Originally titled the "Tournament East–West football game", the
first Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games. The football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of the Rose Parade. The inaugural game featured
Fielding H. Yost's dominating
1901 Michigan team, representing the East, which crushed a previously 3–1–2 team from
Stanford University, representing the West, by a score of 49–0 after Stanford quit in the third quarter. Michigan finished the season 11–0 and was crowned the national champion. Yost had been Stanford's coach the previous year. The game was so lopsided that for the next thirteen years, the Tournament of Roses officials ran chariot races, ostrich races, and other various events instead of football. But, on New Year's Day
1916, football returned to stay as the
State College of Washington (now Washington State University) defeated
Brown University in the first of what was thereafter an annual tradition.
Tournament Park and Rose Bowl stadium Before the
Rose Bowl was built, games were played in Pasadena's
Tournament Park, approximately southeast of the current Rose Bowl stadium, near the campus of
Caltech. Tournament Park was found to be unsuitable for the increasingly large crowds gathering to watch the game and a new, permanent home for the game was commissioned. The Rose Bowl stadium, designed after the
Yale Bowl in New Haven, hosted its first "Rose Bowl" game on January 1,
1923. The name of the stadium was alternatively "Tournament of Roses Stadium" or "Tournament of Roses Bowl", until the name "Rose Bowl" was settled on before the 1923 game. The stadium seating has been reconfigured several times since its original construction in 1922. For many years, the Rose Bowl stadium had the largest football stadium capacity in the United States, eventually being surpassed by
Michigan Stadium in 1998. The maximum stated
seating capacity was 104,594 from 1972 to 1997. Capacity was lowered after the
1998 game; the
2006 game, which was also the BCS championship game, attracted a crowd of 93,986; and there were 94,118 spectators at the
2011 game between TCU and Wisconsin. As of 2012, the Rose Bowl is number seven on the
list of American football stadiums by capacity with a current official
seating capacity of 92,542 and is still the largest stadium that hosts post-season bowl games. The Rose Bowl is also the only CFP bowl game that is held in a non-NFL stadium.
Team selection 1916–1946 and
1939 Rose Bowl games, displayed at Rose Bowl's original locker room, which is now converted into a museum In the game's early years, except during World War I, the Rose Bowl always pitted a team—not necessarily the conference champion—from the
Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the predecessor of the current
Pac-12 Conference, against an opponent from the Eastern U.S. During the last two years of World War I, teams from military bases met in the Rose Bowl. During its history, a number of notable matchups have been made with the top football teams and top coaches of the time. These include the
1925 game, with
Knute Rockne's
Notre Dame and their
Four Horsemen against
"Pop" Warner's
Stanford; the
1926 edition was the
Alabama Crimson Tide's win over
Washington, and
1940 featured
Howard Jones'
USC Trojans against
Bob Neyland's
Tennessee Volunteers. During this period, there were ten games in which undefeated teams were matched.
World War II – 1942 venue change to Durham, North Carolina during the 1942 Rose Bowl After the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and a series of attacks on
West Coast shipping beginning on December 18, there were concerns about a possible Japanese attack on the West Coast. The Rose Parade, with a million watchers, and the Rose Bowl, with 90,000 spectators, were presumed to be ideal targets for the Japanese. Lieutenant General
John L. DeWitt recommended that the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl festivities be cancelled. The Rose Bowl committee originally planned to cancel the game. On December 16, Duke University invited the game and Oregon State to Duke's home stadium in
Durham, North Carolina. After the 1942 Allied victory in the
Battle of Midway and the end of the Japanese offensives in the
Pacific Theater during 1942, it was deemed that a large portion of the West Coast was no longer vulnerable to attack, and the Rose Bowl Game continued on in the Rose Bowl stadium. The
Tournament of Roses parade itself still was not held in 1943 because of the war.
Big Nine–PCC agreement During World War II, many college football schools had dropped some conference opponents and instead played football against local military base teams. Many colleges could not even field teams because of the draft and manpower requirements. After the war was over, demobilization and the
G.I. Bill enabled returning servicemen to attend college. The 1946 season was the first true post-war college football season with travel restrictions lifted and civilian college opponents returning to schedules. The Big Nine and PCC were of the same accord when it came to treating players as amateurs, as compared to the semi-professional status that the Southern Universities proposed. Also, the Big Nine and PCC both had the same attitudes towards desegregation and allowing African-Americans to play football. Many other universities were still segregated. None of the
Southeastern Conference schools had an African American athlete until 1966. The Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and
Sugar Bowl would not be integrated until 1948, 1955, and 1956 respectively. The Big Nine agreed in 1946, after eight years of negotiating over payments, rules, and ticket allocations, to a five-year exclusive deal with the Rose Bowl to send the conference champion to meet the PCC champion. UCLA, USC, Minnesota and Illinois all voted against it. The
