| Season: | 1937 |
| Number Of Bowls: | 5 |
| All Star Games: | East–West Shrine Game |
| Bowl Start: | January 1, 1938 |
| Champions: | Pittsburgh Panthers (AP, Dickinson) California Golden Bears (Dunkel) |
| Conference1: | Independents |
| Conference1 Teams: | 3 |
| Conference1 Wins: | 2 |
| Conference1 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference1 Ap Poll: | 8 |
| Conference2: | SEC |
| Conference2 Teams: | 3 |
| Conference2 Wins: | 1 |
| Conference2 Losses: | 2 |
| Conference2 Ap Poll: | 2 |
| Conference3: | Pacific Coast |
| Conference3 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference3 Wins: | 1 |
| Conference3 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference3 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference4: | SWC |
| Conference4 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference4 Wins: | 1 |
| Conference4 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference4 Ap Poll: | 3 |
| Conference5: | Border |
| Conference5 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference5 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference5 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference5 Ap Poll: | 0 |
| Conference6: | Rocky Mountain |
| Conference6 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference6 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference6 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference6 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference7: | Big Six |
| Conference7 Teams: | 0 |
| Conference7 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference7 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference7 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference8: | Big Ten |
| Conference8 Teams: | 0 |
| Conference8 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference8 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference8 Ap Poll: | 2 |
| Conference9: | Southern |
| Conference9 Teams: | 0 |
| Conference9 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference9 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference9 Ap Poll: | 2 |
The 1937–38 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1937 college football season and featured five bowl games, down one from the prior season, as the Bacardi Bowl was not held. All five bowls were played on January 1, 1938. Notably, the Orange Bowl was first held in Burdine Stadium, which was later renamed for the bowl game itself in 1959. The national championship, according to recognized selectors, was split by Pittsburgh and California.
See also: 1937 NCAA football rankings. The below table lists top teams (per the AP Poll taken after the completion of the regular season), their win–loss records (prior to bowl games), and the bowls they later played in.[1] [2]
| AP | Team | W–L | Conf. | Bowl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ind. | — | ||||
| Rose Bowl | |||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| Rose Bowl | |||||
| — | |||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| Sugar Bowl | |||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| Ind. | Sugar Bowl | ||||
| — | |||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| — | |||||
| — | |||||
| Ind. | — | ||||
| — | |||||
| Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||
| Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||
| — | |||||
| — |
Rankings are from the final regular season AP Poll.
| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style=white-space:nowrap rowspan=5 | Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California |
| PCC SEC | California 13 Alabama 0 |
| Sugar Bowl | Tulane Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Independent SEC | Santa Clara 6 LSU 0 | ||
| Orange Bowl | Burdine Stadium Miami, Florida | Auburn Tigers (5–2–3) Michigan State Spartans (8–1) | SEC Independent | Auburn 6 Michigan State 0 | ||
| Sun Bowl | Kidd Field El Paso, Texas | West Virginia Mountaineers (7–1–1) Texas Tech Red Raiders (8–3) | Independent Border | West Virginia 7 Texas Tech 6 | ||
| Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas |
| SWC Rocky Mountain | Rice 28 Colorado 14 |