San Diego will host one, not two, bowl games in 2017, the San Diego Bowl Game Association board of directors announced Wednesday on its website.
The Poinsettia Bowl, sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union since its inception, played its last game in 2016 after a 12-year run, the board said.
“College football and the bowl game structure has gone through major changes through the years and our board feels the time is right to focus our efforts on one post-season game,” said Mark Neville, executive director of the association.
The Holiday Bowl, which matches top teams from the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences, will mark its 40th anniversary this year.
The Bowl Game Association also said that discussions were underway with the San Diego Padres about playing the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park were Qualcomm Stadium to close after 2018. The Padres have spoken with the architectural firm that designed Petco Park about what would be required to allow football to be played in the stadium, the Bowl Game Association said.
In the meantime, the Bowl Game Association plans to explore hosting more “high-profile intersectional rivalry games” like the annual Navy versus Notre Dame game the association is scheduled to host on Oct. 27, 2018, Neville said.
