Moments after BYU became bowl eligible Saturday afternoon with its 37-7 win over Southern Utah, the Cougars received an invitation to be one of the participants in the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.

They accepted, filling the first of 82 postseason berths available this season.

The Poinsettia Bowl had an agreement in place with BYU (6-4) before the season began to invite the Cougars as long as they were bowl eligible. BYU will meet a team from the Mountain West in a game to be played Dec. 21 (6 p.m., ESPN) at Qualcomm Stadium. Air Force, Wyoming and San Diego State are among possible opponents, depending on how the season’s next three weeks play out.

“BYU has played a huge role in the growth of San Diego’s bowl games, dating back to the Holiday Bowl’s inception in 1978,” said Mark Neville, executive director of the San Diego Bowl Game Association. “Some of the most exciting bowl games ever played have been in San Diego and have included BYU. We look forward to another great one.”


Neville and Ted Tollner, this year’s president of the San Diego Bowl Game Association, traveled to Provo for the game, extending the invitation to the Cougars players, head coach Kalani Sitake and AD Tom Holmoe on the field immediately after the game.

Neville and Tollner had watched BYU rack up 596 yards in total offense against the Thunderbirds. That included 320 yards passing by quarterback Taysom Hill, who tossed two touchdown passes and ran for another score.

BYU has been an independent in football since leaving the Mountain West five years ago. The Cougars don’t have a glittering record, but their four losses have come by a total of eight points. They lost by one point to Utah (20-19) and Boise State (28-27) and three points to UCLA (17-14) and West Virginia (35-32). Among BYU’s wins are victories over Arizona, Michigan State and Mississippi State.

This will be the 13th local bowl appearance for BYU. The Cougars have played in the Holiday Bowl 11 times and the Poinsettia Bowl once, beating SDSU 23-6 in the 2012 game.


BYU has the most appearances of any school in San Diego bowls and the most storied history along with it. The Cougars were in the epic 1980 Holiday Bowl that ended with a Hail Mary touchdown pass for a 46-45 win over SMU. They were crowned national champions after a 24-17 win over Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl. That capped a run of seven straight appearances dating to the Holiday Bowl’s debut.

kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com / on Twitter: @sdutkirKDKenney