Rose Bowl ( game ) The Rose Bowl ( officially the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio for sponsorship purposes ) is an annual American college football bowl game , usually played on January 1 ( New Year ' s Day ) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , California . When New Year ' s Day falls on a Sunday , the game is played on Monday , January 2 . The Rose Bowl is nicknamed " The Granddaddy of Them All " because it is the oldest bowl game . It was first played in 1902 , and has been played annually since 1916 . Since 1945 , it has been the highest attended college football bowl game . It is a part of the Tournament of Roses " America ' s New Year Celebration " , which also includes the historic Tournament of Roses Parade . Except in the years when the Rose Bowl served as the BCS National Championship Game , the Rose Bowl Game has continued to be played in the afternoon . In 2002 and 2006 ( 2001 and 2005 football seasons ) , the Rose Bowl game was also the BCS National Championship Game . In the current BCS alignment , the Rose Bowl hosts the Big Ten and Pacific - 12 conference champions unless they are involved in the national championship game . Beginning with the 2012 Rose Bowl , Rose Bowl game representative teams from the Big Ten and Pacific - 12 conferences are determined by Big Ten Football Championship Game and Pacific - 12 Football Championship Game , respectively . History . Originally titled the " Tournament East - West football game , " the first Rose Bowl was played on January 1 , 1902 , starting the tradition of New Year ' s Day bowl games . The inaugural game featured Fielding H . Yost ' s dominating 1901 Michigan team , representing the East , which crushed a previously 3 - 1 - 2 team from Stanford University , representing the West , by a score of 49 – 0 after Stanford quit in the third quarter . Michigan finished the season 11 – 0 and was crowned the national champion . Yost had been Stanford ' s coach the previous year . The game was so lopsided that for the next 15 years , the Tournament of Roses officials ran chariot races , ostrich races , and other various events instead of football . But , on New Year ' s Day 1916 football returned to stay as The State College of Washington ( now Washington State University ) defeated Brown University in the first annual Rose Bowl with that explicit name . The Rose Bowl football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of the parade . Tournament Park and Rose Bowl stadium . Before the Rose Bowl was built for the January 1 , 1923 , match , games were played in Pasadena ' s Tournament Park , approximately three miles southeast of the current Rose Bowl stadium near the campus of Caltech . Tournament Park was determined to be unsuitable for the larger and larger crowds gathering to watch the game and a new , permanent home for the game was commissioned . The Rose Bowl stadium , designed after the Yale Bowl in New Haven , then hosted the first " Rose Bowl " game in 1923 . The name of the stadium was alternatively " Tournament of Roses Stadium " or " Tournament of Roses Bowl " , until being " Rose Bowl " was settled on before the 1923 Rose Bowl game . The stadium seating has been reconfigured several times since its original construction in 1922 . For many years , the Rose Bowl stadium had the largest football stadium capacity in the United States , eventually being surpassed by Michigan Stadium in 1998 . The maximum stated seating capacity was 104 , 594 from 1972 to 1997 . Capacity was lowered following the 1998 Rose Bowl . The 2006 Rose Bowl game , which was also the BCS championship game , had a crowd of 93 , 986 ; and a crowd of 94 , 118 saw the 2011 Rose Bowl game between TCU and Wisconsin . As of 2008 , the Rose Bowl is number eight on the List of American football stadiums by capacity with a current official seating capacity of 92 , 542 and is still the largest stadium that hosts post - season bowl games . The Rose Bowl is also the only BCS bowl game that is held in a non - NFL stadium . Team selection 1916 – 1946 . In the game ’ s early years , except during World War I , the Rose Bowl always pitted a team — not necessarily the conference champion — from the Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) , the predecessor of the current Pacific - 12 Conference , against an opponent from the Eastern U . S . During the last two years of World War I , teams from military bases met in the Rose Bowl . During its history , a number of notable matchups have been made with the top football teams and top coaches of the time . These include the 1925 Rose Bowl , featuring Knute Rockne ' s Notre Dame team against “ Pop ” Warner ’ s Stanford team ; the 1926 Rose Bowl , featuring Alabama Crimson Tide ’ s win over Washington ( the first southeastern team to beat a northern team ) ; and the 1940 Rose Bowl , featuring Howard Jones ’ USC Trojans against Bob Neyland ’ s Tennessee Volunteers . During this period , there were ten games in which undefeated teams were matched . 