The date has been set for the 2024 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl, it was announced on Tuesday.
The DIRECTV Holiday Bowl is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 27, 2024 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif. The game will kickoff at 8:00pm ET/5:00pm PT. Television coverage was not specified, but in the past the Holiday Bowl has been broadcast on a FOX network.
Last month, the Pac-12 announced that it had retained its bowl partnerships for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. That means that every former Pac-12 school will be considered part of the Pac-12 pool for post-season selection for the next two seasons.
The DIRECTV Holiday Bowl will share the second selection after the College Football Playoff with the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. The Holiday Bowl will continue to host a top-tier team from the ACC to matchup against a Pac-12 pool member.
Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, commented on the bowl partnership after the announcement last month.
“This is absolutely what is best for our bowl game, the San Diego community, and for the entire bowl system,” Neville said. “We look forward to staging one of the nation’s premier bowl matchups at Snapdragon Stadium this December.”
Last season’s DIRECTV Holiday Bowl featured the USC Trojans and the Louisville Cardinals squaring off at Petco Park in San Diego. USC defeated Louisville in that contest, 42-28.
The announcement of the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl completes the College Football Bowl Schedule for the 2024-25 season. Bowl season kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 14 with two games, the Cricket Celebration Bowl (noon ET, ABC) and the Camellia Bowl (9:00pm ET, ESPN).
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, which was finalized in June, begins on Friday, Dec. 20 with a First Round game at 8:00pm ET and it will be televised live by ABC and ESPN.
CFP First Round action continues on Saturday, Dec. 21 with three games, beginning at noon ET and continuing at 4:00pm ET on TNT. Both games on TNT will be sublicensed from ESPN. Then at 8:00pm ET, the final First Round contest will kickoff on ABC and ESPN.
All First Round action will be played at the home stadium of the higher seeded team. Those teams and sites will be announced on Selection Day (Dec. 8).
The College Football Playoff quarterfinals begin on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, Dec. 31) with the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The game will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.
Quarterfinal round action continues on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, with games at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga. (1:00pm ET, ESPN), Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif. (5:00pm ET, ESPN), and Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La. (8:45pm ET, ESPN).
The College Football Playoff Semifinals this season will be played on consecutive weeknights in January. The Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla., is up first on Thursday, Jan. 9, followed by the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10. Both games will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.
The College Football National Championship concludes the college football season on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. The two playoff semifinal winners will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and the game will be televised by ESPN at 7:30pm ET.
I wonder. Some of those Pac-12 bowl partnerships involved a Pac-12 team going against a Big Ten school. Does that mean that we could see conference rematches in one of these bowls like a USC against a Michigan again if neither team reaches the playoff? Or how about a USC against a Cal bowl in this year’s Holiday Bowl?
Of the 6 bowls that will include PAC-12 “Legacy” schools the possible in conference rematches would actually apply to the ACC & XII members. No more B1G and PAC12 Bowl affiliations:
Holiday Bowl – ACC
Sun Bowl – ACC
Independence Bowl – XII
Alamo Bowl – XII
Forgot to mention the LA Bowl could possibly have OSU/WSU play a Mountain West school, if you’d consider that “in-conference”. The 6th Bowl is the
Las Vegas Bowl, which includes the SEC as the other affiliate.
I feel like the Holiday Bowl has taken a step back in prestige in the last decade. Being the oddball that gets scheduled 2.5 months after the other bowls doesn’t help.
Vegas, I think your assessment is fairly accurate. This bowl has dropped in prestige, but don’t forget that at one time the WAC sent its champion to that game against a typical 8-3 or 7-4 team.
The “love” of money (the root of all evil) is minimizing college football on the West Coast.
Hawaii Dave, in 1984 the Holiday Bowl hosted the National Championship game pitting undefeated and #1 BYU from the WAC against the 7th best team in the (then 10-team) Big 10, 6-5 Michigan.
I agree with 95% of what Vegas Saxon, Hawai’i Dave, Stan Lewis, Vegas Saxon have posited about the current Holiday Bowl.
I.M.O., the worst economic & social blockout of the Holiday’s existence was & is now Excluding WAC power 1 & other MW Top1 – 2 – 3 Programs from selection to San Diego-Southern Cal. in favor of Basketball Conference ACC 12 Unis..
I.M. Football O., Except for Clemson U. & FSU the other matchups are ACC Trust Conf. IDentity picks.
I would like to see Arizona State make it to a legacy PAC-12 Bowl.
Dan Rakow,
I would too.
If the Sun Devils qualify with 6 wins 4 a “legacy PAC12 Exhibition” your wish will be granted.
6 wins = a low standard 4 All qualifying Exhibition programs.
I looked up their participation in pac10 – 12 bowls online.
You can fact check this record yourself.
From most prestigious to least…
2 Rose Bowls
7 Fiesta ”
6 Sun ”
4 Holiday ”
3 Las Vegas “
Thank you very much HTK for all information greatly appreciated it.
Snapdragon is the obvious choice to host the bowl but Petco offered a very unique setting that will be missed, atleast just for the novelty and being closer to downtown.
Yeah. He’s actually right for once.
I was wondering if the Holiday Bowl would ever return to Mission Valley and it finally did.
I’m excited,
The Tourism Exhibition is Baaack where so many WAC Games, Mountain West Games, & Ja,
‘Conf. of Champions’ vs ACC took place.
Adding to this physical Site are All the Jack Murphy Stadium N.F.L. matches & National Championships played.
All of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta Exhibitions played there for San Diego State Uni. Aztecs the disenfranchised WAC, MWC, MW, Independents & other Trust & Dependent Conference Foes who’ve played in Mission Valley.
Cal v UCLA is the only matchup
Excellent to see UCLA vs Cal back & hope that will be a yearly OOC game between once upon a time that was a rivalry in PAC 8 & later 10 & 12.