East–West Shrine Bowl

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, 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.

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.

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.^[6][7] Esposito and the former patient, Nicole Urteaga, met again prior to the 100th edition of the game, played in January 2025.^[8]

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.^[9][10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

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.^[15]

The game moved to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, for its January 2024 playing.^[16] The 100th edition of the game, held in January 2025, was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.^[17] The January 2026 edition returned to Ford Center at The Star.^[18]

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.^[19][20][21]

† For the December 1925 game, NCAA records list a 7–0 final score,^[20] while contemporary newspaper accounts report 6–0.^[22]

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.^[23] Coffman was managing director of the game for 40 years, while Spaulding was one of the organizers of the inaugural playing of the game.^[23] MVPs starting with the January 2000 game are listed below.

Although the game is an American football competition, a limited number of players of Canadian university football, contested under Canadian football rules, have participated since 1985. The first Canadian football participant was offensive lineman Tom Spoletini of the Calgary Dinos, who played in the January 1985 game.

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 was Ibrahim Khan, who played in 2004.

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.^[25][26] Through the 2024 game, the Calgary Dinos had the most invitees, with 13. The 2025 and 2026 games have included Canada-born invitees from US-based college programs.

For the 2025 game, quarterback Kurtis Rourke was invited; a native of Ontario and a player for the Indiana Hoosiers,^[27] he was unable to participate due to injury.^[28] For the 2026 game, offensive lineman Logan Taylor, a native of Nova Scotia and a player for the Boston College Eagles, was invited.^[28]

A hall of fame was established in 2002, with additional inductees typically named in the weeks leading up to each annual playing.^[29] Through the January 2026 edition, 67 players have been named to the hall of fame.

Inductees range from having played in game No. 10 (January 1935) to game No. 81 (January 2006), with game No. 48 (December 1972) having the most players honored, five.

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."^[40]

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the East–West Shrine Bowl announced its All-Century Team.^[45] Listed in alphabetical order:

— Bob Waterfield, UCLA 

• Maxwell Stiles, The Shrine East-West Game: Football's Finest Hour. Los Angeles, CA: Nashunal Publishing Co., 1950.

• Official website
• Duo that inspired East West Shrine Bowl logo reunites at AT&T Stadium from KDFW via YouTube