The Las Vegas All-American Classic was an annual post-season college footballall-star game that was played in January from 2002 to 2006. After taking two years off due to lack of sponsorship, there were plans for the game to return in 2009 as the North–South All-American Classic, but it was postponed and has not been played since.
History
The game was known in 2002 and 2003 as the Paradise Bowl. It was conceived by Darry Alton, in view of the discontinuation of the Blue–Gray Football Classic and the Gridiron Classic, in order to provide players from lesser-known and lesser-televised schools, or players who were primarily backups, with a chance to impress NFL scouts. Alton would later help found the Magnolia Gridiron All-Star Classic. The ParadiseBowl games were played in St. George, Utah, on the campus of the Dixie State College of Utah at Hansen Stadium. In 2002, the game matched players from schools located in Colorado and Utah against players from schools in other Western states, and in 2003, the game matched players from Midwestern schools against players from Western schools. Starting in 2004, the game was held at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the move, it was renamed the Las Vegas All-American Classic. These games matched a team of players from Division I-A and I-AA schools located east of the Mississippi River against players from schools located west of the Mississippi. The intent each year was to field teams of about fifty players each, all of whom were NFL draft-eligible, with forty to forty-five players from Division I-A schools. Prior to the game, players participated in team practices and combines open to professional scouts. A reception honoring offensive and defensive most valuable players for each team followed the game. The game was televised regionally on Fox Sports Net networks. The 2007 game was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. NFL Network, which was scheduled to televise the contest, replaced it with a rebroadcast of Super Bowl XXXII. It was hoped that the game could be revived in 2008 with a new title sponsor, but that did not happen. There were then plans to relocate to Miami with a name change to the North–South All-American Classic and a game date of January 19, 2009, but it was postponed indefinitely.
Game results
Series records: West, Midwest, East, Utah-Colorado
