# List of West Virginia Mountaineers bowl games

The West Virginia Mountaineers college football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the West Virginia University in the Big 12 Conference (Big 12). Since the establishment of the team in 1891, West Virginia University has appeared in 41 bowl games. Included in these games are four appearances in the Peach Bowl, three appearances in the Sugar Bowl, two in the Fiesta Bowl and one in the Orange Bowl. Throughout the history of the program, eleven separate coaches have led the Mountaineers to bowl games with Don Nehlen having the most appearances (13). West Virginia's overall bowl record is 17–24.

## Key

General :
| † | Bowl game record attendance |
| ‡ | Former bowl game record attendance |
| * | Interim Head Coach |
Results :
| W | Win |
| L | Loss |

## Bowl games

List of bowl games showing bowl played in, score, date, season, opponent, stadium, location, attendance, head coach and MVP :
| # | Bowl | Score | Date | Season | Opponent | Stadium | Location | Attendance | Head coach | MVP |
| 1 | San Diego East-West Christmas Classic | W 21–13 | December 25, 1922 | 1922 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | Balboa Stadium | San Diego | N/A | Clarence Spears | – |
| 2 | Sun Bowl | W 7–6 | January 1, 1938 | 1937 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | Kidd Field | El Paso | 12,000$^‡$ | Marshall Glenn | – |
| 3 | Sun Bowl | W 21–12 | January 1, 1949 | 1948 | Texas Mines Miners | Kidd Field | El Paso | 13,000 | Dudley DeGroot | – |
| 4 | Sugar Bowl | L 19–42 | January 1, 1954 | 1953 | No. 8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Tulane Stadium | New Orleans | 76,000 | Art Lewis | – |
| 5 | Liberty Bowl | L 6–32 | December 19, 1964 | 1964 | Utah Utes | Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City | 6,059$^‡$ | Gene Corum | – |
| 6 | Peach Bowl | W 14–3 | December 30, 1969 | 1969 | South Carolina Gamecocks | Grant Field | Atlanta | 48,452$^‡$ | Jim Carlen | Eddie Williams (FB) |
| 7 | Peach Bowl | L 13–49 | December 29, 1972 | 1972 | NC State Wolfpack | Atlanta Stadium | Atlanta | 52,671$^‡$ | Bobby Bowden | – |
| 8 | Peach Bowl | W 13–10 | December 31, 1975 | 1975 | NC State Wolfpack | Atlanta Stadium | Atlanta | 45,134 | Bobby Bowden | Ray Marshall (LB) |
| 9 | Peach Bowl | W 26–6 | December 31, 1981 | 1981 | Florida Gators | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | Atlanta | 37,582 | Don Nehlen | Mickey Walczack (RB), Don Stemple (DB) |
| 10 | Gator Bowl | L 12–31 | December 30, 1982 | 1982 | Florida State Seminoles | Gator Bowl | Jacksonville | 80,913$^‡$ | Don Nehlen | Paul Woodside (K) |
| 11 | Hall of Fame Classic Bowl | W 20–16 | December 22, 1983 | 1983 | Kentucky Wildcats | Legion Field | Birmingham | 42,000 | Don Nehlen | Jeff Hostetler (QB) |
| 12 | Bluebonnet Bowl | W 31–14 | December 31, 1984 | 1984 | TCU Horned Frogs | Astrodome | Houston | 43,260 | Don Nehlen | Willie Drewrey (WR) |
| 13 | Sun Bowl | L 33–35 | December 25, 1987 | 1987 | No. 11 Oklahoma State Cowboys | Sun Bowl | El Paso | 43,240 | Don Nehlen | – |
| 14 | Fiesta Bowl | L 21–34 | January 2, 1989 | 1988 | No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Sun Devil Stadium | Tempe | 74,911$^‡$ | Don Nehlen | – |
| 15 | Gator Bowl | L 7–27 | December 30, 1989 | 1989 | No. 14 Clemson Tigers | Gator Bowl | Jacksonville | 82,911$^‡$ | Don Nehlen | Mike Fox (LB) |
| 16 | Sugar Bowl | L 7–41 | January 1, 1994 | 1993 | No. 8 Florida Gators | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans | 75,437 | Don Nehlen | – |
| 17 | Carquest Bowl | L 21–24 | January 2, 1995 | 1994 | South Carolina Gamecocks | Joe Robbie Stadium | Miami Gardens | 50,833 | Don Nehlen | – |
| 18 | Gator Bowl | L 13–20 | January 1, 1997 | 1996 | No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels | Alltel Stadium | Jacksonville | 52,103 | Don Nehlen | David Saunders (WR) |
