View source for Koshien Bowl

{{Short description|Annual Japanese American football championship game}}
{{Collegebowl
| name               = Koshien Bowl
| full_name          = [[Mainichi Shimbun|Mainichi]] Koshien Bowl
| nickname           = 甲子園ボウル
| defunct            =
| logo               =
| image size         = 250
| caption            =
| stadium            = [[Koshien Stadium]]
| previous_stadiums  = [[Nishinomiya Stadium]] (1960)<br>[[Nagai Stadium]] (2007 — 2008)
| location           = [[Nishinomiya, Hyōgo|Nishinomiya]]
| previous_locations = [[Osaka]] (2007 — 2008)
| years              = 1947-present
| previous_tie-ins   =
| conference_tie-ins =
| payout             =
| sponsors           = [[Mainichi Shimbun]]<br>[[Nissin Foods]] (1985 — 1987)<br>Sanwa Group (1988 — 1991)<br>[[Panasonic|Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.]] (1992 — 1999)<br>[[House Foods]] (2000 —)<br>[[Mitsubishi Electric]] (2016 —)
| former_names       = Mainichi Bowl (1960)<br>Mainichi Koshien Bowl in Nagai (2007 — 2008)
| prev_matchup_year  = 2024
| prev_matchup_season= 2024
| prev_matchup_teams = [[Ritsumeikan University|Ritsumeikan]] vs. [[Hosei University|Hosei]]
| prev_matchup_score = Ritsumeikan 45-35
| next_matchup_year  = 2025
| next_matchup_season = 2025
| next_matchup_teams = TBD
| next_matchup_score = 
}}
The '''Koshien Bowl''' (甲子園ボウル) is the annual [[Japan]]ese [[American football|American]] [[college football]] national championship game,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/480/sports.asp |title=::Metropolis Tokyo :: SPORTS - Pearl bowl |access-date=2007-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083157/http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/480/sports.asp |archive-date=2007-09-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> usually played in December at [[Koshien Stadium]].

From the 1949 season until 2008 season, the game was held as the final game of Japan University American Football Championship.  From the 2008 season until 2023, the game was held between 2 universities from East Japan ([[Hokkaido American Football Association|Hokkaido]], [[Tohoku Collegiate American Football Association|Tohoku]], [[Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association|Kanto]]) and West Japan ([[Tokai Collegiate American Football Association|Tokai]], [[Hokuriku Collegiate American Football League|Hokuriku]], [[Kansai Collegiate American Football League|Kansai]], [[Chushikoku Collegiate American Football Association|Chushikoku]], [[Kyūshū Collegiate American Football Association|Kyushu]]). 

On December 4th, 2023, the [[Japan American Football Association]] announced it will move the Japan University American Football Championship to a 12 team format, eliminating regional matchups in favor of a mixed-conference bracket which began in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KCFA｜【日本学生協会】2024年以降の全日本大学選手権の方式について {{!}} 一般社団法人 関東学生アメリカンフットボール連盟 |url=https://www.kcfa.jp/information/detail/id=8035 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.kcfa.jp}}</ref>

[[Kwansei Gakuin University]] Fighters is the most successful team with 34 titles (4 shared). [[Nihon University]] Phoenix is second with 21 titles (2 shared).

