East–West Shrine Bowl
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The East–West Shrine Bowl is a postseason college football all-star game that has been played annually since 1925; through January 2019, it was known as the East–West Shrine Game.[1] The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners International, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game's slogan is "Strong Legs Run That Weak Legs May Walk."
Teams consist of players from colleges across the country, and players may be college seniors or college underclassmen who have declared for the NFL Draft who are eligible to play for their schools.[2] The game and the practice sessions leading up to it attract dozens of scouts from professional teams. Since 1985, Canadian players playing in Canadian university football have also been invited (even though U Sports and the NCAA play by different football codes). As such, this is the only current bowl or all-star game in either the Canadian or American college football schedules to include players from both Canadian and American universities.
The game has been played in various locations. Most editions have been held in California, although the most recent edition played there was in 2005. The game has been played in Texas since the February 2024 edition. Since 1979, the game has been played in January or February, and has been played on January 10 or later since 1986. The later game dates allow players from teams whose schools were involved in bowl games to participate.
History
20th century
For most of its history, the game was played in the San Francisco Bay Area, usually at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium or Stanford Stadium at Stanford University, with Pacific Bell Park/SBC Park (now Oracle Park) as a host in its final years in Northern California. For more than half of the games played in the Bay Area, entertainment was provided by the marching band from Santa Cruz High School.[3]
In January 1942, the game was played in New Orleans, due to the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This one-year relocation was based upon fears that playing the game on the West Coast could make the contest and the stadium a potential target for an additional attack. The game, originally planned for January 1 in San Francisco, was played on January 3 at Tulane Stadium, two days after the 1942 Sugar Bowl was held there.[4]
During this era, the game was not restricted to college seniors—for example, the January 1944 edition of the game featured Robert Hoernschemeyer, Dean Sensanbaugher, and Herman Wedemeyer, each then college freshmen.[5]
A similar all-star game, the North–South Shrine Game, was played in Miami from 1948 to 1973, and a final time in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1976.
21st century
In 2006, the game moved to Texas, leaving the San Francisco Bay area for the first time since 1942, and was played at the Alamodome in San Antonio. In 2007, the game relocated to Houston and was played at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, to be closer to one of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children; Texas has two Shriner's hospitals, one in Houston and the other in Galveston. The 2008 and 2009 games were held at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.[6][7]
In 2010, the game moved to Florida, and was held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Television coverage moved from ESPN/ESPN2 to the NFL Network, starting with the 2011 game.[8] After two years in Orlando, the 2012 game was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg; it was the sixth different venue (in five cities and three states) in a span of eight contests.
Starting with the January 2017 game, the NFL supplies coaching staffs for the game, drawing from assistant coaches of teams who did not advance to the NFL postseason, and the game is now officiated by NFL officials.[9] The game is played under NFL rules, with some restrictions, such as no motion or shifts by the offense, and no stunts or blitzes by the defense.[10] Prior to the January 2020 playing, organizers renamed the game from East–West Shrine Game to East–West Shrine Bowl.[1]
The 2021 edition of the game, which had been scheduled for January 23, was cancelled due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
In July 2021, it was announced that Allegiant Stadium would host the East–West Shrine Bowl on February 3, 2022; the game was scheduled as part of festivities for the 2022 Pro Bowl being held there the following Sunday.[12]
In June 2023, organizers announced that the game would move to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, for its 2024 playing.[13]
Game results
Through the January 2025 game (100 editions, 99 games played), the West leads all-time with 54 wins to the East's 40 wins, while 5 games have tied.[14][15][16]
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Template:Dagger For the December 1925 game, NCAA records list a 7–0 final score,[15] while contemporary newspaper accounts report 6–0.[17]
MVP award
The game first named a Most Valuable Player for the January 1945 playing (Bob Waterfield, UCLA quarterback), and named a single MVP through the December 1952 game. Starting with the January 1954 game, two MVPs are selected for each game; they receive the William H. Coffman Award for Most Outstanding Offensive Player, and the E. Jack Spaulding Award for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.[18] Coffman was managing director of the game for 40 years, while Spaulding was one of the organizers of the inaugural playing of the game.[18] MVPs starting with the January 2000 game are listed below.
