Note: As the Nevada football awaits its selection for a bowl game in 2018, we are taking a look back this week at the Wolf Pack's history of bowl game appearances.

The Nevada football team has played three times in the Las Vegas Bowl with all three appearances coming in the 1990s when the Wolf Pack was a member of the Big West Conference.

Nevada's first bowl win as a Division I-A (now FBS) school came in 1996 when the Pack outlasted Ball State, 18-15 for the victory. Mike Crawford, a local product who would go on to play in the NFL, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

The year before, the Wolf Pack and Toledo Rockets made history by playing the first overtime game in major college history in 1995. Overtime was inserted into the bowl season for the first time that year. The Pack came up just short, losing to Toledo 40-37.

In 1992, legendary coach Chris Ault took the Pack to its first bowl game in nearly 50 years and the Pack was in a big hole early, trailing Bowling Green 28-3. Quarterback Chris Vargas rallied the Pack but the comeback came up just short, 35-34

This year's Las Vegas Bowl will take place on the opening day of the bowl season -- Saturday, Dec. 15. Kickoff from Sam Boyd Stadium will be at 12:30 p.m. PT and the game will be televised on ABC

The matchup pits a team from the Mountain West against a team from the Pac-12 Conference

More information on the game is available at LVBowl.com

Here's the recap from the Pack's three appearances in the Las Vegas Bowl: In what had been billed as another wide-open scoring affair, the defenses rose to the occasion on a cold night in Las Vegas and the Wolf Pack outlasted the Cardinals 18-15 to claim the win.
John Dutton completed 11 of his first 13 passes as Nevada forged out to a 9-0 lead after the first quarter as the Wolf Pack defense made a statement, allowing just 26 yards by Ball State in the opening period.
But early in the second quarter, LeAndre Moore broke free around right end and scampered 62 yards for the touchdown, pulling the Mid America Conference champion Cardinals to within two points.
In the third quarter, Dutton struggled as his hands became near frozen, and he finally gave way to Eric Bennett, whose "hot" hand rallied the Wolf Pack.
Bennett drove the Pack into scoring territory early in the fourth quarter and then hit Damond Wilkins for the touchdown, Wilkins' second of the game. The drive covered 71 yards and Bennett completed four out of five passes.
Nevada, behind spirited defensive play most notably by linebackers Mike Crawford and DeShone Myles, held Ball State at bay until late in the game when quarterback Brent Baldwin found Adrian Reese for a 27-yard touchdown pass with just 2:26 remaining in the game.
Things got a little tighter when Ball State successfully covered an onside kick. But Crawford, who would be named game Most Valuable Player with 14 tackles, intercepted a pass up the middle and Nevada had its first bowl victory in 50 years. Wasean Tait ran wild against the Wolf Pack, gaining 185 yards and scoring four touchdowns on the ground and adding six pass receptions for 53 more yards as Toledo defeated Nevada 40-37 in the first, and so far only, Division IA overtime game in NCAA history.
The contest, aired nationally to an ESPN audience, proved to be one of the most entertaining of the bowl lineup.
Tait scored the game-winner from two yards out after Nevada was held to a field goal in their half of the first overtime period.
Nevada had rallied back from deficits of 14 points in the first half and 10 points in the second half to tie the game at 34 when Damon Shea kicked a 26-yard field goal with 9:28 remaining.
Neither team could score in the remainder of regulation, setting up overtime, allowed by the NCAA in bowl games for the first time ever.
Tait and the Rockets gained 307 yards rushing and 561 total in the contest.     Nevada gained 413, 330 of which came through the air.
Alex Van Dyke closed out his brilliant career at Nevada with another standout performance, catching 14 passes for 176 yards for the day. Mike
Maxwell was 27-of-49 passing with no interceptions, but no touchdowns either.
In an interesting "human interest" side story, Nevada's DeShone Myles played in the game (and led the team in tackles) despite undergoing an emergency appendectomy just 22 days before the game.
  Nevada's first appearance in a bowl game in 44 years proved to be one of the most exciting games in the entire bowl line-up for the year as they lost a heartbreaker to Bowling Green in the inaugural Las Vegas Bowl, 35-34.
The Falcons scored touchdowns on their first four drives while holding the Wolf Pack to three points for a 28-3 lead in the second quarter. Chris Vargas entered the game at quarterback with 1:50 remaining in the half.
Midway through the third quarter, Vargas engineered three quick scoring drives which left the score 28-24 with 3:46 left. The Wolf Pack scored on its fourth consecutive possession with 12:41left in the game after a grueling 78-yard drive that culminated with a 14-yard Vargas pass to Mike Senior to make it 31-28.
Nevada drove 86 yards to the one-yard line on its next possession and punched in a 19-yard field goal to make it 34-28. The Pack was forced to punt with 1:45 remaining on a fourth and one situation from the Nevada 32-yard line.
Punter Steve Lester fumbled the snap, which gave Bowling Green life from the 15-yard line. Falcon quarterback Eric White rolled right and found wide receiver David Hankins alone in the back of the endzone on a dramtic fourth and goal.  Brian Leaver kicked the exta point, and Nevada's unbelievable comeback was denied the spoils of victory.
Vargas passed for 283 yards on 24-of-40 passing and ran for 22 more yards in the near comeback and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.