The Cactus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989, under several different names.
Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 through 2001, then the Insight Bowl from 2002 through 2011, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl for 2012 and 2013, and the Cactus Bowl for the 2014 through 2017 seasons. In 2018 and 2019, the game was known as the Cheez-It Bowl. The game was known as the Guaranteed Rate Bowl from 2020 until 2023 and then the Rate Bowl for the 2024 and 2025 playings. In 2026, the Fiesta Sports Foundation announced the game would rebrand back to the Cactus Bowl name.
The bowl has been contested at three different venues in three different cities in Arizona. The first 11 editions were held at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. The 12th through 17th and 27th through 36th editions were held at Chase Field in Phoenix. The 18th through 26th editions were held in Tempe, Arizona at the Mountain America Stadium, with the bowl announced to return to this venue in December 2026 for the 37th edition.
History "Cactus Bowl" had been the originally planned name for what became the Copper Bowl in 1989. The game was played under the Copper Bowl name through 1996, after which title sponsorship rights were assumed by Insight Enterprises, which self-titled the game from 1997 through 2011. In 2012, restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings became the sponsor and self-titled the game for two years. Buffalo Wild Wings declined to renew sponsorship following the 2013 game, at which time organizers opted to rename the game "Cactus Bowl" rather than reverting to the Copper Bowl name. There had been a Texas-based Cactus Bowl played in Division II, but that game was discontinued after 2011. For 2014, TicketCity sponsored the new Cactus Bowl, and Motel 6 became the sponsor in 2015. In 2018, Kellogg's became the sponsor and rebranded the bowl, naming it after its cheese cracker brand, Cheez-It. In May 2020, the Cactus Bowl name returned, as Cheez-It sponsorship moved to what had been known as the Camping World Bowl played in Orlando, Florida. Guaranteed Rate signed on as the title sponsor of the game, renaming it as the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. In October 2024, the game became the Rate Bowl as part of a company rebrand.
When the bowl was founded, it was played at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, on the campus of the University of Arizona. In 2000, the organizers moved the game from Tucson to Phoenix. There, it was played at what became known as Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. For the 2006 season, the bowl moved a second time. After the annual Fiesta Bowl left Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe to play in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, the bowl (then still known as the Insight Bowl) was relocated there as a permanent replacement. The bowl returned to its previous home at Chase Field in Phoenix for the January 2016 event, due to renovation work at Sun Devil Stadium that was expected to last at least three off-seasons until the 2025 season. In 2026, in addition to a name change, it was announced that the game would move back to Mountain America Stadium (formerly known as Sun Devil Stadium) in Tempe.
For the first three playings of the Copper Bowl, TBS carried the game. Beginning in 1992 and continuing until the 2005 playing, the game aired on ESPN. After a four-year hiatus, during which NFL Network carried the game, ESPN regained the rights beginning in 2010.
The 2006 game set a record (since tied in the 2016 Alamo Bowl) for the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I FBS bowl history, as Texas Tech came back from a 38–7 third-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota in overtime, 44–41.
The 2020 edition of the bowl was cancelled on December 20, 2020, due to an insufficient number of teams available to fill all 2020–21 bowl games, after a season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conference tie-ins Before 2006, the game mainly featured teams from the Pac-10, Western Athletic Conference, Big 12, and old Big East conferences. From 2006 to 2013, it began featuring an annual matchup between teams from the Big Ten and the Big 12. Starting with the 2015 game, it featured a matchup between Pac-12 and Big 12 teams. Teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Mountain West Conference have also competed, along with teams from the now defunct Southwest Conference and Big Eight, and one independent school (Notre Dame in 2004). In July 2019, the bowl announced tie-ins with the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences, starting with the 2020 season and continuing through the 2025 season. The press release for the 2026 edition also noted a Big Ten and Big 12 matchup, without specifying an additional duration to these tie-ins.
