bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating teams, which had to meet strict eligibility requirements. The bowl games proliferated in place of the historic lack of a post-season tournament to determine an annual national champion in the FBS. This number of bowl games has grown in recent years, climbing to 39 team-competitive games starting in 2014–15. The increase in games allows virtually every team with a non-losing record to play in a bowl game. With the increase to 39 bowl games, the NCAA has eased the bowl eligibility rules to make teams with a losing record fully eligible to participate without the need to apply for a waiver.