The 45th annual Holiday Bowl will take place at 5 p.m. Dec. 27 at Snapdragon Stadium, it was announced Tuesday.
The 2024 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl game will match top teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference against current and former teams from the Pac-12, which fractured into multiple conferences at the end of last season.
The upcoming game marks the third consecutive year the 101.5 KGB Sky Show will follow the game -- a fireworks display synchronized to music on 101.5 FM and on the free iHeartRadio App.
"We're excited to announce the 2024 DIRECTV Holiday bowl game date and the return of the 101.5 KGB Sky Show," Jackie Reed, 2024 president of Sports San Diego, said in a statement. "Last year's game was fantastic with a strong USC performance over the highly ranked Louisville Cardinals. We can't wait for this year's game at our new home at Snapdragon Stadium. The atmosphere will be amazing, a true Holiday Bowl experience, and hopefully another high- scoring shootout."
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Last year, USC defeated Louisville 42-28 before a crowd of 35,317, while the year before was a tight matchup between Oregon and North Carolina, with the Ducks prevailing 28-27 before a crowd of 36,242. Both games were held at Petco Park.
Following two seasons at Petco, the Holiday Bowl college football game will move to Snapdragon Stadium this December. The bowl game was played from 1978 to 2019 at San Diego Stadium/Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm Stadium/SDCCU Stadium before moving to Petco for the 2022 and 2023 games. The Holiday Bowl was not played in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"101.5 KGB and the entire iHeartRadio group is excited to partner again with the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl," Noreen Ippolito, San Diego Market President of iHeartMedia Markets Group, said in a statement. "The football match-up followed by the KGB Sky Show is a San Diego tradition.
SportsWrap
The top sports headlines of the day
"This year's fireworks show, set to music, will create the best game day experience for those living in and visiting San Diego."
Holiday Bowl fans will have the opportunity to enjoy several days of bowl game events, including the Snapdragon Bowl Bash -- a downtown San Diego street party -- and the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public in September. For updates on ticket sales and the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl, visit www.HolidayBowl.com or call 619-283-5808, ext. 303.
