Rose Bowl 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.
Starting in 1917, the Rose Bowl Game selected a team from the predecessor of the Pac-12 Conference each year along with a team from the eastern half of the country. In 1947, the Rose Bowl Game began its traditional matchup of the conference champions from the Big Ten Conference and the predecessor of the Pac-12 Conference, which continued to 2023, with some exceptions.
In 1998, the Rose Bowl Game joined with several other bowls to create the Bowl Championship Series to produce an undisputed national champion in college football. This marked the first time the Rose Bowl agreed to release the Big Ten or Pac-12 champion to play in a national championship game if they were ranked #1 or #2. The Rose Bowl Game served as the national championship game in 2002 and 2006. The Rose Bowl stadium and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association hosted the BCS National Championship Game in 2010 and 2014, in addition to the regular Rose Bowl Game.
In 2014, the Rose Bowl, along with the other "New Year's Six" bowls, became a part of the College Football Playoff. As part of the four team playoff from 2014 to 2023, the Rose Bowl served as a semifinal game in 2015, 2018, and 2021. When not serving as a semifinal, the Rose Bowl featured the best available teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences.
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff to twelve teams in the 2024–25 season, the Rose Bowl will serve as either a quarterfinal or semifinal each year. It served as a quarterfinal in 2025 and will do so again in 2026. When serving as a quarterfinal, the Rose Bowl will host the Big Ten champion, if seeded in the top four. When serving as a semifinal, the game will be played one week after New Year's Day, and, if the Big Ten champion is one of the top two seeds, the team will be assigned to the Rose Bowl.

History

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 Michigan Wolverines football team|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 Washington State Cougars football team|State College of Washington (now Washington State University)] defeated Brown Bruins football team|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

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, 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 1924 [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame] and their Four Horsemen against "Pop" Warner's Stanford; the 1926 edition was the Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama Crimson Tide]'s win over Washington, and 1940 featured Howard Jones' USC Trojans football team|USC Trojans] against Bob Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers football team|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

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, 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, 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 Buckeyes football team|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. 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, allowing 1961 [Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota] to return. The PCC's rule went into effect following California Golden Bears football team|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

As of the 1998 season, with the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, 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 versus Big Ten format. 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 Hurricanes football team|Miami], then a member of the Big East Conference, and the BCS No. 2–ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska], then a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Nebraska selection as the BCS No. 2 team was controversial because Oregon Ducks football team|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. 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 Longhorns football team|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 1986 [Penn State Nittany Lions football team|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 Sooners football team#2002|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 Tigers football team|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 retained their bids, but a provision was inserted mandating that the first time that either conference could not fill their bid, and if a non-BCS conference school qualified, the Rose Bowl was required to take that school. As a result, Texas Christian University 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 Spartans football team|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 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 football team|Oregon Ducks] of the Pac-12 Conference and the Florida State Seminoles football team|Florida State Seminoles], the first Atlantic Coast Conference 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 defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 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 defeated Alabama, 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 Fighting Irish football team|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:
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

From 1947 to 2024, the Rose Bowl Game traditionally hosted conference champions from the Big Ten and Pac-12, or the champions of their predecessors. Starting in 2002, the Rose Bowl Game occasionally deviated from its traditional matchups for use in "national championship" systems. In 2002 and 2006, under the Bowl Championship Series system, the Rose Bowl was designated as its championship game, and hosted the top two teams determined by the BCS system. In 2010, TCU of the Mountain West was selected to fill Oregon's spot in the Bowl, to maintain the traditional "East v. West" matchup. As of the 2014 season, the Rose Bowl became part of the College Football Playoff as one of the New Year's Six bowls—the top six major bowl games in the national championship system—hosting one of the semifinal games every three years. During non-CFP years, the Rose Bowl reverted to its traditional Pac-12/Big Ten matchup, unless the champions from those conferences were selected to play in the CFP.
Beginning in the 2024 season, when the CFP expanded to 12 teams, the Rose Bowl Game is designated to host a quarterfinal or semifinal, along with the other New Year's Six bowls on a rotating basis. When the Rose Bowl hosts a quarterfinal, the CFP selection committee will assign the Big Ten champion to the bowl if it is one of the top four conference champions in the final poll. Once every three years, the Rose Bowl will be played as a semifinal game one week after New Year's Day. If the Big Ten champion is one of the top two seeds, they will be assigned to the Rose Bowl. During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Pac-12 champion cannot qualify for the playoff as one of the top four seeds due to the conference only having two teams; as such, the Rose Bowl cannot be guaranteed a Pac-12 team.

