The University of Alabama football team participated in Lawry’s Beef Bowl at Lawry’s The Prime Rib Friday, one day after its opponent in Monday’s 110th Rose Bowl, Michigan.
Lawry’s Beef Bowl consists of the teams separately dining on prime rib, with one player each conducting the salad spin and performing the ceremonial first cut of prime rib.
“My dad had a restaurant when I was growing up, so I know how difficult it is in the restaurant business,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “I know that the staff is the most important part of that. So for you to provide a great experience for our players, we really appreciate it.”
Kicker Will Reichard, a graduate student, performed the salad spin.
Lawry’s Spinning Bowl Salad involves the designated server making the salad tableside in a bowl set into a large bucket of ice with the dressing poured on top as it is spun, then served.
Sophomore defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis performed the ceremonial first cut of prime rib.
Since 2018, each portion of the Beef Bowl has included the presentation of the Tournament of Roses Scholar Athlete Award to a player from each team, with senior center Seth McLaughlin receiving the honor for Alabama Friday.
Rose Bowl teams have dined at the Beverly Hills restaurant annually since 1956, except for 2020 and 2021 when the event was canceled because of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Beef Bowl is older than all but the Rose, Orange, Sugar, Sun, Cotton, Gator and Citrus bowls. It is billed by organizers as college football’s most enduring pre-bowl game tradition.
Lawry’s Beef Bowl has not been a competition since 1970. Coaches are informed that there is a limit of two servings of prime rib per player.
“The Beef Bowl is an opportunity for us to celebrate the players and coaches and kick off the festivities of the Rose Bowl Game,” said Ryan O’Melveny Wilson, CEO of Lawry’s Restaurants Inc.
Changes to the Beef Bowl could come next year because the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12 — and two rounds to four — is expected to result in the teams spending less time in the cities the bowls are played.
“While next year’s schedule isn’t finalized, we do anticipate some changes to our bowl week events,” Karen Linhart, the Rose Bowl Game’s director, marketing & media, told City News Service.
“With that being said, The Pasadena Tournament of Roses values its long-standing relationship with Lawry’s and we hope to find ways to keep our Beef Bowl tradition alive even if it looks a little different as the playoff evolves.”