The Poinsettia Bowl is set to return after its 10-year hiatus, making it the first bowl tie-in for the new Pac-12 Conference next season. This will make Fresno State eligible to compete after its move from the Mountain West Conference into the Pac-12.
The Poinsettia Bowl ran from 2005 to 2016 and featured a Mountain West team in all 12 of its previous matchups. However, this time around, the game will not include a current Mountain West program.
The game will be held at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and is expected to feature the Pac-12 champion against a Pac-12 legacy team, which can include any of the former Pac-12 programs.
The Pac-12 legacy team has yet to be decided on, with eligible programs including Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California (USC), Utah and Washington.
Fresno State will face one of the potential legacy programs, USC, in its first game of the season.
Kickoff for the Bulldogs’ opener is set for Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. PST at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Edward Rodriguez • Jun 15, 2026 at 12:33 am
The Poinsettia Bowl: Return and will only be for the New Pac 12 (champions) Vs The Old Pac 12 (Legacy) Team.
This is a very good idea to make this a
Pac 12(old School) vs Pac 12(new school).
Loving this thank you this is gonna be fun… But if the new Pac 12 champions are in the playoffs does that make the New Pac 12 second Best the team to rep the New Pac 12 vs the Legacy Pac 12 team in The Poinsettia Bowl?