Sponsorship and broadcasting rights

Sponsorship

For many years the Rose Bowl eschewed sponsorship, but in 1999, it became "The Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T." Unlike the other bowl games, the sponsor was not added to the title of the game, but instead as a presenter. In 2002 it was branded The Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation 2. From 2003 to 2010, after the agreement with Sony expired, the game was presented by Citi.
In June 2010, Citi decided to end sponsorship of the Rose Bowl games, including the National Championship game. In October 2010, HDTV maker Vizio signed a 4-year contract to be the official sponsor of the Rose Bowl games through 2014. After Vizio declined to renew sponsorship in 2014, financial services giant Northwestern Mutual became the new presenting sponsor. From 2015 to 2020, the game was sponsored by Northwestern Mutual and officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual.
The 2021 edition, sponsored by Capital One, was officially known as the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One. As the sponsor of the 2021 Orange Bowl, Capital One became the first company to sponsor two New Year's Six bowls. Capital One continued their sponsorship of the game, with the 2022 edition officially being named the Rose Bowl Game presented by Capital One Venture X after the company's travel rewards credit card.
Prudential Financial became the new sponsor of the Rose Bowl in 2023 and will continue until the 2026 game.

Broadcasters

The Rose Bowl was first televised in 1947 on W6XYZ, an experimental station in Los Angeles that would eventually become KTLA. The 1952 game was the first nationally televised bowl game and the first nationally televised college game of any sport. From 1952 to 1988, the Rose Bowl was televised by NBC at 2 p.m. PST, and in most years was the only New Year's Day bowl airing at that time. The 1956 Rose Bowl has the highest TV rating of all college bowl games, watched by 41.1% of all people in the US with TV sets. The 1962 game was the first college football game broadcast in color. Television ratings for the Rose Bowl declined as the number of bowl games increased. The other bowl games also provided more compelling match-ups, with higher-ranked teams. In 1988, NBC gave up the broadcast rights, as the television share dropped in 1987 below 20.
From 1989 to 2010, the game was broadcast on ABC, usually at 2p.m. PST. The first 9-year contract in 1988 started at about $11 million, which is what NBC had been paying. The 2002 Rose Bowl was the first broadcast not set at the traditional 2:00pm West Coast time. The visual of the afternoon sun setting on the San Gabriel Mountains on New Year's Day is recognized as an important part of the tradition of the game.
The 2005 edition was the first one broadcast in HDTV. Beginning in 2007, Fox had the broadcast rights to the other Bowl Championship Series games, but the Rose Bowl, which negotiated its own television contract independent of the BCS, had agreed to keep the game on ABC.
Beginning with the 2010 season, ESPN now broadcasts all the BCS/CFP games, including the Rose Bowl game. The game is also broadcast nationally by ESPN Radio and by ESPN International for Latin America. In 2013, ESPN Deportes provided the first Spanish language telecast in the U.S. of the Rose Bowl Game.
The Rose Bowl game contract with ESPN was extended on June 28, 2012, to 2026, for a reported $80 million per year.
The start time of the 2026 Rose Bowl was moved to 1p.m. local time, from the traditional start time of 2p.m. local time, to avoid impacting the start time of the Sugar Bowl; the change was expected to persist for future games.

