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Upcoming Rose Bowl Game dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
What the Rose Bowl Game is
The Rose Bowl Game is a college football bowl game played on New Year's Day at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, and it is now a quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff (CFP, the 12-team bracket that decides the national champion). The next game is set for Friday, January 1, 2027. It is organized by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, the same volunteer group that stages the Rose Parade that morning, and since 2023 its presenting sponsor has been Prudential Financial.
It is also the oldest bowl in the sport. The first game, on January 1, 1902, ended Michigan 49, Stanford 0, and it was the first postseason college football game ever played. The game has been held every year since 1916, and broadcaster Keith Jackson's nickname for it, "The Granddaddy of Them All," stuck. For most of the last century it meant one thing: the Big Ten against the Pac-12 and its predecessors. That pairing has given way to the playoff, which changes how you should think about buying tickets.
How teams get to Pasadena now
The Rose Bowl's conference partnerships ran for decades: the Pac-12 and its predecessor leagues from 1917 through 2023, and the Big Ten from 1947. The game joined the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and the CFP in 2014. Under the expanded playoff it hosted a semifinal in January 2024 (Michigan 27, Alabama 20 in overtime), then quarterfinals in January 2025 and January 2026. Wikipedia's entry on the game states that, beginning with the 2027 edition, the Rose Bowl no longer has a conference tie-in, and its CFP entry describes the Rose Bowl as remaining on New Year's Day and always serving as a quarterfinal. Playoff arrangements are renegotiated from time to time, so treat that as the current structure rather than a permanent one.
For a ticket buyer, the bracket shapes everything:
- Selection day in early December reveals the bracket. In the 12-team format the top four seeds receive first-round byes and go straight to the quarterfinals, so one Rose Bowl team is usually known that day.
- The first round, played in mid-to-late December at the higher seed's home field, decides the other team. Until then, half the matchup is open.
- Fan travel drives demand. A matchup involving a large, traveling fan base, or a team from the West, tends to tighten the market quickly once both teams are set.
If you are buying early, you are buying the setting and the occasion rather than a known matchup. Buying after the first round removes that uncertainty but leaves less time to plan travel around a holiday.
Date, kickoff and the Never on Sunday rule
The game is played on January 1. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, both the game and the parade move to Monday, January 2, a custom the Tournament of Roses has followed since 1893. January 1, 2027 is a Friday, so the usual date holds.
The traditional kickoff was 2 p.m. Pacific (5 p.m. Eastern). For the January 2026 game it moved to 1 p.m. Pacific so it would not overlap the start of the Sugar Bowl. The 2026–27 bowl schedule lists New Year's Day quarterfinal windows at noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern; confirm the Rose Bowl's exact time once the CFP and the networks publish it. An afternoon kickoff means the game ends near or after sunset, when the Arroyo Seco cools off quickly, so bring a layer even if the morning is warm.
Where to sit in Rose Bowl Stadium
Rose Bowl Stadium is a single, open-air bowl with an official capacity of about 89,702 and no upper deck. Its layout is covered in detail in the stadium guide on this site; the essentials for the game are below.
Reading the ticket
- Sections 1 through 28 run around the oval. Roughly 1–8 line the east sideline and 15–22 the west sideline; the sections between wrap the end zones.
- L and H split each section into its low-numbered and high-numbered halves.
- Rows start with letters near the field (K down to A), then numbered rows climb from 1 to 77.
Choosing a section
- West sideline, sections 16–20: the side with the Terry Donahue Pavilion (press box and suites) and the side that gains shade as the afternoon goes on. Usually the highest-demand seats in the building.
- East sideline, sections 3–6: the same view from the other side, in the sun for much of an afternoon game. Often a better value than the matching west seats.
- End zones: the lowest-demand seats, with much of the seating on benches rather than individual chairs. Fine for atmosphere, harder for a long day.
Height matters more here than in most stadiums. Because the bowl rises at a shallow angle, the lettered front rows sit nearly level with the field, and players and staff on the sideline block the far side of the play. Rows 20 through 40 between the 20-yard lines give the best football view; below about row 10 you trade a true view for proximity. In a CFP game, each school receives its own ticket allotment, and fans tend to cluster behind their team's bench, so check sideline assignments once they are announced if sitting with your own fans matters.
