, Arkansas (1948)
 * Silicon Valley Football Classic - San Jose, California (2000–2004)
 * Sunflower Bowl - Winfield, Kansas (1982–1986)
 * Tobacco Bowl - South Boston, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia (1935–1941) and (1948–1984)
 * Vulcan Bowl - Birmingham, Alabama (1942–1949, 1952)
 * Wheat Bowl (pre-season NAIA), 1995-2006
 * Will Rogers Bowl - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1947)