Game results

Winners appear in boldface while italics denote a tie game.
All rankings are taken from the AP poll before each game was played.
Source:

Appearances and win–loss records

The below tables list results by teams competing as members of the Big Ten Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and all other participants. Included in Pac-12 results are teams who competed as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference, Pacific-8 Conference, or Pacific-10 Conference—predecessors of the Pac-12. One team, Oregon, has appearances both as a member of the Pac-12 and as a member of the Big Ten.
Updated through the January 2026 edition.
USCPac342592017
Ohio StateB1G171072025
MichiganB1G219122024
WashingtonPac157712019
StanfordPac147612016
UCLAPac12571999
WisconsinB1G10372020
OregonPac8442020
OregonB1G1012025
CaliforniaPac82511959
IowaB1G6242016
Michigan StateB1G5412014
IllinoisB1G5322008
Penn StateB1G4222023
Oregon StatePac3121965
Washington StatePac3032003
List of [Arizona State Sun Devils bowl games|Arizona State]Pac2111997
MinnesotaB1G2111962
NorthwesternB1G2111996
Purdue Boilermakers bowl games|Purdue]B1G2112001
Utah Utes bowl games|Utah]Pac2022023
Indiana Hoosiers bowl games|Indiana]B1G2112026
Big Ten ConferenceB1G77374002026
Pac-12 ConferencePac101524632023

Alabama95312026
Military teams4221919
Pittsburgh Panthers bowl games|Pittsburgh]4131937
Texas2202006
Georgia2202018
Notre Dame2112021
Oklahoma2112018
Duke2021942
Nebraska2022002
Tennessee Volunteers bowl games|Tennessee]2021945
Columbia Lions bowl games|Columbia]1101934
List of [Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bowl games|Georgia Tech]1101929
Harvard Crimson bowl games|Harvard]1101920
Miami (FL)1102002
TCU1102011
Washington State1101916
Navy Midshipmen bowl games|Navy]10011924
List of [Washington & Jefferson Presidents football bowl games|Washington & Jefferson]10011922
Stanford1011902
Brown1011916
Florida State1012015
Penn State1011923
Penn1011917
SMU Mustangs bowl games|SMU]1011936
Tulane Green Wave bowl games|Tulane]1011932
Other teams46202332026

Some teams who are members of the Pac-12 and Big Ten made appearances while not members; thus, the following results are included in the "Other teams" table:
  • Penn State's January 1923 loss predates their joining of the Big Ten
  • Nebraska's January 1941 and January 2002 losses predates their joining of the Big Ten
  • Stanford's January 1902 loss predates formation of the Pacific Coast Conference, predecessor of the Pac-12
  • Washington State's January 1916 win predates formation of the Pacific Coast Conference, predecessor of the Pac-12
Current Big Ten teams Maryland and Rutgers have never appeared in the Rose Bowl. Nebraska has appeared twice but never as a member of the Big Ten. In 2024, as part of a dissolution of the Pac-12, the Big Ten gained four teams that have represented the Pac-12 and its predecessors in the Rose Bowl numerous times: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Oregon subsequently appeared in the 2025 game, a CFP quarterfinal, facing Ohio State in an all-Big Ten matchup.

