Cactus Bowl

The Cactus Bowl is an annual college footballbowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989, under several different names.

Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then the Insight Bowl from 2002 through 2011, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for 2012 and 2013, and the Cactus Bowl for the 2014 through 2017 seasons. In 2018 and 2019, the game was known as the Cheez-It Bowl.^[a] The game was known as the Guaranteed Rate Bowl from 2020 until 2023 and then the Rate Bowl for the 2024 and 2025 playings. In 2026, the Fiesta Sports Foundation announced the game would rebrand back to the Cactus Bowl name.^[2]

The bowl has been contested at three different venues in three different cities in Arizona. The first 11 editions were held at Arizona Stadium^[b] in Tucson. The 12th through 17th and 27th through 36th editions were held at Chase Field^[c] in Phoenix. The 18th through 26th editions were held in Tempe at the venue now known as Mountain America Stadium,^[d] with the bowl announced to return to this venue in December 2026 for the 37th edition.

"Cactus Bowl" had been the originally planned name for what became the Copper Bowl in 1989.^[3] The game was played under the Copper Bowl name through 1996, after which title sponsorship rights were assumed by Insight Enterprises, which self-titled the game from 1997 through 2011. In 2012, restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings became the sponsor and self-titled the game for two years.^[4] Buffalo Wild Wings declined to renew sponsorship following the 2013 game,^[5] at which time organizers opted to rename the game "Cactus Bowl" rather than reverting to the Copper Bowl name. There had been a Texas-based Cactus Bowl played in Division II, but that game was discontinued after 2011. For 2014, TicketCity sponsored the new Cactus Bowl,^[6] and Motel 6 became the sponsor in 2015.^[7] In 2018, Kellogg's became the sponsor and rebranded the bowl, naming it after its cheese cracker brand, Cheez-It.^[8] In May 2020, the Cactus Bowl name returned, as Cheez-It sponsorship moved to what had been known as the Camping World Bowl played in Orlando, Florida.^[9]Guaranteed Rate signed on as the title sponsor of the game, renaming it as the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.^[10] In October 2024, the game became the Rate Bowl as part of a company rebrand.^[11]

When the bowl was founded, it was played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, on the campus of the University of Arizona. In 2000, the organizers moved the game from Tucson to Phoenix. There, it was played at what became known as Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. For the 2006 season, the bowl moved a second time. After the annual Fiesta Bowl left Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to play in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, the bowl (then still known as the Insight Bowl) was relocated there as a permanent replacement. The bowl returned to its previous home at Chase Field in Phoenix for the January 2016 event, due to renovation work at Sun Devil Stadium that was expected to last at least three off-seasons until the 2025 season. In 2026, in addition to a name change, it was announced that the game would move back to Mountain America Stadium (formerly known as Sun Devil Stadium) in Tempe.

For the first three playings of the Copper Bowl, TBS carried the game. Beginning in 1992 and continuing until the 2005 playing, the game aired on ESPN. After a four-year hiatus, during which NFL Network carried the game, ESPN regained the rights beginning in 2010.

The 2006 game set a record (since tied in the 2016 Alamo Bowl) for the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I FBS bowl history,^[12] as Texas Tech came back from a 38–7 third-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota in overtime, 44–41.

The 2020 edition of the bowl was cancelled on December 20, 2020, due to an insufficient number of teams available to fill all 2020–21 bowl games, after a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[13]

All rankings are taken from the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

Source:^[17]

Games  1–11 (copper) played in Tucson at Arizona Stadium

Games 12–17 (silver) played in Phoenix at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field)

Games 18–26 (yellow) played in Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium)

Games 27–36 (silver) played in Phoenix at Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark)

Games 37–present (yellow) played in Tempe at Mountain America Stadium (formerly Sun Devil Stadium)

Two MVPs are selected for each game; one an offensive player, the other a defensive player.^[18]

Source:^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

The bowl awarded a sportsmanship award for the 2001 through January 2016 games.^[18]

Teams with a single appearance

Won (4): BYU, Colorado, Michigan State, Syracuse Lost (9): Boise State, Boston College, Michigan, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, UCLA, UNLV, Virginia Tech, Washington

Updated through the December 2025 edition (36 games, 72 total appearances).

• Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
• Records reflect conference affiliations at the time each game was played.
• The Pac-12's record includes appearances when the conference was the Pac-10. From 1989 through 2005, Pac-10 teams made eight appearances and were 7–1.
• Big East teams made seven appearances and were 2–5; the American Conference retains the conference charter following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines.
• Conferences that are defunct or no longer active in FBS are marked in italics.
• Independent appearances: Notre Dame (2004)

Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the noted calendar year.

Source:^[24]

The bowl has been televised by three different networks: TBS (1989–1991), ESPN (1992–2005, 2010–2025), and NFL Network (2006–2009).^[25]

The 2026 game is scheduled to be aired as part of Saturday Night Football on ABC.^[15]

• Official website