Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl To Be The First College Ball Game Played At SoFi Stadium
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl is all set to take place for the first time at SoFi Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. It is the first college bowl game to be named after a living person.
The matchup between Oregon State and Utah State will be one of several college bowl games played on Saturday, but the first played in California, a tradition usually reserved for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Oregon State, 7-5 on the year, finished sixth overall in the PAC-12, but third in the North Division behind Oregon and Washington State. On the other hand, Utah State finished first overall in the Mountain West Conference. It will be the second game that Utah State has played in the Los Angeles area, after they earned the conference title with a win over San Diego State University at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
Several players from both universities played their high school football in the Southland, making the game a sort of homecoming for many.
Players from both squads made an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Wednesday night to increase interest in the first college football game ever to be played at SoFi Stadium. The stadium will be the future location of all LA Bowl games between teams from the PAC-12 and Mountain West Conferences.
The bowl game is just one bit of preparation for stadium employees, who are preparing to host Super Bowl LVI, which will be played at SoFi on February 13, 2022 - the first Super Bowl game to be held in Los Angeles in nearly 30 years.
On top of this, SoFi Stadium is set to host the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship.
As expected, with a name like Kimmel's attached to it, much of the game will be surrounded by hilarity and antics from Kimmel, including the "world's most powerful t-shirt cannon" and the game's mascot, a vomiting camel named Jimmy Kamel.
Instead of the traditional awarding of trophies to offensive and defensive MVPs, players will earn "big, bold belts."
For an additional bit of flair, SoFi added an item to their menu for the event, named after Kimmel. The "Jimmy Kimmel Sandwich'' includes roast beef, provolone piccante, spicy peppers, pepperoni, shaved red onions, red wine vinaigrette, dried Sicilian oregano, olive oil, and salt and pepper between two slices of ciabatta bread.
Kimmel has always had an ability to bring comedy to the world of sports, especially with the deployment of his right-hand man Guillermo to various major sporting events like Super Bowl Media Days and NBA All-Star Media Days.
Kimmel graduated from schools in the PAC-12 and Mountain West Conferences - Arizona State University and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, respectively.
Tickets for the game started at just $32, and is presented by Stifel, an independent investment company.