The Rose Parade and the rest of the week
The Rose Bowl Game is half of a New Year's Day double bill. The Rose Parade, first held on January 1, 1890, steps off at 8 a.m. Pacific, heading north on South Orange Grove Boulevard from Green Street, turning at the main grandstands onto Colorado Boulevard and continuing east. Every surface of every float must be covered in flowers or other natural materials such as leaves, seeds and bark. The 2027 parade theme is "Welcome."
Around it, the Tournament of Roses runs a set of related events in the days before and after New Year's, including Bandfest (performances by the parade's marching bands), Equestfest (a showcase of the parade's equestrian units) and post-parade float viewing, where the finished floats are parked for close-up inspection. The association has roughly 935 volunteer members across 34 committees, recognizable in their white suits and red ties.
Doing both the parade and the game on the same day is possible but takes planning. The parade ends late morning, Pasadena's streets stay crowded, and the stadium sits a few miles west in the Arroyo Seco. Leave the parade route well before it ends if you want time to park, clear security and find your seat before kickoff.
History, notable games and sponsors
The game has left Pasadena only twice. The 1942 game was moved to Duke Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, after the attack on Pearl Harbor raised security concerns on the West Coast, and the 2021 game was played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, because of COVID-19 restrictions in California. The record crowd, 106,869, saw USC play Ohio State in 1973, before the stadium's seating was reduced to its current size.
Notable games include:
- 2006: Texas 41, USC 38, the BCS title game, widely remembered as one of the best college games of its era.
- 2018: Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48 in double overtime, a CFP semifinal.
- 2024: Michigan 27, Alabama 20 in overtime, a semifinal on the way to Michigan's national title.
- 2025: Ohio State 41, Oregon 21, the first Rose Bowl played as a quarterfinal.
- 2026: Indiana 38, Alabama 3, another quarterfinal.
Title sponsorship arrived in 1999. The sequence has been AT&T (1999–2002), PlayStation 2 (2003), Citi (2004–2010), Vizio (2011–2014), Northwestern Mutual (2015–2020), Capital One (2021–2022) and Prudential (since 2023).
Travel and game-day tips
- Book lodging early. Pasadena's hotels fill for the parade as well as the game, and many visitors stay in Los Angeles and travel in on game day.
- Plan the last mile. The stadium is surrounded by a golf course, parkland and residential streets, and the nearest Metro station, Memorial Park in Pasadena, is about 2.4 miles away. Parking, shuttle and rideshare arrangements for the Rose Bowl Game are set separately from UCLA home games, so check the game's own guidance before you go.
- Expect a clear-bag rule. As of the 2025 season, the stadium enforced a clear-bag policy for UCLA games (clear bags no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, plus a small clutch). Confirm the current policy for the bowl game before you go.
- Dress for two climates. An afternoon in the sun on the east side and a cool evening after sunset can happen in the same game.
Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee. For official schedules and game-day details, see the Rose Bowl Game and the Tournament of Roses.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next Rose Bowl Game?
The next Rose Bowl Game is scheduled for Friday, January 1, 2027, at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. The exact kickoff time is set by the CFP and its broadcast partners.
Is the Rose Bowl still Big Ten vs. Pac-12?
No. The Pac-12 tie-in ended after 2023, and the game is now part of the College Football Playoff. Wikipedia states that beginning with the 2027 edition the game has no conference tie-in, so the matchup comes from the playoff bracket.
Who will play in the Rose Bowl?
The teams come from the CFP bracket. One team is usually a top-four seed with a first-round bye, known on selection day in early December; the other is the winner of a first-round game played in mid-to-late December.
What are the best seats at the Rose Bowl Game?
Sideline seats between the 20-yard lines in roughly rows 20 to 40 give the best view, with the west side (sections 16–20) gaining shade through the afternoon. The lettered front rows sit too low to see the far side of the field well.
What time does the Rose Parade start?
The Rose Parade starts at 8 a.m. Pacific on New Year's Day, moving to January 2 when January 1 is a Sunday. It runs north on Orange Grove Boulevard and then east on Colorado Boulevard.
Has the Rose Bowl ever been played outside Pasadena?
Twice. The 1942 game was moved to Durham, North Carolina, after Pearl Harbor, and the 2021 game was played in Arlington, Texas, because of COVID-19 restrictions.