Definition
The 2021 Las Vegas Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, featuring the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference and the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac‑12 Conference. It concluded the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season for the participating teams.
Overview
- Date and venue: December 18, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. This was the first edition of the Las Vegas Bowl held at the newly constructed stadium; previous editions were hosted at Sam Boyd Stadium.
- Title sponsor: The game was officially named the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl after its corporate sponsor, SRS Distribution.
- Teams:
- Wisconsin Badgers (8–5 record) – representing the Big Ten Conference.
- Arizona State Sun Devils (8–4 record) – representing the Pac‑12 Conference.
- Result: Wisconsin defeated Arizona State, 24–21. The decisive play was a 53‑yard field goal by Wisconsin placekicker Graham Gano with seconds remaining.
- Attendance and broadcast: The game drew an attendance of approximately 32,000 spectators and was televised nationally on CBS.
Etymology/Origin
The term “Las Vegas Bowl” follows the conventional naming pattern for college football postseason games, combining the host city—Las Vegas, Nevada—with the word “Bowl,” a reference to the early 20th‑century Rose Bowl and the ensuing tradition of naming postseason contests after the vessels in which trophies were once presented. The 2021 edition retained this naming while incorporating the sponsor’s name, as is common practice in modern collegiate athletics.
Characteristics
- Conference tie‑ins: The Las Vegas Bowl traditionally features a matchup between a team from the Big Ten Conference and a team from the Pac‑12 Conference, a format that persisted in 2021.
- Sponsorship: The 2021 game marked the inaugural year of SRS Distribution’s title sponsorship.
- Venue shift: Relocating to Allegiant Stadium introduced a domed, climate‑controlled environment, differing from the outdoor, desert‑climate setting of Sam Boyd Stadium.
- Broadcast rights: The game was part of CBS’s college football broadcast portfolio for the 2021 bowl season.
- Economic impact: As with other major bowl games, the event contributed to local tourism revenue for the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
Related Topics
- Las Vegas Bowl (general history and previous editions)
- 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games (overall postseason schedule)
- Wisconsin Badgers football (team history and season overview)
- Arizona State Sun Devils football (team history and season overview)
- Allegiant Stadium (venue details and other sporting events)
- College football bowl game sponsorship (commercial aspects of postseason play)