Frequent participants

Among Pac-8/10/12 and Big Ten schools, the record for longest drought since a team's last Rose Bowl appearance is held by California, followed by Minnesota, and Oregon State.
Among Pac-8/10/12 and Big Ten schools who have played in at least one Rose Bowl, the record for the longest period since a win is held by Nebraska, who has never won, followed by Washington State, Cal, Oregon State, Northwestern, and Iowa. As of 2016, head coaches Howard Jones and John Robinson lead the list of undefeated Rose Bowl records.
Archie Griffin of Ohio State and Brian Cushing of USC are the only players to ever start in four Rose Bowl games. Head coach Woody Hayes led Ohio State to the Rose Bowl from 1973 to 1976, while USC head coach Pete Carroll led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl from 2006 to 2009.
The current members of the Pac-12 or the Big Ten to have not appeared in the Rose Bowl are Maryland and Rutgers, who both joined the Big Ten in 2014. Former Pac-12 members Arizona and Colorado have never appeared in the Rose Bowl, both having left the Pac-12 in 2024. Former Pac-12 member California appeared in the Rose Bowl only as a member of a predecessor league to the Pac-12. Similar to Cal, Nebraska played in the 1941 and 2002 games, but was not a member of the Big Ten Conference at these times. Idaho and Montana, who were members of the Pacific Coast Conference from 1922 until 1958 and 1950 respectively, never finished near the top in the PCC football standings. Former Big Ten member Chicago withdrew from the league prior to the bowl arrangement being set.
USC has played the most Big Ten schools in the Rose Bowl. As of 2024, the only Big Ten opponents remaining for the Trojans are Iowa, Minnesota, and the schools that have never represented the conference in the Rose Bowl: Maryland, Nebraska, Rutgers, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington. Ohio State and Michigan are tied for playing the most current or former Pac-12 schools in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes have not played Oregon State or Washington State in the game, while Michigan has never played Oregon or Utah. Neither team has faced Arizona or Colorado, as these teams have never appeared in the game.

Common matchups

The most frequent Rose Bowl matchup is USC–Michigan, occurring for the eighth time in 2007, with USC holding a 6–2 advantage. The next most frequent matchup is USC–Ohio State, occurring for the seventh time in 1985, with USC holding a 4–3 advantage.
Matchups that have occurred more than once:
# of TimesWest / Pac-12East / Big TenRecordYears played
8USCMichiganUSC, 6–21948, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2007
7USCOhio StateUSC, 4–31955, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1985
4WashingtonMichiganTied, 2–21978, 1981, 1992, 1993
3OregonOhio StateOhio State, 3–01958, 2010, 2025
3USCPenn StateUSC, 3–01923, 2009, 2017
3UCLAMichigan StateMichigan State, 2–11954, 1956, 1966
2StanfordMichiganTied, 1–11902, 1972
2CaliforniaOhio StateTied, 1–11921, 1950
2StanfordAlabamaAlabama, 1–0–11927, 1935
2USCPittsburghUSC, 2–01930, 1933
2USCTennesseeUSC, 2–01940, 1945
2UCLAIllinoisTied, 1–11947, 1984
2USCWisconsinUSC, 2–01953, 1963
2WashingtonIowaWashington, 2–01982, 1991
2UCLAWisconsinWisconsin, 2–01994, 1999
2StanfordWisconsinTied, 1–12000, 2013
2OregonWisconsinOregon, 2–02012, 2020

Top-ranked teams

No. 1 ranked teams at the end of the regular season that have played in the Rose Bowl game are listed below:
Six post-season rematches of regular-season games have taken place in the Rose Bowl. In three of those instances, the same team won both the regular season game and the Rose Bowl Game. UCLA won three of those five Rose Bowl games, including both instances in which a different team lost the regular season game but won the Rose Bowl Game.
Beginning with the 1947 Rose Bowl, the Pacific Coast representative was the home team, and the Big Nine representative was the visitor. This arrangement would alternate each year. The stadium seating started with the Big Nine representatives in the end zone, but eventually was set with the Big Ten fans and team on the West side, and Pacific-10 fans and team on the East side. The home team wears their darkest home jerseys, and the visiting team wears the white visiting jerseys. There have been exceptions to the uniform arrangement: UCLA wore their home jerseys, light blue, in the 1962, 1966, and 1976 Rose Bowl games, with the Big Ten opponent also wearing their home uniforms.
From 1947 through 2001, the Big Ten team was the home team in even-numbered years, and the Pac-10 team was the home team in odd-numbered years. In 2003, Washington State was the home team but faced a non-Big Ten or Pac-10 school due to BCS selections that season. In 2005, Michigan served as the home team as a result of playing a Big 12 school, Texas, rather than a Pac-10 opponent.
Beginning with the 2002 Rose Bowl, Nebraska was home, with team and fans on the East sideline. From 2006 through 2013, the home team had been the team with the highest BCS season ending ranking. For the 2005 Rose Bowl, the Michigan team was on the East sideline; Texas was the visiting team and was on the West sideline. For the 2006 Rose Bowl, USC was the home team and Texas was the visiting team on the West sideline. Traditionally, the Big Ten is on the West side and the Pac-12 team is on the East side.
During the BCS era, the institution with the higher BCS ranking performed the national anthem, and performed first at halftime. With the exception of BCS championship years, the National Anthem was performed by the band. In BCS Championship years, a performer was invited to sing the Anthem, the last being LeAnn Rimes in 2006. The Rose Bowl does not have other performers during the halftime show besides the school marching bands. As part of the television contract, a portion of each band's halftime performance is shown on television. Each school and each conference are allocated television spots to advertise. For the 100th game on January 1, 2014, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill and Darlene Love sang the national anthem in honor of the song's 200th anniversary. This was the first, and so far only time in Rose Bowl history that the anthem was performed by singers rather than by a marching band. Today, the institution with the higher ranking by the CFP selection committee performs the national anthem and performs first at halftime.
The coin toss was traditionally presented by the grand marshal of the Rose Parade or the president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.