| Year | Offensive winner | College | Position | Defensive winner | College | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Marcus Knight | Michigan | WR | Erik Flowers | Arizona State | DE |
| 2001 | Steve Smith | Utah | WR | Leo Barnes | Southern Mississippi | DB |
| 2002 | Deonce Whitaker | San Jose State | RB | Everick Rawls | Texas | LB |
| 2003 | Donald Lee | Mississippi State | TE | Tully Banta-Cain | Cal | DE |
| 2004 | Ryan Dinwiddie | Boise State | QB | Brandon Chillar | UCLA | LB |
| 2005 | Stefan LeFors | Louisville | QB | Alex Green | Duke | S |
| 2006 | Reggie McNeal | Texas A&M | QB | James Wyche | Syracuse | DE |
| 2007 | Jeff Rowe | Nevada | QB | Dan Bazuin | Central Michigan | DE |
| 2008 | Josh Johnson | San Diego | QB | Spencer Larsen | Arizona | LB |
| 2009 | Marlon Lucky | Nebraska | RB | Michael Tauiliili | Duke | LB |
| 2010 | Mike Kafka | Northwestern | QB | O'Brien Schofield | Wisconsin | DE |
| 2011 | Delone Carter | Syracuse | RB | Martin Parker | Richmond | DT |
| 2012 | Lennon Creer | Louisiana Tech | RB | Nick Sukay | Penn State | CB |
| 2013 | Chad Bumphis | Mississippi State | WR | Nigel Malone | Kansas State | CB |
| 2014 | Jimmy Garoppolo | Eastern Illinois | QB | Ethan Westbrooks | West Texas A&M | DE |
| 2015 | Marvin Kloss | South Florida | K | Za'Darius Smith | Kentucky | DE |
| 2016 | Vernon Adams | Oregon | QB | Michael Caputo | Wisconsin | S |
| 2017 | Elijah McGuire | Louisiana–Lafayette | RB | Trey Hendrickson | Florida Atlantic | DE |
| 2018 | Daurice Fountain | Northern Iowa | WR | Natrell Jamerson | Wisconsin | S |
| 2019 | Terry Godwin | Georgia | WR | Justin Hollins | Oregon | LB |
| 2020 | Benny LeMay | Charlotte | RB | Luther Kirk | Illinois State | S |
| 2022 | E. J. Perry | Brown | QB | Diego Fagot | Navy | LB |
| 2023 | Jake Moody | Michigan | K | Trey Dean III | Florida | S |
| 2024 | Frank Gore Jr. | Southern Miss | RB | Jarius Monroe | Tulane | CB |
| 2025 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt | Arizona | RB | O'Donnell Fortune | South Carolina | CB |
Canadian invitees
Although the game is an American football competition, players of Canadian university football, contested under Canadian football rules, have been invited to each game played since 1985, when Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Tom Spoletini played. Usually, Canadian players on the West team come from Canada West schools, while Canadian players on the East team are from the other three Canadian conferences (Ontario University Athletics, Atlantic University Sport, and Quebec Student Sport Federation). One exception was Sean McEwen of the Calgary Dinos (a Canada West school), who played on the East squad in the 2016 game. The only Canadian team that competed under American football rules is the now-defunct Simon Fraser Red Leafs; the only Simon Fraser player to be invited to the game is Ibrahim Khan, who played in 2004 when Simon Fraser still played Canadian football.
Through the 2025 game, the Calgary Dinos have had the most invitees, with 13.
In 2024, the lone Canadian invitee was Qwan'tez Stiggers, an American who did not play college football but instead became a professional player for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[20][21]
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame was established in 2002, with additional inductees typically named in the weeks leading up to each annual playing.[22] Through 2024 inductees, there are currently 64 members of the hall of fame.
