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 the January 2019 playing, 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 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. 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.
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.

History

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 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.
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. The growth of cable television meant NFL scouts could now view players around the country, making postseason all-star games less important. Even so, the game's organizers relaxed efforts towards attracting top players to the game, meaning many of college football's best players went to the Senior Bowl instead. 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 a span of eight contests.
Starting with the January 2017 game, the NFL now 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.
A similar game, the North–South Shrine Game, was played in Miami from 1948 to 1973, and a final time in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1976.

Game results

Through the 2020 playing of the game, the West leads all-time with 51 wins to the East's 39 wins, while five games have tied.
No.DateWinnerScoreLocationNotes
1December 26, 1925West6–0San Francisco
2January 1, 1927West7–3San Francisco
3December 26, 1927West16–6San Francisco
4December 29, 1928East20–0San Francisco
5January 1, 1930East19–7San Francisco
6December 27, 1930West3–0San Francisco
7January 1, 1932East6–0San Francisco
8January 2, 1933West21–13San Francisco
9January 1, 1934West12–0San Francisco
10January 1, 1935West19–13San Francisco
11January 1, 1936East19–3San Francisco
12January 1, 1937East3–0San Francisco
13January 1, 1938 Tie0–0San Francisco
14January 2, 1939West14–0San Francisco
15January 1, 1940West28–11San Francisco
16January 1, 1941West20–14San Francisco
17January 3, 1942 Tie6–6New Orleans
18January 1, 1943East13–12San Francisco
19January 1, 1944 Tie13–13San Francisco
20January 1, 1945West13–7San Francisco
21January 1, 1946 Tie7–7San Francisco
22January 1, 1947West13–9San Francisco
23January 1, 1948East40–9San Francisco
24January 1, 1949East14–12San Francisco
25December 31, 1949East28–6San Francisco
26December 30, 1950West16–7San Francisco
27December 29, 1951East15–14San Francisco
28December 27, 1952East21–20San Francisco
29January 2, 1954West31–7San Francisco
30January 1, 1955East13–12San Francisco
31December 31, 1955East29–6San Francisco
32December 29, 1956West7–6San Francisco
33December 28, 1957West27–13San Francisco
34December 27, 1958East26–14San Francisco
35January 2, 1960West21–14San Francisco
36December 31, 1960East7–0San Francisco
37December 30, 1961West21–8San Francisco
38December 29, 1962East25–19San Francisco
39December 28, 1963 Tie6–6San Francisco
40January 2, 1965West11–7San Francisco
41December 31, 1965West22–7San Francisco
42December 31, 1966East45–22San Francisco
43December 30, 1967East16–14San Francisco
44December 28, 1968West18–7San Francisco
45December 27, 1969West15–0Stanford, California
46January 2, 1971West17–13Oakland, California
47December 31, 1971West17–13San Francisco
48December 30, 1972East9–3San Francisco

No.DateWinnerScoreLocationNotes
49December 29, 1973East35–7San Francisco
50December 28, 1974East16–14Stanford, California
51January 3, 1976West21–14Stanford, California
52January 2, 1977West30–14Stanford, California
53December 31, 1977West23–3Stanford, California
54January 6, 1979East56–17Stanford, California
55January 5, 1980West20–10Stanford, California
56January 10, 1981East21–3Stanford, California
57January 9, 1982West20–13Stanford, California
58January 15, 1983East26–25Stanford, California
59January 7, 1984East27–19Stanford, California
60January 5, 1985West21–10Stanford, California
61January 11, 1986East18–7Stanford, California
62January 10, 1987West24–21Stanford, California
63January 16, 1988West16–13Stanford, California
64January 15, 1989East24–6Stanford, California
65January 21, 1990West22–21Stanford, California
66January 26, 1991West24–21Stanford, California
67January 19, 1992West14–6Stanford, California
68January 24, 1993East31–17Stanford, California
69January 15, 1994West29–28Stanford, California
70January 14, 1995West30–28Stanford, California
71January 13, 1996West34–18Stanford, California
72January 11, 1997East17–13Stanford, California
73January 10, 1998West24–7Stanford, California
74January 16, 1999East20–10Stanford, California
75January 15, 2000East35–21Stanford, California
76January 13, 2001West20–10San Francisco
77January 12, 2002West21–13San Francisco
78January 11, 2003East20–17San Francisco
79January 10, 2004West28–7San Francisconotes
80January 15, 2005East45–27San Francisconotes
81January 21, 2006West35–31San Antonionotes
82January 20, 2007West21–3Houstonnotes
83January 19, 2008West31–13Houstonnotes
84January 17, 2009East24–19Houstonnotes
85January 23, 2010East13–10Orlando, Floridanotes
86January 22, 2011East25–8Orlando, Floridanotes
87January 21, 2012West24–17St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
88January 19, 2013West28–13St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
89January 18, 2014East23–13St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
90January 17, 2015East19–3St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
91January 23, 2016West29–9St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
92January 21, 2017West10–3St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
93January 20, 2018West14–10St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
94January 19, 2019West21–17St. Petersburg, Floridanotes
95January 18, 2020East31–27St. Petersburg, Floridanotes