Player of the Game award

The Rose Bowl's most valuable player is presented the Player of the Game award. The Helms Athletic Foundation created the honor, which was first awarded in the 1940s. Helms executive director Bill Schroeder polled a Helms Hall Board composed of sportswriters to make the selection. The modern award selection continues to be made in collaboration with the national media covering the game.
Player of the Game honors were also awarded retroactively back to the 1902 Rose Bowl.
Occasionally, the award has been shared by two players. Four players have been named the Player of the Game of more than one Rose Bowl: Bob Schloredt, Washington, Charles White, USC, Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, and Vince Young, Texas.

Player of the Game awards, 1902, 1916–2004

Player of the Game awards, 2005–present

Beginning with the 2005 Rose Bowl, Player of the Game awards have been given to both an offensive and defensive player.
GamePotG — OffenseTeamPositionPotG — DefenseTeamPosition
2005Vince YoungTexasQBLaMarr WoodleyMichiganLB
2006Vince YoungTexasQBMichael HuffTexasS
2007Dwayne JarrettUSCWRBrian CushingUSCOLB
2008John David BootyUSCQBRey MaualugaUSCLB
2009Mark SanchezUSCQBKaluka MaiavaUSCLB
2010Terrelle PryorOhio StateQBKenny RoweOregonDE
2011Andy DaltonTCUQBTank CarderTCULB
2012Lavasier TuineiOregonWRKiko AlonsoOregonLB
2013Stepfan TaylorStanfordRBStanfordDB
2014Connor CookMichigan StateQBKyler ElsworthMichigan StateLB
2015Marcus MariotaOregonQBTony WashingtonOregonLB
2016Christian McCaffreyStanfordRBAziz ShittuStanfordDE
2017Sam DarnoldUSCQBStevie Tu'ikolovatuUSCDT
2018Sony MichelGeorgiaRBRoquan SmithGeorgiaLB
2019Dwayne HaskinsOhio StateQBBrendon WhiteOhio StateS
2020Justin HerbertOregonQBBrady BreezeOregonS
2021DeVonta SmithAlabamaWRPatrick Surtain IIAlabamaCB
2022Jaxon Smith-NjigbaOhio StateWRTommy EichenbergOhio StateLB
2023Sean CliffordPenn StateQBJi'Ayir BrownPenn StateS
2024J. J. McCarthyMichiganQBMason GrahamMichiganDT
2025Jeremiah SmithOhio StateWRCody SimonOhio StateLB
2026Pat CooganIndianaCD'Angelo PondsIndianaCB

Source:

Game records

''Note: When there is a tie, the most recent one will be listed.''

Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

Inductees
The Rose Bowl Game All-Century Class was announced on December 28, 2013.
They are:
In addition to being named as All-Century representatives for their respective decades, John McKay and Archie Griffin were named the 100th Rose Bowl Game All-Century Coach and Player respectively.
The finalists: