Los Angeles Christmas Festival

Last updated
1924 Los Angeles Christmas Festival
1234Total
USC0020020
Missouri00077
DateDecember 25, 1924
Season 1924
Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Location Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Christmas Festival

The Los Angeles Christmas Festival was a post-season college football bowl game played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on December 25, 1924, between the USC Trojans and the Missouri Tigers. It was the first and only Festival game ever played, in a time where bowl games were a fairly new concept. It was Missouri's first bowl appearance and USC's second, having last played in the 1923 Rose Bowl. [1]

Contents

Proposed revival

Proposed Christmas Bowl logo Xmas bowl.jpg
Proposed Christmas Bowl logo

A group led by Derek Dearwater looked to create a new Christmas Bowl in 2010. [2] According to Dearwater, the game was supposed to pit the Pac-10's No. 7 team (or a school from the Mid-American Conference if the Pac-10 didn't have any more bowl-eligible squads) against the Western Athletic Conference's No. 2 team. The L.A. Coliseum was the planned venue, either on Christmas Eve or the following Monday, December 27. The Children's Miracle Network ("Creating Christmas Miracles for Children in Need") was to be the game's chief benefactor.

However, the bowl proposal "fell short of meeting the NCAA's licensing criteria due to an inability to secure a back-up conference agreement" for the Pac-10's No. 7 selection. The game applied to the NCAA for certification in 2011 and again in 2014, unsuccessfully. [3]

In 2019, the Los Angeles Bowl was announced, with the game to be played at the new SoFi Stadium.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pac-12 Conference</span> American collegiate athletics conference

The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Bowl Game</span> Annual US college gridiron football postseason game

The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. Nicknamed "The Granddaddy of Them All" by broadcaster Keith Jackson, it was the first postseason football game ever established. The Rose Bowl Game was first played in 1902 as the Tournament East–West football game, and has been played annually since 1916. Since 1945, it has been the highest attended college football bowl game. The game is a part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association's "America's New Year Celebration", which also includes the historic Rose Parade. Winners of the game receive the Leishman Trophy, named for former Tournament of Roses presidents, William L. Leishman and Lathrop K. Leishman who played an important part in the history of this game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum</span> Stadium in Los Angeles, California, US

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to Los Angeles veterans of World War I. Completed in 1923, it will become the first stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times when it hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics; the stadium previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 27, 1984, a day before the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans football</span> American college football team at University of Southern California

The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Southern California

The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy. The program participates in the Pac-12 Conference and has won 136 team national championships, 112 of which are National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships. USC's official colors are cardinal and gold. The Trojans have a cross-town rivalry in several sports with UCLA. However, USC's football rivalry with Notre Dame predates the UCLA rivalry by three years. The Notre Dame rivalry stems mainly from the annual football game played between these two universities and is considered the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. The Trojans also enjoy a rivalry with the Stanford Cardinal. The USC Trojans are considered one of the most successful college athletic programs of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA Bruins football</span> College football team representing the University of California, Los Angeles

The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games off campus at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCLA–USC rivalry</span> American collegiate athletics rivalry

The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and USC Trojans teams of the University of Southern California (USC).

The 1967 UCLA vs. USC football game was an American college football game played during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season on November 18, 1967. The UCLA Bruins, 7–0–1 and ranked No. 1, with senior quarterback Gary Beban as a Heisman Trophy candidate, played the USC Trojans, 8–1 and ranked No. 4, with junior running back O. J. Simpson also as a Heisman candidate. This game is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA–USC rivalry as well as one of the 20th-century Games of the Century. The 64-yard run by Simpson for the winning touchdown is regarded as one of the greatest run plays in college football.

The 2004 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 2004 Trojans football team won the 2004 BCS National Championship by winning the 2005 Orange Bowl, that year's BCS National Championship Game. The team also won the AP title for the second year in a row. It was the Trojans' first unanimous national championship since 1972, and the second time a team had gone wire-to-wire, with the Trojans holding the number 1 spot in the polls all season. The team was coached by Pete Carroll in his fourth year with the Trojans, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The team is widely considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time.

The 1988 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled a 10–2 record, won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 370 to 184.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Pacific-10 Conference football season</span> Sports season

The 2009 Pacific-10 Conference football season started on Thursday, September 3, 2009. Oregon won the Pac-10 title, which had been held by USC for the past seven years. Seven conference teams were invited to participate in post season bowl games, with only UCLA and USC winning their bowl games.

The 2010 Pacific-10 Conference football season began on September 2, 2010 with a victory by USC at Hawaii. Conference play began on September 11 with Stanford shutting out UCLA 35–0 in Pasadena on ESPN.

The 1966 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU/Pac-8) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their second year under head coach Tommy Prothro, the Bruins compiled a 9–1 record, and were ranked fifth in the final AP Poll.

The 2014 Pac-12 Conference football season was the fourth season of college football for the Pac-12 Conference as a 12-team league. The season began on Thursday, August 28, 2014, and the first conference game was on Saturday, September 6, 2014, when USC played at Stanford. The final game was the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 5, 2014, with FOX televising the game. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Arizona Wildcats, 51–13 for the conference championship and went on to play in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks defeated the Florida State Seminoles 59–20 in the semifinal game in the Rose Bowl, but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 42–20 in the championship game.

The 2018 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Clay Helton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 USC Trojans football team</span> American college football season

The 2019 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Clay Helton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 USC Trojans football team</span> American college football season

The 2020 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and competed as members of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They were led by fifth-year head coach Clay Helton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Oregon Ducks football team</span> American college football season

The 2020 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Mario Cristobal. The Ducks played their home games at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 USC Trojans football team</span> American college football season

The 2022 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. They finished the season 11–3, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to earn a trip to the Pac-12 championship game. Ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff, they lost to Utah in the conference championship game eliminating them from national championship consideration. They received a bid to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they lost to No. 16-ranked Tulane. Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams was awarded the Heisman Trophy for his performances during the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 USC Trojans football team</span> American college football season

The 2023 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their second year under head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans were preseason picks to win the Pac-12 championship, but compiled a 7–5 record during the regular season. The team began the season by winning six consecutive games but lost five of their final six games, including losses to rivals Notre Dame and UCLA. The unranked Trojans defeated No. 16 Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl.

References

  1. Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", The Washington Times. December 21, 1997. Page A1.
  2. "L.A.'s Christmas Bowl backer breaks his silence ... And we're still not sure how it could have made it on the 2010 calendar - Farther off the Wall". Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  3. "2014-19 Los Angeles Christmas Bowl Outline". 9 December 2013.