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Poinsettia Bowl
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Poinsettia Bowl logo
Stadium	Qualcomm Stadium
Location	San Diego, California
Operated	2005-present
Conference Tie-ins	Mountain West; Pac-10
Payout	US$750,000 (2006)
Sponsors
San Diego County Credit Union (2005-present)
2007 Matchup
Utah vs. Navy (35–32)
2008 Matchup
Mountain West #2 vs. Pac-10 #7 (TBA)

The Poinsettia Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that was created in 2005. The game was created by the organizers of the Holiday Bowl and is played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is currently sponsored by the San Diego County Credit Union and is known as the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The game currently features a team from the Mountain West Conference and as of 2008, a team from the Pacific 10 Conference.^[1]

In the week leading up to the 2005 Poinsettia Bowl, the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen accepted an invitation to the 2008, 2009, or 2010 Poinsettia Bowls if Navy was bowl eligible in those seasons. The fact that there are several naval bases in and around San Diego contributed to this decision by the independent Midshipmen. The Poinsettia Bowl announced that if Army had become bowl-eligible in 2006, they would have been given an automatic bowl invite. The Cadets wound up with a losing record and were not invited. ^[2] It was announced in July of 2007 that begining with the 2008 game, the Pac-10will send their seventh-place (in 2008) or sixth place (in 2009 and 2010) replacing the at-large team.

The 2006 game matched Texas Christian University, a 10-2 team from the Mountain West Conference against Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference, who finished the regular season with a record of 7-5. TCU defeated Northern Illinois by the score of 37-7.

As a result of Navy's win over North Texas, a game that set a new NCAA record for most points scored in a college football game, Navy returned for the 2007 contest.^[3] However, they could not stop the Utah Utes, losing 35-32.

U.S. Naval Academy defensive end (DE) Jeremy Chase, left, Quarterback (QB) Lamar Owens, center, and head football coach Paul Johnson receive the Poinsettia Bowl trophy after defeating Colorado State 51-30. The college teams played in the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

The coin flip at the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl.

List of college bowl games

1. ^ "Pac-10 Committs To Play In SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl", SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl, 2007-07-22. 
2. ^ "SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl Reaches Deal with Army", SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. 
3. ^ "Navy, N. Texas score most combined points in regulation FBS game", ESPN.com, espn.go.com, November 10, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 

• Official home of the SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl