Silicon Valley Football Classic (defunct)
StadiumSpartan Stadium
LocationSan Jose, California
Operated2000–2004
Conference tie-insWAC, Pac-10
Succeeded byPoinsettia Bowl

The Silicon Valley Football Classic, sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley Bowl or Silicon Valley Classic, was an NCAA-certified Division I-A post-season college football bowl game that was played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California, from 2000 to 2004. It had a contractual tie-in with the Western Athletic Conference and the Pac-10. The bowl was initially televised on Fox Sports Net and later moved to ESPN2.

The bowl game consistently struggled financially, due to low television ratings and a lack of corporate sponsorship. Declining attendance contributed to the NCAA de-certifying the bowl after the 2004 season.

History

Creation

The city of San Jose, San Jose State University President Robert Caret, and the Western Athletic Conference proposed the Silicon Valley Bowl for San Jose in 1999.[1][2] Caret and other organizers envisioned that with the technology boom of the time, revenue from the bowl game and sponsorships from local technology companies would help fund a $25 million expansion of Spartan Stadium, when then had a capacity around 31,000, to 50,000 seats.[1][2][3]

The NCAA approved the bowl game on April 29, 1999. Participating schools would each receive a $1.2 million guaranteed payout. Due to Spartan Stadium having fewer than 50,000 seats, there was no requirement for schools to purchase a minimum number of tickets. Companies expressing written commitments to sponsor the bowl game included Cisco Systems, Comerica Bank, Hewlett-Packard, and Knight Ridder.[4]

2000

The inaugural Silicon Valley Bowl on December 31, 2000 was a 37–34 win for Mountain West Conference team Air Force over Fresno State of the WAC.[5] Fresno State trailed 34–7 at halftime before going on a 24–3 run in the second half. But with 14 seconds left, Fresno State failed on a fake field goal attempt from the Air Force 16.[6]

Attendance was 26,542, and pop group Destiny's Child performed in the halftime show. However, the bowl lacked a corporate sponsor.[6]

2001

With the bowl game still lacking a corporate sponsor, the San Jose City Council approved $150,000 in funding for the bowl's nonprofit organization in June 2001.[7]

The 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic, again played on December 31, had Michigan State of the Big Ten Conference upset no. 20 (AP) Fresno State 44–35.[8][9] The game was a near sellout, with 30,456 in attendance.[10] The game featured future NFL players including Fresno State quarterback David Carr, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker, Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers, Michigan State running back TJ Duckett, and Michigan State wide receiver Bernard Berrian. In the 2002 NFL draft, Carr would be the first overall pick and Duckett the 18th overall.[11]

A report in the December 23 San Jose Mercury News claimed that Silicon Valley Football Classic organizers overstated the economic value the bowl game brought to the city. Additionally, Air Force and Michigan State reported that they lost money participating in the Silicon Valley Classic.[12] Eventually in March 2002, the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that the game contributed to $9.2 million in economic activity, including over 7,500 hotel rooms booked, in San Jose.[13]

2002

After two straight years of the Silicon Valley Football Classic having the lowest ratings of Division I-A bowl games, Fox Sports Net withdrew from its five-year contract with the bowl in November 2002. This followed continued financial problems for the Silicon Valley Football Classic, namely the third straight year lacking a title sponsor and two companies that funded the 2000 and 2001 games, Knight Ridder and Palm Inc., deciding not to return.[14] The bowl organization rejected a bid by TicketCity for naming rights to the bowl game, citing an unacceptably low payout.[15]

The third edition of the Silicon Valley Football Classic on December 31, 2002 had a second straight appearance by Fresno State of the WAC, this time a 30–21 win vs. ACC opponent Georgia Tech. Attendance was 10,132 in rainy weather.[16]

2003

On top of the drop in attendance for the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic, the continuation of this bowl became doubtful after the WAC board of directors voted unanimously in March 2003 to defund the bowl game.[17] Eventually, the bowl would be re-certified by the NCAA in 2003 and hire a new chairperson in San Jose Sharks president Greg Jamison, whose Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment company would help with marketing and sponsorships.[18]

With 20,126 in attendance, the 2003 Silicon Valley Football Classic played on December 30 was a 17–9 Fresno State win over Pac-10 opponent UCLA in Fresno State's third straight appearance.[19][20] After the 2003 game, the NCAA instituted new rules for the 2004–05 Bowl Season stating that stadiums had to draw at least 70% of their capacity for bowl games in order to continue hosting them.[21]