1942 venue change to Durham , North Carolina . After the United States declared war on Japan on December 8 , 1941 , as part of the American reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor , there were concerns about a possible Japanese attack on the West Coast . Much discussion focused on the possibility of an attack where any crowds might gather . The Rose Parade , with a million watchers , and the Rose Bowl , with 90 , 000 spectators , were presumed to be ideal targets for the Japanese . Lieutenant General John L . DeWitt recommended that the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl festivities be canceled . The Rose Bowl committee originally planned to cancel the game . On December 16 , 1941 , Duke University invited the game and Oregon State to Duke ' s home stadium in Durham , North Carolina . Big Nine – PCC agreement . During World War II , many college football schools had dropped some conference opponents and instead played football against local military base teams . Many colleges could not even field teams due to the draft and manpower requirements . After the war was over , demobilization and the G . I . Bill enabled returning servicemen to attend college . The 1946 season was the first true post - war college football season with travel restrictions lifted and civilian college opponents returning to schedules . The Big Nine and PCC were of the same accord when it came to treating players as amateurs , as compared to the semi - professional status that the Southern Universities proposed . Also , the Big Nine and PCC both had the same attitudes towards desegregation and allowing African - Americans to play football . Many other universities were still segregated . None of the Southeastern Conference schools had an African American athlete until 1966 . The Cotton Bowl , Orange Bowl , and Sugar Bowl would not be integrated until 1948 , 1955 , and 1956 respectively . The Big Nine agreed , after eight years of negotiating over payments , rules , and ticket allocations , to a five - year exclusive deal with the Rose Bowl to send the conference champion to meet the PCC conference champion . UCLA , USC , Minnesota and Illinois all voted against it . Big Ten – AAWU / Pac - 8 / 10 agreement . When the PCC dissolved prior to the 1959 season following a pay - for - play scandal in 1958 , there was no official agreement in force . The Tournament of Roses selected from the former members of PCC and invited Washington , the first champion of the newly formed Athletic Association of Western Universities ( AAWU ) , to play Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the 1960 Rose Bowl . The Big Ten authorized its members to accept any Rose Bowl invitation at their discretion . The AAWU signed an agreement with the Rose Bowl that remained in force from the 1961 Rose Bowl onwards . In 1962 , after Minnesota changed its vote against pursuing a new agreement ( resolving a 5 - 5 voting deadlock which had prevented any new negotiations for years ) a Big Ten agreement was finalized , which went into effect with the 1963 Rose Bowl . While the Big Ten supplied the " East " representative and the PCC , AAWU , or Pac - 8 / 10 supplied the " West " representative from the 1947 Rose Bowl to the BCS era , statements about an " exclusive " Rose Bowl agreement existing during this period are not entirely accurate : the Big Ten was not part of any agreement for the 1961 and 1962 games and the status of the agreement for 1960 is questionable , at best . The fact that the 1961 Big Ten champion , Ohio State , declined the invitation to play in the 1962 Rose Bowl ( without penalty ) is the clearest evidence that this " exclusive agreement " did not exist in these years . The fact that Minnesota was offered the invitation and played in the game instead of Ohio State is even further evidence that no formal agreement was in place , since they had also played in the 1961 Rose Bowl and would not have been allowed to play in a second consecutive game if the formal agreement were in effect with its " no repeat " rule . The AAWU , which used " Big Five " , " Big Six " , and " Pacific - 8 " as unofficial nicknames ( each reflecting the number of conference members ) through the 1967 football season , officially adopted the Pacific - 8 name starting with the 1968 season . The name changed to Pacific - 10 with the arrival of Arizona and Arizona State in 1978 , and Pacific - 12 when