 The first three games were for the NAIA national football championship.The 1964–72 games were one of four regional bowls that led up to a poll to determine the NCAA College Division championship, prior to the current Division II playoff structure, initiated in 1973.It was also the site of the third Division I-AA championship game in 1980, in which Boise State defeated defending champion Eastern Kentucky with a late touchdown in the fog on 

The Sacramento Capitols of the Continental Football League used Hughes Stadium as their home field in 1968 and 1969, before the league folded.