Cheez-IT Bowl Preview

The TCU football team has been selected by the Cheez-It Bowl to face Cal on Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. MST (8 p.m. CST) with the game televised on ESPN.

TCU and Cal will be meeting for the first time on the gridiron. The schools have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

TCU closed the regular season with back-to-back victories over Baylor and Oklahoma State as part of three wins in its last four games to earn its 16th bowl trip in 18 years under head coach Gary Patterson. TCU also went to a bowl all three seasons (1998-00) when Patterson was defensive coordinator.

Over the last five seasons, TCU has the Big 12's second-best overall record (46-19) and conference mark (30-15).

Cheez-it Bowl Quick Links

TCU Coaching Staff

Head Coach Gary Patterson

Since taking over the helm of the Horned Frogs in December 2000, Gary Patterson is synonymous with TCU football and Fort Worth.

Patterson, the Horned Frogs' all-time winningest coach with 166 victories, has received 22 national coach of the year honors. His most recent accolade came when he was selected as the 2018 recipient of the Gene Stallings Award.

Patterson led TCU to a 2014 Big 12 championship, in just its third season in the conference, and a 2017 Big 12 Championship Game appearance. TCU has won six conference titles, in three different leagues, under Patterson. He has also been the coach of the year in each conference.

Patterson's .725 winning percentage (166-63) ranks fourth among active coaches nationally (minimum 10 years). The nation's second-longest tenured head coach, he leads all active coaches in the country in victories at their current schools.

Patterson became TCU’s career leader in wins with a 56-0 victory over Grambling State in the 2012 season opener, a game that also marked the debut of the rebuilt Amon G. Carter Stadium. The previous TCU mark of 109 wins was held by Dutch Meyer (1934-52).

TCU is one of just five programs nationally to finish in the top 10 in at least three of the last four years (2014, 2015, 2017). In 17 seasons under Patterson, TCU has posted seven top-10 finishes and 11 in the top 25.

The Horned Frogs have won at least 11 games in 10 of the last 15 seasons. Prior to Patterson's arrival on campus in 1998, TCU had just four 10-win seasons in its history.

During his 21 years on campus, including three seasons as defensive coordinator (1998-00), Patterson has seen TCU make 19 bowl appearances. TCU is 12-6 in bowl games with Patterson on its coaching staff and 10-6 with him as head coach. Prior to Patterson's arrival on campus in 1998, the Horned Frogs had only four bowl wins in their history.

As head coach, Patterson has coached 236 all-conference selections, 18 first-team All Americans, 22 Freshman All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans and a Rhodes Scholar. He has had 45 players drafted with a total of 114 in NFL camps.

Patterson's success on the gridiron is also mirrored in the classroom for his players. In eight of the last 10 seasons, TCU has been recognized by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as one of the nation's leaders in its graduation rate for student-athletes.

Patterson’s defensive acumen dates back to his own playing days at Kansas State, where he played strong safety and outside linebacker for the Wildcats in 1980 and 1981. He served as a student assistant in 1982 and received his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1983. He took the linebacker coaching position at Tennessee Tech while earning a master’s degree in educational administration in 1984.

A native of Rozel, Kansas, Patterson is married to the former Kelsey Hayes. He has three sons: Josh, Cade and Blake.

Follow the Horned Frogs