Since the inaugural season in 1925, the Red Raiders have been invited to play in 40 bowl games.
The first was in 1938 when the team played the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sun Bowl and lost 7-6. They would lose four more (1939 Cotton Bowl Classic, 1942 Sun Bowl, 1948 Sun Bowl and 1949 Raisin Bowl) before earning their first-ever bowl game victory in the 1952 Sun Bowl with a 25-14 victory over the Pacific Tigers.