; Errata
The game first named a Most Valuable Player for the January 1945 playing, 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; a complete list is provided on the official website.
YearOffensive MVPCollegePositionDefensive MVPCollegePosition
2000Marcus KnightMichiganWRErik FlowersArizona StateDE
2001Steve SmithUtahWRLeo BarnesSouthern MississippiDB
2002Deonce WhitakerSan Jose StateRBEverick RawlsTexasLB
2003Donald LeeMississippi StateTETully Banta-CainCalDE
2004Ryan DinwiddieBoise StateQBBrandon ChillarUCLALB
2005Stefan LeForsLouisvilleQBAlex GreenDukeS
2006Reggie McNealTexas A&MQBJames WycheSyracuseDE
2007Jeff RoweNevadaQBDan BazuinCentral MichiganDE
2008Josh JohnsonSan DiegoQBSpencer LarsenArizonaLB
2009Marlon LuckyNebraskaRBMichael TauiliiliDukeLB
2010Mike KafkaNorthwesternQBO'Brien SchofieldWisconsinDE
2011Delone CarterSyracuseRBMartin ParkerRichmondDT
2012Lennon CreerLouisiana TechRBNick SukayPenn StateCB
2013Chad BumphisMississippi StateWRNigel MaloneKansas StateCB
2014Jimmy GaroppoloEastern IllinoisQBEthan WestbrooksWest Texas A&MDE
2015Marvin KlossSouth FloridaKZa'Darius SmithKentuckyDE
2016Vernon AdamsOregonQBMichael CaputoWisconsinS
2017Elijah McGuireLouisiana–LafayetteRBTrey HendricksonFlorida AtlanticDE
2018Daurice FountainNorthern IowaWRNatrell JamersonWisconsinS
2019Terry GodwinGeorgiaWRJustin HollinsOregonLB
2020Benny LeMayCharlotteRBLuther KirkIllinois StateS

Canadian invitees

Although the game is an American football competition, players of Canadian university football, contested under Canadian football rules, have been invited every year since 1985, when Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Tom Spoletini played. 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. One exception was Sean McEwen of the Calgary Dinos, who played on the East squad in the 2016 game.
The only Canadian team that competes under American football rules is the Simon Fraser Clan, which was in the NAIA from 1965 to 2001, then spent several seasons in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and joined NCAA Division II in 2010. To date, the only Simon Fraser player to be invited to the game is Ibrahim Khan, who played in 2004. Through the 2020 game, the Calgary Dinos have had the most invitees, with 13.

Hall of fame

A hall of fame was established in 2002, with additional former players being added each year. Through 2020 inductees, there are currently 61 members of the hall of fame.
YearQtyInductees
20026Dick Butkus, Gerald Ford, Eddie LeBaron, Ollie Matson, Volney Peters, Dick Stanfel
20036Hugh McElhenny, Craig Morton, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Leslie Richter, Gene Washington
20045Chris Burford, Mike Garrett, Gino Marchetti, Tom Matte, Ed White
20051Pat Tillman
20064Raymond Berry, Joe Greene, Mike Haynes, Bob Lilly
20074Joe DeLamielleure, Gale Sayers, Paul Warfield, Randy White
20086Dave Butz, Carl Eller, Forrest Gregg, E.J. Holub, Lenny Moore, Larry Wilson
20094Jerry Kramer, Charley Taylor, Brad Van Pelt, Doug Williams
20104Larry Csonka, James Groh, Jim Walden, Kellen Winslow
20112Buck Belue, Tom Flick
20122Martín Gramática, Joey Harrington
20132Buddy Curry, Steve Bartkowski
20142Tony Berti, Steve Atwater
20152Tommie Frazier, Jim Hanifan
20162Rickey Jackson, Chris Chandler
20172Robert Porcher, Mark Rypien
20183Brett Favre, Willie Roaf, Gary Huff
20192Troy Vincent, Barry Smith
20202Will Shields, Dan Pastorini

Inductees range from having played in game No. 10 to game No. 77, with game No. 48 having the most players honored with five.

Pat Tillman Award

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".
YearPlayerPos.College
2005Morgan ScalleySUtah
2006Charlie PeprahSAlabama
2007Kyle ShotwellLBCal Poly
2008Justin TryonDBArizona State
2009Collin MooneyFBArmy
2010Mike McLaughlinLBBoston College
2011Josh McNaryLBArmy
2012Tauren PooleRBTennessee
2013Keith PoughLBHoward
2014Gabe IkardCOklahoma
2015Jake RyanLBMichigan
2016Keenan ReynoldsQBNavy
2017Weston SteelhammerSAir Force
2018J. T. BarrettQBOhio State
2019Cody BartonLBUtah
2020James MorganQBFIU

Head coaches who played in the game

Several people have participated in the game first as a player and subsequently as a head coach.