==Game results==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Season
!Date Played
!Kanto
!Score
!Kansai
!Note
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1946||1947 April 13||'''[[Keio University|Keio]]'''||'''45-0'''||[[Doshisha University|Doshisha]]||&nbsp;
|-
|1947||1948 January 1||[[Meiji University|Meiji]]||'''0-6'''||'''[[Kansai University|Kansai]]'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1948||1949 January 9||'''Keio'''||'''14-7'''||Kansai||&nbsp;
|-
|1949||1949 December 18||Keio||'''7-25'''||'''[[Kwansei Gakuin University|Kwansei Gakuin]]'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1950||1950 December 10||Keio||'''6-20'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1951||1951 December 9||'''[[Rikkyo University|Rikkyo]]'''||'''19-14'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1952||1952 December 7||'''Rikkyo'''||'''20-0'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1953||1953 December 6||Rikkyo||'''7-19'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1954||1954 December 5||Rikkyo||'''7-15'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1955||1955 November 23||'''[[Nihon University|Nihon]]'''||'''26-26'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||Draw
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1956||1956 November 23||Nihon||'''0-33'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1957||1957 November 24||'''Nihon'''||'''14-6'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1958||1958 December 7||'''Nihon'''||'''13-12'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1959||1959 December 6||'''Nihon'''||'''42-0'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1960||1960 December 4||'''Rikkyo'''||'''36-16'''||Kwansei Gakuin||held at [[Nishinomiya Stadium]]
|-
|1961||1961 December 10||'''Nihon'''||'''14-6'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1962||1962 December 2||'''Nihon'''||'''28-24'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1963||1963 December 8||'''Nihon'''||'''30-18'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1964||1965 January 15||'''Nihon'''||'''48-14'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1965||1965 December 5||'''Rikkyo'''||'''22-22'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||Draw
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1966||1966 December 4||'''Nihon'''||'''40-12'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1967||1967 December 10||Nihon||'''12-31'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1968||1968 December 15||Meiji||'''36-38'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1969||1969 December 14||'''Nihon'''||'''30-14'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1970||1970 December 13||Nihon||'''6-34'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1971||1971 December 12||'''Nihon'''||'''28-22'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1972||1972 December 10||'''[[Hosei University|Hosei]]'''||'''34-20'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1973||1973 December 9||Nihon||'''7-24'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1974||1974 December 8||Nihon||'''20-28'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1975||1975 December 14||Meiji||'''7-56'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1976||1976 December 12||Meiji||'''22-29'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1977||1977 December 11||Nihon||'''20-51'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1978||1978 December 10||'''Nihon'''||'''63-7'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1979||1979 December 9||'''Nihon'''||'''48-0'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1980||1980 December 13||'''Nihon'''||'''42-7'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1981||1981 December 13||'''Nihon'''||'''42-31'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1982||1982 December 12||'''Nihon'''||'''65-28'''||[[Kyoto University|Kyoto]]||&nbsp;
|-
|1983||1983 December 11||Nihon||'''14-30'''||'''Kyoto'''||<small>Starting in 1983, the winner would play an [[X-League (Japan)|X-League]] team in the [[Rice Bowl]].</small>
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1984||1984 December 9||'''Nihon'''||'''42-42'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||Draw; Nihon participated in the Rice Bowl
|-
|1985||1985 December 8||Meiji||'''46-48'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1986||1986 December 14||Nihon||'''28-49'''||'''Kyoto'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1987||1987 December 13||Nihon||'''17-41'''||'''Kyoto'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1988||1988 December 11||'''Nihon'''||'''35-28'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|1989||1989 December 17||'''Nihon'''||'''45-14'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1990||1990 December 16||'''Nihon'''||'''34-7'''||Kyoto||&nbsp;
|-
|1991||1991 December 15||[[Senshu University|Senshu]]||'''20-25'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1992||1992 December 13||Hosei||'''7-17'''||'''Kyoto'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1993||1993 December 19||[[Nippon Sport Science University|Nippon Sports Science]]||'''10-35'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1994||1994 December 18||Hosei||'''22-24'''||'''[[Ritsumeikan University|Ritsumeikan]]'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1995||1995 December 17||Hosei||'''17-24'''||'''Kyoto'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1996||1996 December 15||Hosei||'''21-28'''||'''Kyoto'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1997||1997 December 20||'''Hosei'''||'''21-21'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||Draw; Hosei participated in the Rice Bowl
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|1998||1998 December 19||Hosei||'''17-25'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||&nbsp;
|-
|1999||1999 December 19||Hosei||'''13-52'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2000||17 December 2000||'''Hosei'''||'''28-21'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|2001||16 December 2001||Hosei||'''6-24'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2002||15 December 2002||[[Waseda University|Waseda]]||'''14-51'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||&nbsp;
|-
|2003||21 December 2003||Hosei||'''6-61'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2004||19 December 2004||Hosei||'''17-38'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||&nbsp;
|-
|2005||18 December 2005||'''Hosei'''||'''17-14'''||Ritsumeikan||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2006||17 December 2006||'''Hosei'''||'''45-43'''||Kwansei Gakuin||&nbsp;
|-
|2007||16 December 2007||Nihon||'''38-41'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||held at [[Nagai Stadium]]
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2008||21 December 2008||Hosei||'''8-19'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||held at Nagai Stadium
|-
!Season!!Date Played!!East Japan!!Score!!West Japan!!Attendance!!Note
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2009||13 December 2009||Hosei||'''38-50'''||'''Kansai'''||||&nbsp;
|-
|2010||19 December 2010||Waseda||'''21-48'''||'''Ritsumeikan'''||29,000||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2011||18 December 2011||Nihon||'''3-24'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||35,000||&nbsp;
|-
|2012||16 December 2012||Hosei||'''17-20'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||29,000||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2013||15 December 2013||Nihon||'''9-23'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||32,000||&nbsp;
|-
|2014||14 December 2014||Nihon||'''10-55'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||32,000||&nbsp;
|-style="background: #e3e3e3;"
|2015||13 December 2015||Waseda||'''27-28'''||'''[[2015 Ritsumeikan Panthers football team|Ritsumeikan]]'''||33,000||&nbsp;
|-
|[[71st Koshien Bowl|2016]]||12 December 2016||Waseda||'''14-31'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||35,000||&nbsp;
|-
|2017||13 December 2017||'''Nihon'''||'''23-17'''||Kwansei Gakuin||36,000||&nbsp;
|-
|2018||16 December 2018||Waseda||'''20-37'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||-||&nbsp;
|-
|2019||15 December 2019||Waseda||'''28-38'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||-||&nbsp;
|-
|2020||13 December 2020||Nihon||'''24-42'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||-||&nbsp;
|-
|2021||19 December 2021||Hosei||'''7-47'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||-||&nbsp;
|-
|2022||18 December 2022||Waseda||'''17-34'''||'''Kwansei Gakuin'''||-||&nbsp;
|-
|2023
|17 December 2023
|Hosei
|'''21-61'''
|'''Kwansei Gakuin'''
|-
|2024
|15 December 2024
|Hosei
|'''35-45'''
|'''Ritsumeikan'''
|-
|}

