The 16th annual bowl game, pitting a top pick from the Mountain West Conference against the fourth- or fifth-place team from the Pac-10, will be played at 5 p.m. Dec. 22 at Sam Boyd Stadium, Executive Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said.

"We've had tremendous success the last three years playing on Thursday, but we think the Saturday before Christmas is the perfect date for this year's game," Kunzer-Murphy said in a statement. "It gives fans the chance to enjoy Las Vegas on a weekend and then get home for the holidays in plenty of time."

The bowl, sponsored by Pioneer PureVision, is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television. It was re-certified by the NCAA last week during annual meetings in San Francisco. It will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPNHD.

The game was played on Saturdays from 1997-99. Last Dec. 21, BYU defeated Oregon 38-8, before a sellout crowd of 44,615.