Coca-Cola Bowl Season Hall of Fame
ORGANIZATION(S): Holiday Bowl
In 1978, Bruce Binkowski was hired as the first full-time employee of San Diego’s new college bowl game, and for the next 37 years, it’s no stretch to say that “Bink” was the Holiday Bowl.
As Public Relations Director and then Director of Marketing, Bruce was instrumental in helping build the Holiday Bowl’s national reputation as America’s Most Exciting Bowl game. After climbing the organizational ladder, Bruce was eventually named the Holiday Bowl’s Executive Director in 2001.
Under Binkowski’s leadership, the Holiday Bowl delivered an annual average economic impact of nearly thirty million dollars per year to the city of San Diego, and in 2005 the NCAA certified a second San Diego bowl game, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
Bruce’s contributions and impact on San Diego’s Bowl games are immeasurable, and the games would not enjoy the success and reputation that they have earned without his leadership. Bruce has seen it all, done it all and been a part of it all, and today’s induction cements his place in the history and lore of San Diego’s bowl history.
