California Bowl

California Bowl (defunct)
California Raisin Bowl
Stadium	Bulldog Stadium
Location	Fresno, California
Operated	1981–1991
Conference tie-ins	PCAA/Big West, MAC
Sponsors
California Raisin Advisory Board (1988–1991)

The California Bowl (later the California Raisin Bowl) was a post-season college football bowl game played annually at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California, from 1981 to 1991. The game featured the champions of the Big West Conference (known prior to 1988 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association) and the Mid-American Conference.

During the bowl's existence it was generally the first bowl game played during the postseason. It was regarded as one of the lower-profile bowl games in that the conferences involved were mid-majors, and was one of the first bowls to restrict its television marketing efforts to the medium of cable television. Fresno State largely dominated this game, playing in five of the 11 games and winning four of them. In 1988, the California Raisin Advisory Board purchased the naming rights to the bowl.

In 1992, the game moved to Las Vegas, Nevada after losing NCAA certification, took the Big West and MAC affiliations with it, and became known as the Las Vegas Bowl.

* Toledo lost this game, but was later awarded the win due to UNLV's use of ineligible players earlier in the season.

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