| Year | Qty | Inductees (Game no. played in) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 6 | Dick Butkus (No. 40), Gerald Ford (No. 10), Eddie LeBaron (No. 25), Ollie Matson (No. 27), Volney Peters (No. 26), Dick Stanfel (No. 26) |
| 2003 | 6 | Hugh McElhenny (No. 28), Craig Morton (No. 40), Merlin Olsen (No. 37), Alan Page (No. 42), Leslie Richter (No. 27), Gene Washington (No. 44) |
| 2004 | 5 | Chris Burford (No. 35), Mike Garrett (No. 41), Gino Marchetti (No. 27), Tom Matte (No. 36), Ed White (No. 44) |
| 2005 | 1 | Pat Tillman (No. 73) |
| 2006 | 4 | Raymond Berry (No. 30), Joe Greene (No. 44), Mike Haynes (No. 51), Bob Lilly (No. 36) |
| 2007 | 4 | Joe DeLamielleure (No. 48), Gale Sayers (No. 40), Paul Warfield (No. 39), Randy White (No. 50) |
| 2008 | 6 | Dave Butz (No. 48), Carl Eller (No. 39), Forrest Gregg (No. 31), E.J. Holub (No. 36), Lenny Moore (No. 31), Larry Wilson (No. 35) |
| 2009 | 4 | Jerry Kramer (No. 33), Charley Taylor (No. 39), Brad Van Pelt (No. 48), Doug Williams (No. 53) |
| 2010 | 4 | Larry Csonka (No. 43), James Groh (No. 21), Jim Walden (No. 35), Kellen Winslow (No. 54)[23] |
| 2011 | 2 | Buck Belue (No. 57), Tom Flick (No. 56) |
| 2012 | 2 | Martín Gramática (No. 74), Joey Harrington (No. 77) |
| 2013 | 2 | Buddy Curry (No. 55), Steve Bartkowski (No. 50) |
| 2014 | 2 | Tony Berti (No. 70), Steve Atwater (No. 64) |
| 2015 | 2 | Tommie Frazier (No. 71), Jim Hanifan (No. 30) |
| 2016 | 2 | Rickey Jackson (No. 56), Chris Chandler (No. 63) |
| 2017 | 2 | Robert Porcher (No. 67), Mark Rypien (No. 61) |
| 2018 | 3 | Brett Favre (No. 66), Willie Roaf (No. 68), Gary Huff (No. 48)[24] |
| 2019 | 2 | Troy Vincent (No. 67), Barry Smith (No. 48)[25] |
| 2020 | 2 | Will Shields (No. 68), Dan Pastorini (No. 46)[26] |
| 2023 | 1 | Nate Burleson (No. 78)[27] |
| 2024 | 2 | Steve Sarkisian (No. 72), Steve Smith Sr. (No. 76)[28] |
Inductees range from having played in game No. 10 (January 1935) to game No. 78 (January 2003), with game No. 48 (December 1972) having the most players honored, five.
Pat Tillman Award
Game organizers initiated a Pat Tillman Award in 2005, the year that Tillman was posthumously inducted to the game's hall of fame, to recognize "a player who best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service."[29]
| Year | Player | Pos. | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Morgan Scalley | S | Utah |
| 2006 | Charlie Peprah | S | Alabama |
| 2007 | Kyle Shotwell | LB | Cal Poly |
| 2008 | Justin Tryon | CB | Arizona State |
| 2009 | Collin Mooney | FB | Army |
| 2010 | Mike McLaughlin | LB | Boston College |
| 2011 | Josh McNary | LB | Army |
| 2012 | Tauren Poole | RB | Tennessee |
| 2013 | Keith Pough | LB | Howard |
| 2014 | Gabe Ikard | C | Oklahoma |
| 2015 | Jake Ryan | LB | Michigan |
| 2016 | Keenan Reynolds | QB | Navy |
| 2017 | Weston Steelhammer | S | Air Force |
| 2018 | J. T. Barrett | QB | Ohio State |
| 2019 | Cody Barton | LB | Utah |
| 2020 | James Morgan[30] | QB | FIU |
| 2022 | Jack Coan[31] | QB | Notre Dame |
| 2023 | Derek Parish[32] | DE | Houston |
| 2024 | Trey Taylor[33] | S | Air Force |
All-Century Team
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the East–West Shrine Bowl announced its All-Century Team.[34] Listed in alphabetical order:
