The Rose Bowl is a time-honored tradition in college football. Marked by a large parade to kick off the festivities, the Rose Bowl has been played yearly since 1902 as a way to enhance the Tournament of Roses parade that started in 1890. Beginning as a festival to celebrate the New Year, the Rose Bowl has grown from a local festival to a national event.
The First Game
In 1902, the first Tournament of Roses football game was played by Stanford University and the University of Michigan in Pasadena, California. Stanford gave up in the third quarter when it was clear Michigan was going to win, and the final score was 49 to 0, according to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses website. Because of the lopsided game, football was not played during the Tournament of Roses again until 1916, when it became a yearly football tradition following the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Stadium Erection
In 1920, William L. Leishman, the president of the Tournament of Roses, put forth the idea to build a stadium in Pasadena specifically for the Rose Bowl football game. This was due to necessity: The crowds were so large that adequate seating was not available. The stadium was completed in 1923, capable of holding nearly 60,000 fans. The football game was dubbed the Rose Bowl soon after the 1923 game was played, according to RoseBowlHistory.org.
Ticket Sales
With the Rose Bowl gaining popularity, 1947 marked a major event in its history. An agreement was made with Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences making the Rose Bowl open to a wider array of college football teams and bringing about the first sellout in Rose Bowl history. According to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses website, the Rose Bowl has seen a packed stadium ever since, with tickets selling out within weeks of becoming available. In 1998, the Rose Bowl celebrated the anniversary of its agreement with the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.
ESPN and a Bigger Audience
ESPN began televising the entire Bowl Championship Series in the 2010-11 season, and the Rose Bowl, played on Jan. 1, 2001, garnered the third-biggest audience in cable TV history, according to Fast National ratings from Nielsen. The rating, 11.3, indicates that more than 13 million U.S. households tuned in to watch TCU beat Wisconsin 21-19.
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