Colorado and Utah joined in 2011 . However , this section covers the status of Rose Bowl agreements from the collapse of the PCC until the BCS era and the AAWU was not known by this its current name during this period . Both conferences had a " no repeat " rule in force for a number of years . Under this rule , any team that had appeared in the Rose Bowl game the previous season could not go again , even if they were the conference champion . The Big Ten abolished this rule in 1972 . Both conferences also had exclusive agreements with the Rose Bowl game , so that teams from the Pac - 8 ( as it was known at the time ) and Big Ten could not play in any other bowl games . This rule ended before the 1975 college football season , when Michigan was invited to the 1976 Orange Bowl and USC was invited to the 1975 Liberty Bowl . Bowl Championship Series . Since 1998 , with the creation of the Bowl Championship Series , team selection for the Rose Bowl is now tied to the other three BCS bowls , although in any given year the Rose Bowl still attempts , if possible , to maintain the traditional Pac - 12 versus Big Ten format . Twice in this era , the Rose Bowl has served as the BCS championship game . The 2002 game served as the BCS championship game between the BCS # 1 ranked Miami , then a member of the Big East Conference , and the BCS # 2 ranked Nebraska of the Big 12 Conference . The Nebraska selection as the BCS # 2 team was controversial because Oregon was ranked # 2 in both the AP and Coaches Polls , while Nebraska was ranked # 4 in both polls and did not play in its conference championship game ( # 3 Colorado , who played Oregon in that year ' s Fiesta Bowl , did and won the Big 12 ' s automatic bid to the BCS ) . This prevented a West Coast team playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time , and it also marked the first match up since 1946 to not feature the traditional pairing of Pac - 10 vs . Big Ten teams . The 2006 Rose Bowl game featured offensive powerhouses Texas , riding a 19 - game winning streak , and USC , which entered the game with a 34 - game winning streak and 2 Heisman Trophy winners . Texas won 41 – 38 . The game ' s television viewership was the highest for college football contest since the 1987 Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Miami . On two other occasions during the BCS era , Rose Bowl participation has expanded beyond the Big Ten and Pac - 10 . The 2003 Rose Bowl couldn ' t select Big Ten co - champion and automatic qualifier Ohio State , who finished # 2 in the BCS and thus received a bid to the Fiesta Bowl to play for the national championship . The Rose Bowl was poised to select Big Ten co - champion Iowa as an at - large in order to preserve the traditional Big Ten / Pac - 10 match up . However , the Orange Bowl , which selected ahead of the Rose Bowl that year , chose the Hawkeyes . As a result , the Rose Bowl featured the first appearance by Oklahoma , who faced Pac - 10 Champion Washington State . The 2005 game featured Texas of the Big 12 Conference , selected , amid some controversy , over California of the Pac - 10 , marking the second time a West Coast team did not make the Rose Bowl . The controversy was the result of the BCS computer rankings which elevated Texas over California . Texas went on to defeat Michigan in the 2005 game , featuring a virtuoso 4 - touchdown performance by Vince Young , foreshadowing his 467 - yard performance a year later in the 2006 defeat of USC that won the National Title for Texas . The 2004 game is also noteworthy . In this game , USC defeated Michigan , 28 – 14 , thus earning the top ranking in the AP Poll and a share of the national championship with BCS champion LSU ( USC , despite being # 1 in the AP poll , did not qualify for the BCS championship game because of their standing in the BCS system ) . The current Rose Bowl arrangement , which will run until the 2014 Rose Bowl Game , is as follows . The Big Ten and Pac - 12 ( the new name of the Pac - 10 ) retain their bids . A provision has been inserted mandating that the first time that either conference cannot fill their bid , due to a school from the Big Ten or Pac - 12 qualifying for the BCS National Championship Game , and if a non - BCS conference school qualifies , the Rose Bowl is required to take that school . Texas Christian University ( TCU ) became the first team from a non - automatic qualifying conference to play in the Rose Bowl in the BCS era . The 2010 TCU Horned Frogs finished their second consecutive regular season at 12 - 0 , were back - to - back champions of the Mountain West Conference , and ranked # 3 in the final BCS Poll . TCU defeated Wisconsin 21 - 19 in the 2011 Rose Bowl . TCU ' s appearance