Global InformationList of college football games played outside the United States information
In the United States, college football has been played since the 1869 season when Princeton and Rutgers played the first game. In the early years of the game, Harvard University and McGill University developed a rivalry that is credited with the establishment of modern American football.[1][2][3] The first game played outside the United States occurred on October 23, 1874, when the Crimson defeated McGill 3–0 at Montreal, Quebec.[1][3] Several other games were played during the early years of the game in Canada until the differences between American and Canadian football became significant enough that Canadian and American universities ceased playing one-another.[3] In addition to the early Canadian games, several teams competed in the Bacardi Bowl at Havana, Cuba until it was discontinued after the 1946 edition of the game.[4]
Although not common, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules allow for member institutions to compete in regular season games scheduled in foreign countries no more than once every four years.[5] The first of these games occurred in 1976 when Grambling State defeated Morgan State in the Pioneer Bowl at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo.[6] After that initial game, a regular season game called the Mirage Bowl (later called the Coca-Cola Classic) was played in Tokyo from 1977 to 1993.[7] Since 1977, regular season games have also been played in Australia, Bermuda, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom.[7]
In April 2006, the NCAA announced Toronto was awarded a postseason bowl game to be played at Rogers Centre.[8] The International Bowl was the first bowl game played outside the United States since the Bacardi Bowl in 1937.[4] However, the game was discontinued after its 2010 edition.[9] Two international games were played as part of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Penn State and UCF played their season opener in the Croke Park Classic at Dublin, and the Bahamas Bowl had its inaugural edition at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau in December 2014 and its second edition on December 24, 2015.[10][11] The Bahamas Bowl has continued as part of the bowl schedule ever since. Two regular-season games were scheduled for 2016: the first game of the season, with California and Hawaiʻi playing at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, and a return to Dublin's Aviva Stadium, this time with Boston College playing Georgia Tech.
In addition to those played, several international games have been proposed from time-to-time that were never actually played. In 1989, USC and Illinois were scheduled to open their season in the Glasnost Bowl at Dynamo Stadium in Moscow.[12] However, the game was canceled and moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum due to the logistics of undertaking a college football game in the Soviet Union.[12] In 1996, the Haka Bowl was scheduled for play at Auckland, New Zealand, but its certification was subsequently revoked by the NCAA due to financing concerns.[13] In 2013, bowl games were proposed for both Dublin, Ireland and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but neither was certified by the NCAA for play.[14] In both 2020 and 2021, the Emerald Isle Classic played at Dublin, Ireland was canceled due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16] The Ireland event returned for 2022, with a new sponsored name of Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
- ^ a b McLean, Dan (November 27, 1970). "Montreal Cup float recalls how McGill started grid mania". The Gazette. p. 16. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ MacDonald, D.A.L. (December 22, 1933). "McGill and Harvard have been rivals for 59 years". The Gazette. p. 13. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Early football". The Evening News. November 13, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ a b "International Bowl results". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "17.9.5.1.1 In season foreign competition" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA.org. pp. 240–241. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ "Grambling is winner". Youngstown Vindicator. Associated Press. September 25, 1976. p. 11. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ a b Bowl/All-Star Game Records, pp. 178–179
- ^ "Birmingham among 31 approved by NCAA for 2006". The Gadsden Times. Associated Press. April 28, 2006. p. D6. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ "International Bowl canceled". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 25, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Moyer, Josh (July 24, 2013). "Penn St.–UCF set for Ireland opener". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ "College football is Bahamas bound for bowl game". USA Today. USAToday.com. Associated Press. October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ a b "Glasnost Bowl is nyet for Moscow". Orlando Sentinel. OrlandoSentinel.com. June 9, 1989. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (October 17, 1996). "NCAA pulls the plug on Haka Bowl". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ McMurphy, Brett (June 12, 2013). "'Group of Five' look to add bowls". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Dinich, Heather (June 2, 2020). "Notre Dame-Navy football game moving from Ireland to Maryland". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Ryan, Shannon (February 17, 2021). "Illinois' 2021 football opener vs. Nebraska is moved from Ireland to Champaign". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 10, 2021.