The 46th annual Holiday Bowl will be played Friday, January 2, 2026 at Snapdragon Stadium. The game will match top teams from the ACC against current or former teams from the Pac-12. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM PT and will air on FOX. 

This year’s game marks the first time ever that the Holiday Bowl will be played in January. 

“We absolutely love this game date and kickoff time,” said Mark Neville, CEO for Sports San Diego. “The date makes it easy for fans to follow their teams to San Diego and spend several days in what we feel is the best bowl destination in America. The Friday night primetime kickoff enables us to maximize television viewership for FOX’s broadcast of the game. The date and kick time also is ideal for our loyal local fans to enjoy the festivities on the tail end of the holiday season. It’s a win all around!” 

Last year, Syracuse defeated Washington State 52–35 in the third-highest scoring game in Holiday Bowl history. Only the legendary 1980 BYU–SMU matchup (91 points) and Penn State’s 50–39 win over BYU in 1989 (89 points) saw more scoring. 

Fans attending the 2026 Holiday Bowl can look forward to several days of festivities, including Bowl Bash—a downtown San Diego street party, the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade presented by Kaiser Permanente, and the Holiday Bowl Game Day 5K. 

Tickets will first be made available to annual bowl game ticketholders and then go on sale to the public in September.