Bowl games are one of college football’s oldest and richest traditions. Originally, they were exhibition games intended as both a reward for success and an opportunity to promote tourism in warmer locations during the winter. The first Bowl Game was the 1902 Rose Bowl game, featuring Michigan and Stanford. Though it wouldn’t be until 1916 that Bowl Games became an annual occurrence.
In 2025, there are 43 Division 1 Bowl Games currently scheduled, including 7 of the 11 College Football Playoff games. They are essentially ‘invitational’ games, though to receive an invitation a school must meet specific criteria. To be classified as ‘eligible’ for a Bowl Game, you must be a school in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and win a minimum of 6 regular season games. Each Bowl Game has some criteria as to which teams they can and cannot invite, for example: the Music City Bowl is an SEC vs. Big Ten matchup. Meaning, unless there’s a shortage of eligible SEC or Big Ten teams, the game cannot feature a team outside of these two conferences.
Competing in a Bowl Game is a huge honour for the majority of schools around the country. Not only does a Bowl invite mean your school has at minimum has a .500 season, they represent a lot of very important things for schools. The opportunity to showcase your school to a National (and now international) audience, a significant financial contribution to the school, and an opportunity to play against schools that you may not ordinarily get the opportunity to play against. Not to mention an opportunity for student-athletes to visit somewhere new and play football in a fun environment. The tradition has changed a lot over the years, though and I will do some more articles on Bowl Games, the history etc. over the coming weeks. For now though, this is a conference-by-conference tracker of teams that are Bowl Eligible (have won 6 games).
Group of 6 Conferences
American Conference (AC)
Memphis Tigers
Navy Midshipmen
North Texas Mean Green
South Florida Bulls
Tulane Green Wave
Conference USA (CUSA)
Kennesaw State Owls
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Mid American Conference (MAC)
No eligible teams yet.
Mountain West (MW)
Boise State Broncos
Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors
UNLV Rebels
San Diego State Aztecs
Pac-12
No eligible teams yet.
Sun Belt Conference (SBC)
James Madison Dukes
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Troy Trojans
Power 4 Conferences
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Louisville Cardinals
Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Pittsburgh Panthers
Virginia Cavaliers
Big 12 (Big XII)
BYU Cougars
Cincinnati Bearcats
Houston Cougars
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Utah Utes
TCU Horned Frogs
Big Ten (B1G)
Indiana Hoosiers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Michigan Wolverines
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Ohio State Buckeyes
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Alabama Crimson Tide
Georgia Bulldogs
Missouri Tigers
Oklahoma Sooners
Ole Miss Rebels
Tennessee Volunteers
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas Longhorns
Vanderbilt Commodores
Independents
No eligible teams yet.
Last updated: Thursday 30th October (Following Week 9)
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