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. 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. The game and the practice sessions leading up to it attract dozens of scouts from professional teams. Since 1985, some players of Canadian university football have also been invited, even though U Sports and the NCAA play by different football codes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Logo Prior to the 50th edition of the game, contested in December 1974, a player from the Boston College Eagles, running back Mike Esposito, was photographed at Shriners Hospitals for Children in San Francisco holding the hand of a young patient while walking down a hallway—the photo was adapted as the Shrine Bowl logo. Esposito and the former patient, Nicole Urteaga, met again prior to the 100th edition of the game, played in January 2025.
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.
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. 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. 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. Prior to the January 2020 playing, organizers renamed the game from East–West Shrine Game to East–West Shrine Bowl.
The 2021 edition of the game, which had been scheduled for January 23, was cancelled due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
The game moved to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, for its January 2024 playing. The 100th edition of the game, held in January 2025, was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The January 2026 edition returned to Ford Center at The Star.
Game results Through the January 2026 game (101 editions, 100 games played), the West leads all-time with 55 wins to the East's 40 wins, while 5 games have tied.
No. Date Winner Score Location Notes 1 December 26, 1925 West 6–0 San Francisco 2 January 1, 1927 West 7–3 San Francisco 3 December 26, 1927 West 16–6 San Francisco 4 December 29, 1928 East 20–0 San Francisco 5 January 1, 1930 East 19–7 San Francisco 6 December 27, 1930 West 3–0 San Francisco 7 January 1, 1932 East 6–0 San Francisco 8 January 2, 1933 West 21–13 San Francisco 9 January 1, 1934 West 12–0 San Francisco 10 January 1, 1935 West 19–13 San Francisco 11 January 1, 1936 East 19–3 San Francisco 12 January 1, 1937 East 3–0 San Francisco 13 January 1, 1938 Tie 0–0 San Francisco 14 January 2, 1939 West 14–0 San Francisco 15 January 1, 1940 West 28–11 San Francisco 16 January 1, 1941 West 20–14 San Francisco 17 January 3, 1942 Tie 6–6 New Orleans 18 January 1, 1943 East 13–12 San Francisco 19 January 1, 1944 Tie 13–13 San Francisco 20 January 1, 1945 West 13–7 San Francisco 21 January 1, 1946 Tie 7–7 San Francisco 22 January 1, 1947 West 13–9 San Francisco 23 January 1, 1948 East 40–9 San Francisco 24 January 1, 1949 East 14–12 San Francisco 25 December 31, 1949 East 28–6 San Francisco 26 December 30, 1950 West 16–7 San Francisco 27 December 29, 1951 East 15–14 San Francisco 28 December 27, 1952 East 21–20 San Francisco 29 January 2, 1954 West 31–7 San Francisco 30 January 1, 1955 East 13–12 San Francisco 31 December 31, 1955 East 29–6 San Francisco 32 December 29, 1956 West 7–6 San Francisco 33 December 28, 1957 West 27–13 San Francisco 34 December 27, 1958 East 26–14 San Francisco 35 January 2, 1960 West 21–14 San Francisco 36 December 31, 1960 East 7–0 San Francisco 37 December 30, 1961 West 21–8 San Francisco 38 December 29, 1962 East 25–19 San Francisco 39 December 28, 1963 Tie 6–6 San Francisco 40 January 2, 1965 West 11–7 San Francisco 41 December 31, 1965 West 22–7 San Francisco 42 December 31, 1966 East 45–22 San Francisco 43 December 30, 1967 East 16–14 San Francisco 44 December 28, 1968 West 18–7 San Francisco 45 December 27, 1969 West 15–0 Stanford, California 46 January 2, 1971 West 17–13 Oakland, California 47 December 31, 1971 West 17–13 San Francisco 48 December 30, 1972 East 9–3 San Francisco 49 December 29, 1973 East 35–7 San Francisco 50 December 28, 1974 East 16–14 Stanford, California
No. Date Winner Score Location Notes 51 January 3, 1976 West 21–14 Stanford, California 52 January 2, 1977 West 30–14 Stanford, California 53 December 31, 1977 West 23–3 Stanford, California 54 January 6, 1979 East 56–17 Stanford, California 55 January 5, 1980 West 20–10 Stanford, California 56 January 10, 1981 East 21–3 Stanford, California 57 January 9, 1982 West 20–13 Stanford, California 58 January 15, 1983 East 26–25 Stanford, California 59 January 7, 1984 East 27–19 Stanford, California 60 January 5, 1985 West 21–10 Stanford, California 61 January 11, 1986 East 18–7 Stanford, California 62 January 10, 1987 West 24–21 Stanford, California 63 January 16, 1988 West 16–13 Stanford, California 64 January 15, 1989 East 24–6 Stanford, California 65 January 21, 1990 West 22–21 Stanford, California 66 January 26, 1991 West 24–21 Stanford, California 67 January 19, 1992 West 14–6 Stanford, California 68 January 24, 1993 East 31–17 Stanford, California 69 January 15, 1994 West 29–28 Stanford, California 70 January 14, 1995 West 30–28 Stanford, California 71 January 13, 1996 West 34–18 Stanford, California 72 January 11, 1997 East 17–13 Stanford, California 73 January 10, 1998 West 24–7 Stanford, California 74 January 16, 1999 East 20–10 Stanford, California 75 January 15, 2000 East 35–21 Stanford, California 76 January 13, 2001 West 20–10 San Francisco 77 January 12, 2002 West 21–13 San Francisco 78 January 11, 2003 East 20–17 San Francisco 79 January 10, 2004 West 28–7 San Francisco Notes 80 January 15, 2005 East 45–27 San Francisco Notes 81 January 21, 2006 West 35–31 San Antonio Notes 82 January 20, 2007 West 21–3 Houston Notes 83 January 19, 2008 West 31–13 Houston Notes 84 January 17, 2009 East 24–19 Houston Notes 85 January 23, 2010 East 13–10 Orlando, Florida Notes 86 January 22, 2011 East 25–8 Orlando, Florida Notes 87 January 21, 2012 West 24–17 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 88 January 19, 2013 West 28–13 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 89 January 18, 2014 East 23–13 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 90 January 17, 2015 East 19–3 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 91 January 23, 2016 West 29–9 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 92 January 21, 2017 West 10–3 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 93 January 20, 2018 West 14–10 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 94 January 19, 2019 West 21–17 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 95 January 18, 2020 East 31–27 St. Petersburg, Florida Notes 96 Canceled 97 February 3, 2022 West 25–24 Paradise, Nevada Notes 98 February 2, 2023 West 12–3 Paradise, Nevada Notes 99 February 1, 2024 West 26–11 Frisco, Texas 100 January 30, 2025 East 25–0 Arlington, Texas 101 January 27, 2026 West 21–17 Frisco, Texas
For the December 1925 game, NCAA records list a 7–0 final score, while contemporary newspaper accounts report 6–0.
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. Coffman was managing director of the game for 40 years, while Spaulding was one of the organizers of the inaugural playing of the game. MVPs starting with the January 2000 game are listed below.