| 19 | Carquest Bowl | L 30–35 | December 29, 1997 | 1997 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Pro Player Stadium | Miami Gardens | 28,262 | Don Nehlen | – |
| 20 | Insight.com Bowl | L 31–34 | December 26, 1998 | 1998 | No. 23 Missouri Tigers | Arizona Stadium | Tucson | 36,147 | Don Nehlen | Marc Bulger (QB) |
| 21 | Music City Bowl | W 49–38 | December 28, 2000 | 2000 | Ole Miss Rebels | Adelphia Coliseum | Nashville | 47,119 | Don Nehlen | Brad Lewis (QB) |
| 22 | Continental Tire Bowl | L 22–48 | December 28, 2002 | 2002 | Virginia Cavaliers | Ericsson Stadium | Charlotte | 73,535$^‡$ | Rich Rodriguez | – |
| 23 | Gator Bowl | L 7–41 | January 1, 2004 | 2003 | No. 23 Maryland Terrapins | Alltel Stadium | Jacksonville | 78,892 | Rich Rodriguez | Brian King (DB) |
| 24 | Gator Bowl | L 18–30 | January 1, 2005 | 2004 | No. 17 Florida State Seminoles | Alltel Stadium | Jacksonville | 70,112 | Rich Rodriguez | Kay-Jay Harris (RB) |
| 25 | Sugar Bowl | W 38–35 | January 2, 2006 | 2005 | No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs | Georgia Dome | Atlanta | 74,458 | Rich Rodriguez | Steve Slaton (RB) |
| 26 | Gator Bowl | W 38–35 | January 1, 2007 | 2006 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | Jacksonville | 67,704 | Rich Rodriguez | Pat White (QB) |
| 27 | Fiesta Bowl | W 48–28 | January 2, 2008 | 2007 | No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale | 70,016 | Bill Stewart* | Pat White (QB), Reed Williams (LB) |
| 28 | Meineke Car Care Bowl | W 31–30 | December 27, 2008 | 2008 | North Carolina Tar Heels | Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte | 73,712$^†$ | Bill Stewart | Pat White (QB) |
| 29 | Gator Bowl | L 21–33 | January 1, 2010 | 2009 | Florida State Seminoles | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | Jacksonville | 84,129$^†$ | Bill Stewart | Noel Devine (RB) |
| 30 | Champs Sports Bowl | L 7–23 | December 28, 2010 | 2010 | NC State Wolfpack | Florida Citrus Bowl | Orlando | 48,962 | Bill Stewart | – |
| 31 | Orange Bowl | W 70–33 | January 4, 2012 | 2011 | No. 14 Clemson Tigers | Sun Life Stadium | Miami Gardens | 67,563 | Dana Holgorsen | Geno Smith (QB) |
| 32 | Pinstripe Bowl | L 14–38 | December 29, 2012 | 2012 | Syracuse Orange | Yankee Stadium | Bronx | 39,098$^‡$ | Dana Holgorsen | – |
| 33 | Liberty Bowl | L 37–45 | December 29, 2014 | 2014 | Texas A&M Aggies | Liberty Bowl Stadium | Memphis | 51,282 | Dana Holgorsen | – |
| 34 | Cactus Bowl | W 43–42 | January 2, 2016 | 2015 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Chase Field | Phoenix | 39,321 | Dana Holgorsen | Skyler Howard (QB), Shaq Petteway (LB) |
| 35 | Russell Athletic Bowl | L 14–31 | December 28, 2016 | 2016 | Miami Hurricanes | Camping World Stadium | Orlando | 48,625 | Dana Holgorsen | – |
| 36 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | L 14–30 | December 26, 2017 | 2017 | Utah Utes | Cotton Bowl | Dallas | 20,507 | Dana Holgorsen | – |
| 37 | Camping World Bowl | L 18–34 | December 28, 2018 | 2018 | No. 17 Syracuse Orange | Camping World Stadium | Orlando | 41,125 | Dana Holgorsen | – |
| 38 | Liberty Bowl | W 24–21 | December 31, 2020 | 2020 | Army Black Knights | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | Memphis | 8,187 | Neal Brown | T. J. Simmons (WR) |
| 39 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | L 6–18 | December 28, 2021 | 2021 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Chase Field | Phoenix | 21,220 | Neal Brown | – |
| 40 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | W 30–10 | December 27, 2023 | 2023 | North Carolina Tar Heels | Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte | 42,925 | Neal Brown | Garrett Greene (QB) |
| 41 | Frisco Bowl | L 37–42 | December 17, 2024 | 2024 | Memphis Tigers | Toyota Stadium | Frisco | 12,022 | Chad Scott | – |