satisfied the ' first time ' clause of the current agreement . On September 8 , 2011 , Executive Director P . Scott McKibben resigned for personal reasons . William B . Flinn , the Tournament ’ s longstanding chief operating officer , assumed the role of interim executive director . Sponsorship and broadcasting rights . For many years the Rose Bowl eschewed sponsorship , but for the 1999 Rose Bowl , the game became known as The Rose Bowl Game presented by AT & T . Unlike the other bowl games , the sponsor was not added to the title of the game , but instead as a presenter . In 2002 it was branded The Rose Bowl Game presented by PlayStation 2 . From 2003 to 2010 , after the agreement with Sony expired , the game has been presented by Citi . The 1952 Rose Bowl game was the first nationally televised bowl game and the first nationally televised college game of any sport . From 1952 to 1988 , the Rose Bowl was televised by NBC in a 2 p . m . PST time slot , and in most years was the only New Year ' s bowl airing at that time . The 1962 Rose Bowl was the first college football game broadcast in color . From 1989 to 2010 , it was broadcast on ABC , usually at 2 p . m . PST . While FOX had the broadcasting rights to the other Bowl Championship Series games from 2007 to 2010 , the Rose Bowl , which negotiates its own television contract independent of the BCS , agreed to keep the game on ABC . The 2005 Rose Bowl was the first one broadcast in HDTV . Beginning with the 2010 season , ESPN , which is majority - owned by ABC ' s parent company , will have the contract to broadcast the BCS games , including the Rose Bowl game . The game is also broadcast nationally by ESPN Radio and by ESPN International for Latin America . On June 2010 , Citi decided to end the sponsorship of the Rose Bowl games , including the National Championship game . In October 2010 , HDTV maker Vizio signed a 4 - year contract to be the official sponsor of the Rose Bowl games through 2014 . Frequent participants . USC has played the most times in the Rose Bowl , with 33 appearances , followed by Michigan ( 20 ) , Washington ( 14 ) , and Ohio State ( 14 ) . Alabama , 4 - 1 - 1 in Rose Bowls , has made the most appearances of any team outside the Pac - 12 and Big Ten conferences . USC has won the most Rose Bowls ( 24 ) , followed by Michigan ( 8 ) , Washington ( 7 ) , and Ohio State ( 7 ) . Michigan has lost the most ( 12 ) , followed by USC ( 9 ) , and UCLA and Ohio State ( 7 each ) . The most frequent Rose Bowl matchup is USC - Michigan , occurring for the eighth time in 2007 , with USC holding a 6 – 2 advantage . ( Including rare meetings outside the Rose Bowl , USC leads this series 6 – 4 . ) The next most frequent matchup is USC - Ohio State , occurring for the seventh time in 1985 , with USC holding a 4 – 3 advantage . From the 1946 season ( 1947 Rose Bowl ) , when the Big Ten - Rose Bowl agreement began , through the 1971 season ( 1972 Rose Bowl ) , the Big Ten did not permit the same team to represent that Conference in the Rose Bowl in consecutive years . There was one exception : Minnesota played in the 1961 Rose Bowl and 1962 Rose Bowl games . ( Several unusual circumstances occurred in the 1961 season : the Big Ten - Rose Bowl contract had been allowed to lapse , Big Ten champion Ohio State was invited anyway , and the Ohio State faculty turned down the bid . ) Also of note , during this era Big Ten and Pac - 8 teams could play only in the Rose Bowl ; this restriction was not lifted until the 1975 season . Archie Griffin of Ohio State and Brian Cushing of USC are the only players to ever start in four Rose Bowl games . Legendary coach Woody Hayes led Ohio State to the Rose Bowl from 1973 – 1976 , while USC head coach Pete Carroll led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl from 2006 – 2009 . The only current member of the old Pac - 10 or the Big Ten never to have appeared in the Rose Bowl is Arizona . Idaho and Montana , who were members of the Pacific Coast Conference from 1922 until 1958 and 1950 respectively , never finished near the top in the PCC football standings . Former Big Ten member Chicago withdrew from the league prior to the bowl arrangement being set . New Big Ten member Nebraska has played in two Rose Bowls , but new Pac - 12 members Colorado and Utah have yet to appear in one ( Nebraska , Colorado , and Utah joined their new conferences on July 1 , 2011 ) . USC has played every current Big Ten school in the Rose Bowl except for Iowa , Nebraska and Minnesota . Michigan has played every school in the old Pac - 10 except Oregon and Arizona , as the latter has yet to make a Rose Bowl appearance . The Rose Bowl was exclusively a Big Ten - Pac - 10 affair for 52 years , from 