Maaco Bowl Las Vegas The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas ( formerly the Las Vegas Bowl ) is an NCAA - sanctioned Division I - A post - season college football bowl game that has been played annually at 40 , 000 - seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas , Nevada , U . S . since 1992 . From 1992 to 1996 , matchups featured the champion teams from the Big West and Mid - American Conference . In 1997 and 1998 , matchups featured a representative from the Western Athletic Conference and an at - large bid . In 1999 and 2000 , match - ups featured a representative from the newly formed Mountain West Conference and an at - large bid . Since 2001 , the game has featured a matchup of teams from the Pac - 12 and Mountain West conferences . Since 2006 , the bowl gets first choice of Mountain West Conference teams . This would normally be the conference champion unless that team qualifies for the BCS ( previously , the Mountain West Champion faced off against the Conference USA champion in the Liberty Bowl from the formation of the conference in 1998 until 2005 , when the contract ran out ) . The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas gets the fifth - place Pac - 12 team to meet its MWC opponent . In the latest matchup , Boise State defeated Washington 28 – 26 . History . The game originated from the California Raisin Bowl , which was played in Fresno from 1981 – 1991 . In 1992 , the game reorganized and relocated to Las Vegas and was renamed the Las Vegas Bowl . The NCAA adopted an overtime rule for the 1995 post - season and all games thereafter . In 1995 , defeated , 40 – 37 , in the first ever overtime game in Division I - A college football . The following season the policy of overtime was adopted for regular season games to break ties . The bowl was known as the SEGA Sports Las Vegas Bowl from 2001 to 2002 . From 2003 to 2008 , the title sponsor was the Pioneer Corporation . With the current sponsor , the bowl is called the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas . The owner of the bowl is ESPN Plus ( a / k / a / " ESPN Regional Television " ) of which the parent network , ESPN carries the game , one of six contests run by the group better known as ESPN Plus . On December 25 , 2002 , UCLA interim coach Ed Kezirian was victorious in his only game as the UCLA head coach as UCLA won 27 – 13 over the . In that game , New Mexico sent Katie Hnida in to kick an extra point which was the first time a woman played in a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( née Division I - A ) college football game . The kick was blocked . The 2007 Las Vegas Bowl featured a rematch between Mountain West Champion BYU and UCLA who defeated BYU during the regular season . UCLA scored first on a field goal after a fumble by BYU quarterback Max Hall . BYU answered with a touchdown reception by Austin Collie . BYU went up 17 – 6 with Michael Reed catch for a touchdown . A fumble by BYU with 19 seconds left in the first half allowed UCLA to score and cut the lead to 17 - 13 . UCLA cut the deficit to 17 - 16 on a 50 - yard field goal . With two minutes left UCLA took over at their own two yard line . They were able to drive down to the BYU 13 yard line with 3 seconds left . The 28 - yard field goal attempt was partially blocked by BYU defensive tackle Eathyn Manumaleuna and fell short giving BYU their second Vegas Bowl victory in three tries , also making the Cougars the first school to win back - to - back Las Vegas Bowls . The following year , though , the Arizona Wildcats denied BYU their third consecutive Las Vegas Bowl win by winning 31 – 21 .