Game results All rankings are taken from the AP Poll prior to the game being played. No.DateBowl name Winning Team Losing TeamAttendance 1 December 31, 1989 Copper Bowl Arizona 17 NC State 10 37,2372 December 31, 1990 Copper Bowl California 17 Wyoming 15 36,3403 December 31, 1991 Copper Bowl Indiana 24 Baylor 0 35,7514 December 29, 1992 Copper Bowl No 18 Washington State 31 Utah 28 40,8265 December 29, 1993 Copper Bowl No. 20 Kansas State 52 Wyoming 17 49,0756 December 29, 1994 Copper Bowl No. 22 BYU 31 Oklahoma 6 45,1227 December 27, 1995 Copper Bowl Texas Tech 55 Air Force 41 41,0048 December 27, 1996 Copper Bowl Wisconsin 38 Utah 10 42,1229 December 27, 1997 Insight.com Bowl Arizona 20 New Mexico 14 49,38510 December 26, 1998 Insight.com Bowl No. 23 Missouri 34 West Virginia 31 36,14711 December 31, 1999 Insight.com Bowl Colorado 62 No. 25 Boston College 28 35,76212 December 28, 2000 Insight.com Bowl Iowa State 37 Pittsburgh 29 41,81313 December 29, 2001 Insight.com Bowl No. 18 Syracuse 26 Kansas State 3 40,02814 December 26, 2002 Insight Bowl No. 24 Pittsburgh 38 Oregon State 13 40,53315 December 26, 2003 Insight Bowl California 52 Virginia Tech 49 42,36416 December 28, 2004 Insight Bowl Oregon State 38 Notre Dame 21 45,91717 December 27, 2005 Insight Bowl Arizona State 45 Rutgers 40 43,53618 December 29, 2006 Insight Bowl Texas Tech 44 Minnesota 41 (OT) 48,39119 December 31, 2007 Insight Bowl Oklahoma State 49 Indiana 33 48,89220 December 31, 2008 Insight Bowl Kansas 42 Minnesota 21 49,10321 December 31, 2009 Insight Bowl Iowa State 14 Minnesota 13 45,09022 December 28, 2010 Insight Bowl Iowa 27 No. 14 Missouri 24 53,45323 December 30, 2011 Insight Bowl No. 19 Oklahoma 31 Iowa 14 54,24724 December 29, 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Michigan State 17 TCU 16 44,61725 December 28, 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Kansas State 31 Michigan 14 53,28426 January 2, 2015 Cactus Bowl Oklahoma State 30 Washington 22 35,40927 January 2, 2016 Cactus Bowl West Virginia 43 Arizona State 42 39,32128 December 27, 2016 Cactus Bowl Baylor 31 Boise State 12 33,32829 December 26, 2017 Cactus Bowl Kansas State 35 UCLA 17 32,85930 December 26, 2018 Cheez-It Bowl TCU 10 California 7 (OT) 33,12131 December 27, 2019 Cheez-It Bowl No. 24 Air Force 31 Washington State 21 34,105— December 26, 2020 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Canceled: insufficient number of teams available32 December 28, 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Minnesota 18 West Virginia 6 21,22033 December 27, 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Wisconsin 24 Oklahoma State 17 23,18734 December 26, 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Kansas 49 UNLV 36 26,47835 December 26, 2024 Rate Bowl Kansas State 44 Rutgers 41 21,65936 December 26, 2025 Rate Bowl Minnesota 20 New Mexico 17 (OT) 27,43937 December 26, 2026 Cactus Bowl
Source: Games 1–11 (copper) played in Tucson at Arizona Stadium Games 12–17 (silver) played in Phoenix at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) Games 18–26 (yellow) played in Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) Games 27–36 (silver) played in Phoenix at Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark) Games 37–present (yellow) played in Tempe at Mountain America Stadium (formerly Sun Devil Stadium)
MVPs Two MVPs are selected for each game; one an offensive player, the other a defensive player.