1946 ( 1947 Rose Bowl ) through 1997 ( 1998 Rose Bowl ) . While the Big Ten dominated the game in the late 1940s and 1950s , and the Pac - 10 dominated during the 1970s and early 1980s , over the entire 52 - year span , each conference won 26 games . The BCS era now covers the past thirteen games , starting with the 1999 ( 85th ) Rose Bowl . Since then , of the nine games featuring a Big Ten - Pac - 12 matchup , the Pac - 12 leads in wins , 6 - 3 . However , the 2007 ( 93rd ) Rose Bowl and 2008 ( 94th ) Rose Bowl , each Big Ten losses to the Pac - 12 , actually featured the Big Ten runner - up , as conference champion Ohio State was selected to play each of those years in the BCS National Championship Game . The 2011 Rose Bowl Game marked the first time during the BCS era that a school from a non - BCS conference played in the game ( as Oregon , the Pacific - 10 champion , was selected to play in the BCS National Championship Game ) . TCU beat Wisconsin 21 - 19 . " In 1918 and 1919 the Rose Bowl hosted football games between military institutions . Big Ten and Pacific - 12 conference records are based on all Rose Bowl games . " Game results . " Years listed below indicate the January game date ; for example , the 2007 game was played following the 2006 football season . " < br > Winners listed first , to left of table . " Italics denote a tie game . " Rose Bowl 2011 Wisconsion v . s Oregon < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Denotes BCS National Championship Game < br > < nowiki > ^ < / nowiki > Vacated the 2006 Rose Bowl Championship Game < br > < nowiki > * * < / nowiki > Following the attack on Pearl Harbor , the 1942 game was moved to Duke University ' s Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham , North Carolina , as officials were wary of allowing such a large crowd to congregate anywhere on the West Coast due to World War II security concerns . Rose Bowl Player of the Game Awards . The most valuable player in the Rose Bowl game is given a crystal trophy that is the Rose Bowl Player of the Game Award . The award was created in 1953 and awarded retroactively for players all the way back to the 1902 Rose Bowl . Occasionally , the award has been shared by two players . Beginning with the 2005 Rose Bowl Game , the Rose Bowl Player of the Game Award has been given to both offensive and defensive players of the game . Rose Bowl Hall of Fame . Inductees ( by year ) : Player and coach . Eight former players have come back to coach a team in the game ( played and coached , as listed by the Tournament of Roses Association ) : Game arrangements . Beginning with the 1947 Rose Bowl , the Pacific Coast representative was the home team , and the Big Nine representative was with visiting team . This arrangement would alternate each year . The stadium seating started with the Big Nine representatives in the end zone , but eventually was set with the Big Ten fans and team on the West ( press box ) side , and Pacific - 10 fans and team on the East side . The home team wears their darkest home jerseys , and the visiting team wears the visiting jerseys . There have been exceptions . UCLA wore their home jerseys in the 1962 , 1966 , and 1976 Rose Bowl games . From 1947 through 2001 , the Big Ten team was the home team in odd - numbered years , and the Pac - 10 team was the home team in even - numbered years . In 2003 , Washington State was the home team , as a non - Big Ten or Pac - 10 school ( Oklahoma of the Big 12 ) was the opponent ; the same applied in 2005 , when Michigan played another Big 12 school , Texas . Beginning with the 2002 Rose Bowl , Nebraska was the home team and fans and team were on the East sideline . Since 2006 , the home team has been the team with the highest BCS season ending ranking . For the 2005 Rose Bowl , the Michigan team was on the East sideline , Texas was the visiting team and was on the West sideline . For the 2006 Rose Bowl , USC was the home team and Texas was the visiting team on the West sideline . Traditionally , the Big Ten ( or its BCS replacement ) is on the West side ( press box ) and the Pac - 12 team is on the East side . The institution with the highest BCS ranking performs the national anthem , and performs first at halftime . Except in BCS championship years , the National Anthem is performed by the band . In BCS Championship years , a performer has been invited to sing the Anthem , the last being LeAnn Rimes in 2006 . The Rose Bowl does not have other performers during the halftime show besides the school marching bands . As part of the television contract , a portion of each band ' s halftime performance is shown on television . Each school and each conference are allocated television spots to advertise .