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B — Herb Adderley, Michigan State
OT/G — Larry Allen, Sonoma State
DL — Jared Allen, Idaho State
DB — Steve Atwater, Arkansas
E — Raymond Berry, SMU
QB — Tom Brady, Michigan
LB — Robert Brazile, Jackson State
OLB — Willie Brown, Temple
DE — Tedy Bruschi, Arizona
DL — Nick Buoniconti, Notre Dame
C — Dick Butkus, Illinois
DB — Kam Chancellor, Virginia Tech
Q — Earl "Dutch" Clark, Colorado College
T — George Connor, Notre Dame
B — Larry Csonka, Syracuse
DT — Curley Culp, Arizona State
QB — Randall Cunningham, UNLV
LB — Fred Dean, Louisiana Tech
OT — Joe DeLamielleure, Michigan State
T — Dan Dierdorf, Michigan
E — Mike Ditka, Pittsburgh
DL — Chris Doleman, Pittsburgh
B — Bill Dudley, Virginia
Q — Tony Dungy, Minnesota
T — Albert Glen "Turk" Edwards, Washington State
T — Carl Eller, Minnesota
Q — John Elway, Stanford
OB — Brett Favre, Southern Mississippi
E — Tom Fears, UCLA
B — Jim Finks, Tulsa
G — Dan Fortmann, Colgate
RB — Eddie George, Ohio State
B — Frank Gifford, UCLA
DT — La’Roi Glover, San Diego State
DT — Joe Greene, North Texas
T — Forrest Gregg, SMU
OL — Russ Grimm, Pittsburgh
B — John Hadl, Kansas
LB — Jack Ham, Penn State
DB — Mike Haynes, Arizona State
E — Bill Hewitt, Michigan
B — Clarke Hinkle, Bucknell
B — Paul Hornung, Notre Dame
LB — Rickey Jackson, Pittsburgh
H — Jimmy Johnson, Santa Clara
G — Jerry Kramer, Idaho
B — Paul Krause, Iowa
T — Bob Lilly, TCU
G — Tom Mack, Michigan
E — John Mackey, Syracuse
OL — Logan Mankins, Fresno State
G — Gino Marchetti, USF
B — Ollie Matson, USF
B — George McAfee, Duke
T — Mike McCormack, Kansas
OL — Randall McDaniel, Arizona State
B — Hugh McElhenny, Washington
WR — Art Monk, Syracuse
B — Lenny Moore, Penn State
T — Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota
FB — Lorenzo Neal, Fresno State
T — Merlin Olsen, Utah State
DE — Alan Page, Notre Dame
H — Ace Parker, Duke
G — Jim Parker, Ohio State
RB — Walter Payton, Jackson State
E — Pete Pihos, Indiana
G — Les Richter, UC Berkeley
WR — Andre Rison, Michigan State
OT — Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech
OC — Jeff Saturday, North Carolina
B — Gale Sayers, Kansas
WR — Sterling Sharpe, South Carolina
WR — Shannon Sharpe, Savannah State
OG — Will Shields, Nebraska
WR — Steve Smith, Utah
G — Dick Stanfel, San Francisco
B — Roger Staubach, Navy
TE — Ernie Stautner, Boston College
C — Dwight Stephenson, Alabama
T — Joe Stydahar, West Virginia
B — Charley Taylor, Arizona State
LB — Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina
MLB — Zach Thomas, Texas Tech
OLB — Pat Tillman, Arizona State
C — Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Hardin–Simmons
CB/DB — Troy Vincent, Wisconsin
DE — Mike Vrabel, Ohio State
B — Doak Walker, SMU
B — Paul Warfield, Ohio State
Q — Bob Waterfield, UCLA
C — Mike Webster, Wisconsin
T — Arnie Weinmeister, Washington
WR — Wes Welker, Texas Tech
DT — Randy White, Maryland
OL — Andrew Whitworth, LSU
Q — Doug Williams, Grambling State
B — Larry Wilson, Utah
TE — Kellen Winslow, Missouri
C — Alex Wojciechowicz, Fordham
References
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Further reading
- Maxwell Stiles, The Shrine East-West Game: Football's Finest Hour. Los Angeles, CA: Nashunal Publishing Co., 1950.
External links
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