MATCHUP

Oregon Ducks vs Wisconsin Badgers

Jan. 2, 2012 | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN

HISTORY

Year Opened: 1922 | Field Surface: Natural Grass

The Rose Bowl was built in 1922 with the official dedication on Jan. 1, 1923. The south end of the stadium was closed in 1929, adding 19,000 seats and making the stadium a complete bowl. The oldest of all bowl stadiums, the Rose Bowl is a National Historic Landmark. While the Rose Bowl game is the granddaddy event played at the stadium, the UCLA Bruins have called the Rose Bowl home since 1982. In addition to hosting five Super Bowls, soccer for the 1984 Olympics and three World Cups, the Rose Bowl is home to major concerts and the world's largest flea market (R.G. Canning). Modeled after the Yale Bowl, the venue is undergoing a $152 million renovation to be completed in 2013.

TRADITIONS

The oldest of the bowl games played, the Rose Bowl game kicked off several college football legacies in 1902. The first Tournament of Roses football game -- the nation's first bowl game -- was staged at Tournament Park (about 3 miles from where the Rose Bowl stadium now stands) on Jan. 1, 1902. The present exclusive agreement among the Tournament of Roses Association, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 started in 1947. The pact is the oldest intercollegiate postseason bowl agreement between two major conferences in the United States. The Rose Bowl game has rightfully earned its designated title "The Granddaddy of Them All." This game has featured many firsts, including the first and longest-running bowl game. The Rose Bowl Game featured the first local radio broadcast of an East-West bowl game in 1926, the first transcontinental radio broadcast of a sporting event in 1927, the first local telecast of a college football game in 1948, the first national telecast of a college football game in 1952 and the first coast-to-coast color telecast of a college game in 1962. The Rose Bowl hosts the BCS National Championship Game every four years. The national title game is played in addition to the annual Rose Bowl game featuring a Pac-12 vs. Big Ten matchup -- unless one of those conference champions is set to play in the BCS National Championship Game, at which point another BCS-qualified team can be invited to the Rose Bowl game. In perhaps the most famous -- and infamous for Cal fans -- Rose Bowl play, Georgia Tech earned an 8-7 victory over California in the 1929 game after Cal All-American Roy Riegels recovered a fumble, got turned around and started running toward his own goal line. By the time teammate Benny Lom stopped him, Riegels was at the 1. Cal decided to punt, but Lom's boot was blocked out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Tech lead. Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels and Lom received memberships into the Georgia Tech Letterman's club in 1971.

Sources: Rose Bowl

GETTING THERE

Directions | Parking | Public Transit

SEATING NOTES:

• Chairback seating is available for all seats in sections 2-7 and 16-21. Chairback seating is also available for some seats in sections 1, 8, 15 and 22 as shown on the seat map. All other sections have bench seating.

General:

The following items will not be allowed into the stadium: Bottles, containers, cans, thermoses, ice chests, picnic baskets, alcohol, signs, poles, chairs, umbrellas, weapons, knives, video recorders, beach balls, footballs, soccer balls, Frisbees, flags/banners with poles, large musical instruments, fireworks, palm video recorders, and drugs. Permitted items: Small still cameras, sack lunches, binoculars, small radio, medical prescriptions, flags no larger than 2'x3'. All patrons are subject to search by Contemporary Services at all gates. There will be a check-in of items at the Service Booth located at the South Autogate next to Gate A. Lost and found will be located in the Police Headquarters trailer on the east side of the stadium, next to Gate B.