1947 Rose Bowl, with UCLA meeting Illinois, was the first game under this agreement.
Big Ten–AAWU/Pac-8/10/12 agreement When the PCC dissolved prior to the 1959 season following a pay-for-play scandal in 1958, there was no official agreement in force. The Tournament of Roses selected from the former members of PCC and invited
Washington, the first champion of the newly formed
Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), to play Big Ten champion
Wisconsin in the
1960 Rose Bowl. The Big Ten authorized its members to accept any Rose Bowl invitation at their discretion. The AAWU signed an agreement with the Rose Bowl that remained in force from the
1961 Rose Bowl until the advent of the BCS era in 1998. In 1962, after Minnesota changed its vote against pursuing a new agreement (resolving a 5–5 voting deadlock which had prevented any new negotiations for years), a Big Ten agreement was finalized, which went into effect with the
1963 Rose Bowl and lasted until the BCS era. While the Big Ten supplied the "East" representative and the PCC, AAWU, or Pac-8/10 supplied the "West" representative from the
1947 Rose Bowl to the BCS era, an "exclusive" Rose Bowl agreement did not exist throughout this period. In particular, the Big Ten was not part of any agreement for at least the 1961 and 1962 games. In particular, the 1961 Big Ten champion
Ohio State, declined the invitation to play in the
1962 game without penalty. The AAWU used "Big Five", "Big Six", and "Pacific-8" as unofficial nicknames (each reflecting the number of conference members). It officially adopted the "Pacific-8" name for the 1968 season. The name changed to "Pacific-10" with the arrival of
Arizona and
Arizona State in
1978, its last official name change prior to the formation of the BCS in 1998. The Big Ten Conference retained the same name throughout this period, even though it had eleven members by the start of the BCS era because of the addition of
Penn State in 1990. Both conferences had a "no repeat" rule in force for a number of years. Under this rule, any team that had appeared in the Rose Bowl game the previous season could not go, even if they were the conference champion. The notable exception was Minnesota playing in the
1961 and
1962 games during the period when the conference agreements were in a state of flux. Second-ranked
Ohio State did not participate because its faculty council voted it down, The PCC's rule went into effect following
California's third straight defeat in
1951 and ended with conference's disbandment in the summer of 1959; it affected the
1955 and
1958 games. The Big Ten abolished their rule in 1972; it had recently affected the
1966 game.
Southern California played in four consecutive Rose Bowl games from
1967 to
1970;
Ohio State played in four straight from
1973 to
1976. Both conferences also had "exclusive agreements" with the Rose Bowl game, in the sense that member schools were not allowed to play in any other bowl game. Both conferences abolished this rule before the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. As a result,
Michigan and
USC were allowed to play in the
1976 Orange Bowl and the 1975
Liberty Bowl, respectively.
Bowl Championship Series with the banners for the Rose Bowl Game (the right scoreboard had been removed during the 2011 renovation) defeated
Wisconsin 20–14 in the
2013 Rose Bowl on January 1, 2013 As of the
1998 season, with the creation of the
Bowl Championship Series (BCS), team selection for the Rose Bowl was tied to the other three BCS bowls, although in any given year the Rose Bowl still attempted, if possible, to maintain the traditional Pac-10 (Pac-12 after the addition of
Utah and
Colorado in 2011) versus Big Ten format (though if the champion from either or both conference was ranked BCS #1 or #2, they were allowed into the national championship game and were replaced by another team, typically from the same conference as the team being replaced). Twice in this era, the Rose Bowl had served as the BCS championship game. The
2002 game served as the BCS championship game between the BCS No. 1–ranked
Miami, then a member of the
Big East Conference, and the BCS No. 2–ranked
Nebraska, then a member of the
Big 12 Conference. The Nebraska selection as the BCS No. 2 team was controversial because
Oregon was ranked No. 2 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, while Nebraska was ranked No. 4 in both polls and did not play in its conference championship game (No. 3 Colorado, who would play Oregon in that year's
Fiesta Bowl, did and won the Big 12's automatic bid to the BCS). This prevented a West Coast team playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time, and it also marked the first matchup since 1946 not to feature the traditional pairing of Pac-10 vs. Big Ten teams. The
2006 Rose Bowl game featured offensive powerhouses
Texas, riding a 19-game winning streak, and
USC, which entered the game with a 34-game winning streak and two
Heisman Trophy winners. Texas won 41–38. The game had a television viewership of 35.6 million, the highest for college football contest since the
1987 Fiesta Bowl between
Penn State and
Miami. On two other occasions during the BCS era, Rose Bowl participation had expanded beyond the Big Ten and Pac-10. The
2003 Rose Bowl couldn't select Big Ten co-champion and automatic qualifier Ohio State, who finished No. 2 in the BCS and thus received a bid to the
Fiesta Bowl to play for the national championship. The Rose Bowl was poised to select Big Ten co-champion Iowa as an at-large in order to preserve the traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 match up. However, the
