Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: A Short History Lesson
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl has been played annually at 40,800-seat AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in San Francisco, California, since 2002. It was previously known as the Emerald Bowl from 2004 to 2009 and the San Francisco Bowl and the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl in recognition of the corporate title sponsor, Diamond of California, from 2002 to 2003. As of 2010, the bowl is sponsored by Kraft Foods.
On November 20, 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl officials and the San Francisco 49ers announced the bowl game will move to the new Santa Clara Stadium in Silicon Valley in 2014.
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is one of three college bowl games played in baseball-specific stadiums, alongside the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida, played at Tropicana Field, and the Pinstripe Bowl in New York, played at Yankee Stadium.
In 2010, Kraft Foods became the sponsor of the bowl and announced the new name, which the corporation is launching as part of a broader hunger relief program.
The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl has a contract to host the Pac-12’s sixth-place team during the 2010 through 2013 seasons. There are multiple contracts that will determine the opponent. In 2011, the Pac-12 team’s opponent was Illinois, replacing Army, who did not achieve bowl eligibility; in 2012, it will be Navy; and in 2013, it will be BYU. In the event these teams don’t qualify for bowl eligibility, they will be replaced by a team from the ACC, MAC or WAC.
In recent years, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl has featured several close contests, as four of the last five games have been decided by seven points or fewer.
For the 2012 match-up, Arizona State is headed to San Francisco for their first-ever meeting against the Navy Midshipmen. The game is scheduled for Saturday, December 29, at 1 pm (PST).
Here is a summary of past Kraft Bowl results:
- 2011: Illinois 20 – UCLA 14
- 2010: Nevada 20 – Boston College 13
- 2009: USC 24 – Boston College 13
- 2008: California 24 – Miami 17
- 2007: Oregon State 21 – Maryland 14
- 2006: Florida State 44 – UCLA 27
- 2005: Utah 38 – Georgia Tech 10
- 2004: Navy 34 – New Mexico 19
- 2003: Boston College 35 – Colorado State 21
- 2002: Virginia Tech 20 – Air Force 13