First played in 2002 when it was called the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl, organizers announced a new name in May 2004 for that year's iteration of the annual game for the 2004-05 NCAA football bowl season.
Since only two teams from the Pacific-10 Conference had become bowl eligible near the end of the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season, organizers looked to the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen, who were not a member of any athletic conference, to fill the open spot.