2004

The 2004 game was the final edition of the Silicon Valley Football Classic. Although the bowl again had tie-ins with the WAC and Pac-10, neither conference had enough eligible teams available. Silicon Valley Bowl officials invited Northern Illinois of the MAC and Troy of the Sun Belt as at-large teams.[2] Both schools were offered no upfront payment to participate and were responsible for buying 8,000 tickets worth a total of $720,000.[22]

Game attendance was a series low at 5,494, and a power outage caused a 20-minute delay of kickoff.[3] The city of San Jose and Hewlett-Packard each paid $100,000 to be named as primary bowl sponsors, and the WAC made a $300,000 commitment as well. The Classic also spent very little money on advertising. Despite the low attendance numbers, it was estimated the bowl netted a $200,000 profit in 2004.[21]

On April 20, 2005, the NCAA decided not to renew the license of the Silicon Valley Football Classic, due to low attendance and a limit of 28 bowl games.[22][3] The SVFC was replaced by the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, California.

Game results

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

DateWinnerLoser Attendance[23]Notes
December 31, 2000Air Force37Fresno State34 26,542notes
December 31, 2001Michigan State44#20 Fresno State35 30,456notes
December 31, 2002Fresno State30Georgia Tech21 10,132notes
December 30, 2003Fresno State17UCLA9 20,126notes
December 30, 2004Northern Illinois34Troy21 21,456notes

Note: The 2004 game featured a MAC vs. Sun Belt matchup- neither the Pac 10 or WAC was able to send a team.

Game MVPs

Year Offensive MVP Position Team Defensive MVP Position Team
2000 Mike Thiessen QB Air Force Tim Skipper LB Fresno State
2001 Charles Rogers WR Michigan State Nick Myers DE Michigan State
2002 Rodney Davis RB Fresno State Jason Stewart DL Fresno State
2003 Rodney Davis RB Fresno State Garrett McIntyre DE Fresno State
2004 DeWhitt Betterson RB Troy Lionel Hickenbottom S Northern Illinois

Most appearances

Rank Team Appearances Record
1Fresno State42–2
T2Air Force11–0
T2Michigan State11–0
T2Northern Illinois11–0
T2UCLA10–1
T2Georgia Tech10–1
T2Troy10–1

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bergman, Ron (April 28, 1999). "Bowl game in works for San Jose". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1A. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newsbank.
  2. 1 2 3 Emmons, Mark (December 12, 2004). "S.J. bowl must fight to survive". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on December 17, 2004. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Pollak, David (April 21, 2005). "Silicon Valley loses bowl game over empty seats". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1A. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newsbank.
  4. ↑ Bergman, Ron (April 30, 1999). "Silicon Valley Bowl a go". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1D. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newsbank.
  5. ↑ "2000 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports Reference CFB. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Purdy, Mark (January 1, 2001). "Air Force, game organizers get big victories in bowl". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1A. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newsbank.
  7. ↑ Witt, Barry (June 26, 2001). "Taxpayers to aid bowl game". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2001. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ "2001 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". Sports Reference CFB. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ Ebling, Jack (January 1, 2002). "Big-play weapons lift MSU in Silicon shootout". Lansing State Journal. Archived from the original on February 11, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Michigan State 44, Fresno State 35". Michigan State University. December 31, 2001. Archived from the original on March 13, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  11. ↑ "2002 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  12. ↑ Witt, Barry (December 23, 2001). "Bowl's financial impact not as big as advertised". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1D. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newsbank.
  13. ↑ Hamm, Andrew F. (March 6, 2002). "Football Classic adds $9.2 million to San Jose". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 10, 2002. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Witt, Barry (November 13, 2002). "S.J. bowl facing financial trouble". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 20, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  15. ↑ Hamm, Andrew F. (December 13, 2002). "Bowl snubs low-ball naming bid". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  16. ↑ Warszawski, Marek (January 1, 2003). "Over the (mud)Hill". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on January 3, 2003. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  17. ↑ Hamm, Andrew F. (March 24, 2003). "Troubled bowl to piggyback on new MLK Literacy Classic". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on April 15, 2003. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Football Classic hangs on". Silicon Valley Business Journal. April 28, 2003. Archived from the original on April 26, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  19. ↑ "2003 Fresno State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference CFB. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Fresno State 17, UCLA 9". California State University, Fresno. December 30, 2003. Archived from the original on February 27, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Hamm, Andrew F. (December 13, 2004). "Sillicon Valley Classic set to score despite weak matchup". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  22. 1 2 Hamm, Andrew F. (April 20, 2005). "Silicon Valley Football Classic decertified". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on May 14, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  23. ↑ "All-Time Bowl-Game Results And Attendance" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. October 9, 2015. pp. 3–17. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
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