Силикон Аңғары Футбол Классигі: Тарихы мен мәселелері

The Silicon Valley Football Classic, sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley Bowl or Silicon Valley Classic, was an NCAA certified Division I A post season college football bowl game that was played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California, from 2000 to 2004. It had a contractual tie in with the Western Athletic Conference and the Pac 10. The bowl was initially televised on Fox Sports Net and later moved to ESPN2. The bowl game consistently struggled financially, due to low television ratings and a lack of corporate sponsorship. Declining attendance contributed to the NCAA de certifying the bowl after the 2004 season.

The city of San Jose, San Jose State University President Robert Caret, and the Western Athletic Conference proposed the Silicon Valley Bowl for San Jose in 1999.

The inaugural Silicon Valley Bowl on December 31, 2000 was a 37–34 win for Mountain West Conference team Air Force over Fresno State of the WAC. Fresno State trailed 34–7 at halftime before going on a 24–3 run in the second half. But with 14 seconds left, Fresno State failed on a fake field goal attempt from the Air Force 16. Attendance was 26,542, and pop group Destiny's Child performed in the halftime show. However, the bowl lacked a corporate sponsor. The 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic, again played on December 31, had Michigan State of the Big Ten Conference upset no. 20 (AP) Fresno State 44–35. The game was a near sellout, with 30,456 in attendance. The game featured future NFL players including Fresno State quarterback David Carr, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker, Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers, Michigan State running back TJ Duckett, and Fresno State wide receiver Bernard Berrian. In the 2002 NFL draft, Carr would be the first overall pick and Duckett the 18th overall. A report in the December 23 San Jose Mercury News claimed that Silicon Valley Football Classic organizers overstated the economic value the bowl game brought to the city. Additionally, Air Force and Michigan State reported that they lost money participating in the Silicon Valley Classic. Eventually in March 2002, the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that the game contributed to $9.2 million in economic activity, including over 7,500 hotel rooms booked, in San Jose.

After two straight years of the Silicon Valley Football Classic having the lowest ratings of Division I A bowl games, Fox Sports Net withdrew from its five year contract with the bowl in November 2002. This followed continued financial problems for the Silicon Valley Football Classic, namely the third straight year lacking a title sponsor and two companies that funded the 2000 and 2001 games, Knight Ridder and Palm Inc., deciding not to return. The bowl organization rejected a bid by TicketCity for naming rights to the bowl game, citing an unacceptably low payout. The third edition of the Silicon Valley Football Classic on December 31, 2002 had a second straight appearance by Fresno State of the WAC, this time a 30–21 win vs. ACC opponent Georgia Tech. Attendance was 10,132 in rainy weather.

On top of the drop in attendance for the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic, the continuation of this bowl became doubtful after the WAC board of directors voted unanimously in March 2003 to defund the bowl game. Eventually, the bowl would be re certified by the NCAA in 2003 and hire a new chairperson in San Jose Sharks president Greg Jamison, whose Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment company would help with marketing and sponsorships. With 20,126 in attendance, the 2003 Silicon Valley Football Classic played on December 30 was a 17–9 Fresno State win over Pac 10 opponent UCLA in Fresno State's third straight appearance. After the 2003 game, the NCAA instituted new rules for the 2004–05 Bowl Season stating that stadiums had to draw at least 70% of their capacity for bowl games in order to continue hosting them.