The Garden State Bowl was an annual post-season college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

 played at Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...

 in East Rutherford, New Jersey

East Rutherford, New Jersey

East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....

, from 1978 to 1981. Freezing temperatures and a lack of successful local college teams contributed to its demise.

Game results

Date	Winning Team	Losing Team	Notes
December 16, 1978	Arizona State Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....  34	Rutgers Rutgers Scarlet Knights football The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play... 18	Notes 1978 Garden State Bowl The 1978 Garden State Bowl, part of the 1978 bowl game season, took place on December 16, 1978, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The competing teams were the , which competed as a football independent, and the , representing the Pacific-10 Conference...
December 15, 1979	Temple Temple Owls football The Temple Owls football team participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference... 28	California California Golden Bears football The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...  17	Notes 1979 Garden State Bowl The 1979 Garden State Bowl, played on December 15, 1979, was the 2nd edition of the Garden State Bowl. The game featured the California Golden Bears, and the Temple Owls. The Owls beat the Golden Bears, 28-17, in their first bowl appearance since the 1935 Sugar Bowl...
December 14, 1980	Houston Houston Cougars football The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...  35	Navy Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007... 0	Notes 1980 Garden State Bowl The 1980 Garden State Bowl, part of the 1980 bowl game season, took place on December 14, 1980, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The competing teams were the , which competed as a football independent, and the , representing the Southwest Conference . Houston dominated both sides...
December 13, 1981	Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....  28	Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...  21	Notes 1981 Garden State Bowl The 1981 Garden State Bowl, part of the 1981 bowl game season, took place on December 13, 1981, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The competing teams were the Tennessee Volunteers, representing the Southeastern Conference , and the Wisconsin Badgers, representing the Big Ten...

Effects

After the demise of the Garden State Bowl following the 1981 game, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976, Brendan Byrne Arena was added to the complex in...

, which operated and scheduled events at Giants Stadium, decided to host a game in the beginning of the season, rather than the end. This led to the formation of the Kickoff Classic

Kickoff Classic

The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002.-History:...

, which was held either the last week of August or the first week of September every year for 20 seasons.