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. 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".
| East–West Shrine Bowl | |
|---|---|
The game's logo, featuring a young girl recovering from surgery walking with Boston College player Mike Esposito before the 1974 game. | |
| Stadium | Ford Center at The Star (2024–future) |
| Location | Frisco, Texas (2024–future) |
| Previous stadiums | Kezar Stadium (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973) Stanford Stadium (1969, 1974–2000) Tulane Stadium (1942) Oakland Coliseum (1970) AT&T Park (2001–2005) Alamodome (2006) Reliant Stadium (2007) Robertson Stadium (2008–2009) Orlando Citrus Bowl (2010–2011) Tropicana Field (2012–2020) Allegiant Stadium (2022–2023) |
| Previous locations | San Francisco, California (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973, 2001–2005) New Orleans, Louisiana (1942) Stanford, California (1969, 1974–2000) Oakland, California (1971) San Antonio, Texas (2006) Houston, Texas (2007–2009) Orlando, Florida (2010–2011) St. Petersburg, Florida (2012–2020) Paradise, Nevada (2022–2023) |
| Operated | 1925–present |
| Sponsors | |
Shriners (1925–present) | |
| Former names | |
East–West Shrine Game (1925–2019) | |
| 2023 matchup | |
| East vs. West (West 12–3) | |
| 2024 matchup | |
| East vs. West (West 26–11) | |
Teams consist of players from colleges in the Eastern United States vs. the Western United States. Players must be college seniors 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, Canadian players playing in Canadian university football have also been invited (even though U Sports and the NCAA play by different football codes). As such, this is the only current bowl or all-star game in either the Canadian or American college football schedules to include players from both Canadian and American universities.
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. In June 2023, organizers announced the game would move to Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, starting with the 2024 edition.
Since 1979, the game has been played in January, 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, which is important, as these teams often have some of the very best players.