Pac-12 Affiliated San Francisco Bowl Canceled for Second Straight Year
Even with a full schedule this year, the college football postseason has yet to fully return to normal.
The San Francisco Bowl will once again not be played in 2021, one year after it canceled its 2020 edition as well. The bowl was slated to match up the No. 6 Pac-12 team against the No. 7 Big Ten team.
The San Francisco Bowl was the first of a handful of bowls to be called off in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, however, the cancelation has more to do with the game's officials not being able to secure a partner network or naming sponsor.
According to multiple reports, both conferences are working with ESPN to carve out tie-in bids for their displaced teams in one of the network's ancillary bowls.
Moving forward, the San Francisco Bowl – or Redbox Bowl, as it was called the last time it was played in 2019 – is expected to eventually resume play. The Pac-12 and Big Ten released a joint statement about the cancelation of the game and what lies ahead in the future.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 greatly value our relationship with the San Francisco Bowl. The Bowl has annually provided a memorable opportunity for Big Ten and Pac-12 student-athletes to showcase their talents in front of a national audience and experience one of the world's greatest cities. While the game will not take place this season, we are working together with local Bowl Organizers towards confirming the 2022 edition of the event and continuing this annual Bowl tradition.
The San Francisco Bowl has gone through multiple iterations over the years. From 2002 to 2004, it was Mountain West vs. Big East, followed by Mountain West vs. ACC in 2005. The Pac-12 joined as a conference tie-in in 2006, playing the ACC until 2010. Independents replaced the ACC from 2011 to 2013, and once the game moved from the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park to the San Francisco 49ers' Levi Stadium in 2014, the Big Ten came in to take the Independents' place.
It was known as the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl for the first two years of existence, then the Emerald Bowl from 2004 to 2009, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl from 2010 to 2012, the Fight Hunger Bowl in 2013, the Foster Farms Bowl from 2014 to 2017 and the Redbox Bowl in 2018 and 2019.
UCLA football has played in three San Francisco Bowls and lost each and every time it appeared. The Bruins lost to Florida State in 2006, Illinois in 2011 and Nebraska in 2015, with safety Jaleel Wadood winning Defensive MVP despite the defeat.
A 4-6 finish from here on out would secure the Bruins their first bowl appearance under coach Chip Kelly.
Regardless of whether or not they play up to that level, UCLA won't be traveling to San Francisco for its postseason outing.
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