The 30th Annual Cheez-It Bowl will host the California Golden Bears from the Pac-12 and the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday, December 26, 2018, at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. This will be the first-ever matchup between the Bears and Horned Frogs.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MST at Chase Field, where the baseball diamond is turned into a football field. Tickets are perfectly-priced for families, starting at $35, and available by visiting cheezitbowl.com.

“Cal and TCU is sure to be an exciting matchup that college football has never seen before, representing two great conferences in the Big 12 and Pac-12,” said Mike Nealy, Executive Director of the Fiesta Bowl. “We’ve been fortunate to host both teams before and we are excited to welcome both programs back to the Valley. The Cheez-It Bowl has hosted some of the most elite players and coaches in college football and we are excited to continue the tradition later this month.”

Coming out of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal (7-5, 4-5) won two of its last three games to earn the program’s third bid to the Cheez-It Bowl. Cal’s most recent Cheez-It Bowl appearance came in 2003 behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who led the Bears to a 52-49 win over Virginia Tech.

In just his second season as head coach, Justin Wilcox has revived the Bears back to bowl eligibility after two years and snapped a 14-year losing streak to USC, beating the Trojans 15-14 at the Coliseum earlier this season.

As the representative from the Big 12 Conference, TCU (6-6, 4-5) enters the Cheez-It Bowl for the second time in school history, previously losing to Michigan State 17-16 in 2012. Additionally, the Horned Frogs have made one trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

At the helm for the last 24 years, TCU head coach Gary Patterson has a career record of 166-63, including an undefeated season in 2011, which ended with a victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

“It is a great honor to host these two accomplished teams in the Valley for a unique matchup played on a baseball diamond turned gridiron,” said Steve Leach, Chairman of the Cheez-It Bowl Board of Directors. “We are excited to extend Arizona hospitality to these two fan bases for or a family-friendly day complete with the Oasis Pregame Party before the big game.”

Beginning at 3:30 p.m., all fans are invited to attend the Oasis Pregame Party adjacent to the Chase Field entry plaza. Free of charge, the Oasis Pregame Party is the perfect way to begin gameday, complete with live music, marching bands, cheerleaders, pep rallies, interactive games and jumbotrons.

All tickets purchased for the Cheez-It Bowl support Fiesta Bowl Charities, which has given $12.5 million to the Arizona community in the last eight years in charitable giving, including $2.5 million for the 2018-19 season, the most of any college football bowl organization.

For more information about the Fiesta Bowl organization, the Cheez-It Bowl or the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl and related events, please visit FiestaBowl.org.