Orange Bowl, which selected ahead of the Rose Bowl that year, chose the Hawkeyes. As a result, the Rose Bowl featured the first appearance by
Oklahoma, who faced Pac-10 Champion
Washington State. The 2005 game featured
Texas of the
Big 12 Conference, selected, amid some controversy, over
California of the Pac-10, marking the second time a West Coast team did not make the Rose Bowl. The controversy was the result of the BCS computer rankings which elevated Texas over California. Texas went on to defeat Michigan in the 2005 game, featuring a four-touchdown performance by
Vince Young, foreshadowing his 467-yard performance a year later in the 2006 defeat of USC that won the National Title for Texas. The
2004 game is also noteworthy. In this game,
USC defeated Michigan, 28–14, thus earning the top ranking in the
AP Poll and a share of the national championship with BCS champion
LSU. USC, despite being No. 1 in the AP poll, did not qualify for the BCS championship game because of their standing in the BCS system. The second BCS-era Rose Bowl arrangement ran from 2004 through 2014. The Big Ten and Pac-12 (the new name of the Pac-10) retained their bids, but a provision was inserted mandating that the first time that either conference could not fill their bid (because a school from the Big Ten or Pac-12 qualifies for the BCS National Championship Game), and if a non-BCS conference school qualified, the Rose Bowl was required to take that school. As a result, Texas Christian University (TCU) became the first team from a non-automatic qualifying conference to play in the Rose Bowl in the BCS era. The
2010 TCU Horned Frogs finished their second consecutive regular season at 12–0, were back-to-back champions of the
Mountain West Conference, and ranked No. 3 in the final BCS Poll. TCU defeated No. 5
Wisconsin 21–19 in the
2011 Rose Bowl. TCU's appearance satisfied the 'first time' clause of the agreement. The
100th Rose Bowl Game featured a traditional pairing of Big Ten champion versus Pac-12 champion, with
Michigan State playing against
Stanford on January 1, 2014. Michigan State won the game, 24–20. The Bowl Championship Series format ended with the
2014 BCS National Championship Game, played at the Rose Bowl Stadium on January 6.
College Football Playoff The BCS was replaced by the
College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014, seeding four teams into two national semifinal games, leading to a championship game. As part of the arrangement, the Rose Bowl game was selected as a semifinal playoff game every three years. In years when the Rose Bowl is not part of the playoff, it takes the Pac-12 and Big Ten champions, unless one or both teams qualify for the playoff, in which case they are replaced by an alternate team from the same conference. The first game under the new arrangement was played on January 1, 2015, and was known as the
College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. It featured the
Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference and the
Florida State Seminoles, the first
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team to participate in the Rose Bowl. Oregon defeated Florida State, 59–20, ending the Seminoles' 29-game winning streak, which dated back to the end of the 2012 season. As a result, Oregon advanced to the
2015 CFP National Championship played on January 12. The 59 points were a new Rose Bowl Game scoring record for a team. The
2016 Rose Bowl featured Pac-12 champions Stanford against Big Ten West Division champions Iowa. Stanford defeated Iowa, 45–16, scoring 35 points in the first half, the most points ever scored in the first half of a Rose Bowl. The
2017 Rose Bowl featured Penn State of the Big Ten and USC of the Pac-12. Penn State set a record for the most points score by a
losing team in a Rose Bowl, as USC won, 52–49. In the
2018 Rose Bowl, the Georgia Bulldogs (12–1) defeated the Oklahoma Sooners (12–1), 54–48, in double overtime in a semifinal playoff game to advance to the
2018 CFP National Championship game. It was the first Rose Bowl game to go into overtime. The
2024 Rose Bowl, also a semifinal playoff game, became the second Rose Bowl game requiring overtime, as Michigan (13–0) defeated Alabama (12–1), 27–20.
COVID-19 – 2021 venue change to Arlington, Texas In early December 2020, it was announced that the 2021 Rose Bowl, a CFP semifinal game, would be contested
behind closed doors without fans, due to
California Governor Gavin Newsom's orders in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in California. This was met with criticism, including from
Notre Dame head coach
Brian Kelly, who wanted players' families to be allowed to attend. On December 19, it was reported that a request by the Tournament of Roses to the State of California, requesting a special exemption to allow some fans to attend, was denied. Later that day, the CFP announced that the semifinal game would be moved from Pasadena to
AT&T Stadium in
Arlington, Texas. It was not immediately clear if the game would still be called the Rose Bowl. A press release from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses stated: :"It is not yet determined if the CFP semifinal in Dallas will be called the CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One. The name is a part of the Master License Agreement and is co-owned by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and the City of Pasadena." On December 30, the City of Pasadena and the Tournament of Roses announced that the game in Arlington could use the Rose Bowl name. The only prior instance of the game being played outside of Pasadena was the
1942 edition. ==Conference tie-ins==