==Winners==
In ''Italics'' title shared.

{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!University!!Region!!Wins!!Years won
|-
!1
|[[Kwansei Gakuin Fighters football|Kwansei Gakuin Fighters]]
|{{flag|Hyōgo}}
|34
|1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, ''1955'', 1956, ''1965'', 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, ''1984'', 1985, 1991, 1993, ''1997'', 1999, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
|-
!2
|[[Nihon Phoenix football|Nihon Phoenix]]
|{{flag|Tokyo}}
|21
|''1955'', 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, ''1984'', 1988, 1989, 1990, 2017
|-
!3
|[[Ritsumeikan Panthers football|Ritsumeikan Panthers]]
|{{flag|Kyoto}}
|9
|1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, [[2015 Ritsumeikan Panthers football team|2015]], 2024
|-
!4
|[[Kyoto University]]
|{{flag|Kyoto}}
|6
|1983, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996
|-
!5
|[[Hosei University]]
|{{flag|Tokyo}}
|5
|1972, ''1997'', 2000, 2005, 2006
|-
!6
|[[Rikkyo University]]
|{{flag|Tokyo}}
|4
|1951, 1952, 1960, ''1965''
|-
!7
|[[Keio Unicorns football|Keio Unicorns]]
|{{flag|Tokyo}}
|2
|1946, 1948
|-
!7
|[[Kansai University]]
|{{flag|Osaka}}
|2
|1947, 2009
|}

==See also==
*[[College Football Playoff National Championship]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.koshienbowl.jp/ Official website]
{{Kansai Collegiate American Football League navbox}}
{{Kantoh Collegiate American Football Association navbox}}
{{Collegiate American Football in Japan navbox}}
[[Category:American football competitions]]
[[Category:American football in Japan]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in Japan]]
[[Category:College football bowls]]
[[Category:American football leagues]]
[[Category:College athletics conferences in Japan]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1947]]