San Francisco Bowl
The San Francisco Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game certified by the NCAA and played in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally named the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl during its first two editions from 2002 to 2003, it was the Emerald Bowl from 2004 to 2009, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl from 2010 to 2013, the Foster Farms Bowl from 2014 to 2017, and the Redbox Bowl from 2018 to 2020. San Francisco Bowl naming returned during planning for a 2021 game.
| San Francisco Bowl (defunct) | |
|---|---|
| Previous stadiums | Pacific Bell Park (2002–2013) Levi's Stadium (2014–2019) |
| Previous locations | San Francisco, California (2002–2013) Santa Clara, California (2014–2019) |
| Operated | 2002–2019 |
| Conference tie-ins | Pac-12 (2006–2019) Big Ten (2014–2019) |
| Previous conference tie-ins | Big East (2002–2004) Mtn West (2002–2005) ACC (2005–2010) Army (2011) Navy (2012) BYU (2013) |
| Payout | US$3.6 million (2019) |
| Sponsors | |
| Former names | |
San Francisco Bowl (2002) Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl (2002–2003) Emerald Bowl (2004–2009) Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (2010–2012) Fight Hunger Bowl (2013) Foster Farms Bowl (2014–2017) Redbox Bowl (2018–2019) | |
| 2020 matchup | |
| Canceled due to COVID-19 concerns | |
| 2021 matchup | |
| Canceled due to lack of network and sponsor | |
The game had four sellouts—2006 (UCLA vs. Florida State), 2008 (Cal vs. Miami), 2009 (USC vs. Boston College), and 2011 (Nevada vs. Boston College)—and three of the highest rated bowls ever televised on ESPN. It also gained a national reputation for the quality of hospitality provided to the participating teams.
The game was most recently played in December 2019. From 2002 to 2013, it was played at Pacific Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in San Francisco, California. From 2014 through 2019, it was played at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.
At the end of July 2020, organizers canceled the 2020 edition of the bowl due to the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, the 49ers released a statement noting that "the decision has been made to not renew the current agreement to host the game moving forward". On September 10, 2021, the game was again canceled for the 2021–22 bowl season, putting its future in jeopardy.