GameOffensive MVPDefensive MVPPlayerTeamPositionPlayerTeamPosition 1989 Shane Montgomery North Carolina State QB Scott Geyer Arizona DB 1990 Mike Pawlawski California QB Robert Midgett Wyoming LB 1991 Vaughn Dunbar Indiana TB Mark Hagen Indiana LB 1992 Drew Bledsoe Washington State QB Kareem Leary Utah DB 1993 Andre Coleman Kansas State WR Kenny McEntyre Kansas State CB 1994 Jamal Willis BYU RB Broderick Simpson Oklahoma LB 1995 Zebbie Lethridge Texas Tech QB Mickey Dalton Air Force CB 1996 Ron Dayne Wisconsin RB Tarek Saleh Wisconsin LB 1997 Trung Canidate Arizona RB Jimmy Sprotte Arizona LB 1998 Marc Bulger West Virginia QB Jeff Marriott Missouri DT 1999 Cortlen Johnson Colorado RB Jashon Sykes Colorado LB 2000 Sage Rosenfels Iowa State QB Reggie Hayward Iowa State DE 2001 James Mungro Syracuse RB Clifton Smith Syracuse LB 2002 Brandon Miree Pittsburgh TB Claude Harriott Pittsburgh DL 2003 Aaron Rodgers California QB Ryan Gutierrez California FS 2004 Derek Anderson Oregon State QB Trent Bray Oregon State LB 2005 Rudy Carpenter Arizona State QB Jamar Williams Arizona State LB 2006 Graham Harrell Texas Tech QB Antonio Huffman Texas Tech CB 2007 Zac Robinson Oklahoma State QB Donovan Woods Oklahoma State S 2008 Dezmon Briscoe Kansas WR James Holt Kansas LB 2009 Alexander Robinson Iowa State RB Christopher Lyle Iowa State DE 2010 Marcus Coker Iowa RB Micah Hyde Iowa DB 2011 Blake Bell Oklahoma QB Jamell Fleming Oklahoma DB 2012 Le'Veon Bell Michigan State RB William Gholston Michigan State DE 2013 Tyler Lockett Kansas State WR Dante Barnett Kansas State DB 2015 Desmond Roland Oklahoma State RB Seth Jacobs Oklahoma State LB 2016 (Jan.) Skyler Howard West Virginia QB Shaq Petteway West Virginia LB 2016 (Dec.) KD Cannon Baylor WR Tyrone Hunt Baylor DE 2017 Alex Delton Kansas State QB Denzel Goolsby Kansas State S 2018 Sewo Olonilua TCU RB Jaylinn Hawkins California S 2019 Kadin Remsberg Air Force RB Grant Donaldson Air Force OLB 2021 Ky Thomas Minnesota RB Tyler Nubin Minnesota S 2022 Braelon Allen Wisconsin RB Jordan Turner Wisconsin LB 2023 Jason Bean Kansas QB Kenny Logan Kansas S 2024 Dylan Edwards Kansas State RB Austin Moore Kansas State LB 2025 Jalen Smith Minnesota WR Anthony Smith Minnesota DL Source:
Sportsmanship award The bowl awarded a sportsmanship award for the 2001 through January 2016 games. GamePlayerTeamPosition 2001 Terry Pierce Kansas State LB 2002 Derek Anderson Oregon State QB 2003 Doug Easlick Virginia Tech FB 2004 Derek Curry Notre Dame LB 2005 Ryan Neill Rutgers DE 2006 Dominic Jones Minnesota DB 2007 Jonathan "Josh" Sandberg Indiana OG 2008 Jack Simmons Minnesota TE 2009 D.J. Burris Minnesota OG 2010 Tim Barnes Missouri C 2011 Tyler Nielsen Iowa LB 2012 Tayo Fabuluje TCU OT 2013 Devin Funchess Michigan WR 2015 Andrew Hudson Washington DE 2016 (Jan.) D. J. Foster Arizona State RB
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2025 edition (36 games, 72 total appearances).
Teams with multiple appearances Rank Team Appearances Record1 Kansas State 5 4–1 Minnesota 5 2–33 Oklahoma State 3 2–1 California 3 2–1 West Virginia 3 1–26 Arizona 2 2–0 Texas Tech 2 2–0 Iowa State 2 2–0 Wisconsin 2 2–0 Kansas 2 2–0 Air Force 2 1–1 Arizona State 2 1–1 Indiana 2 1–1 Missouri 2 1–1 Oregon State 2 1–1 Pittsburgh 2 1–1 Iowa 2 1–1 Oklahoma 2 1–1 Baylor 2 1–1 TCU 2 1–1 Washington State 2 1–1 New Mexico 2 0–2 Rutgers 2 0–2 Utah 2 0–2 Wyoming 2 0–2
, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF are the only current Big 12 schools that have not played in this bowl, albeit some while having previous conference affiliations. Eight of the current Big 12 schools have appeared multiple times. Former Big 12 member Missouri has appeared in the bowl, but former Big 12 members Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M have not.
Teams with a single appearance Won (4): BYU, Colorado, Michigan State, Syracuse