PSFCA East/West Game History
History
The first game was held in June of 2001 at Mansion Park in Altoona, after members of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) approached the Allegheny Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau to help organize and produce a sister game to the Big 33 Game. The Big 33 Game features the top players in the state against players from Maryland. Unfortunately only 34 players can be selected to represent Pennsylvania, and in a state with a rich football tradition many quality players are left out. Thus, the PSFCA East/West All-Star Game was conceived giving the honor to play in a statewide, prestigious all star game to 68 more players.
Players
The players selected to play in the game truly represent some of the finest football talent in Pennsylvania. Past player have gone on to play for college powerhouse teams such as Penn State, University of Maryland, Ohio State, Pitt, Notre Dame, Syracuse University, Cornell University, U.S. Naval Academy, and University of Michigan. The game has also been a showcase for Ivy League athletes, with players going on to Princeton and Yale. Our first class of alumni was eligible for the NFL draft in April of 2005 and several have begun their professional careers with the NFL.
Pennsylvania Bowl
Currently the East holds the advantage for wins, having won 10 of the 18 games played. Clearly the stage has been set for rivalry that’s sure to continue to grow. As the rivalry grows so does game attendance and recognition. More than 50,000 people have traveled to Altoona, Gateway, Franklin Regional, and Downingtown to watch these future college and NFL players in a classic rivalry. The game had been aired on PCN, Root Sports and Fox Sports.
The Future
The game was not played in 2011 due to lack of sponsorship and a variety of other issues. The PSFCA thought it was a necessity to get this game going again, so after a year hiatus, the PSFCA ,with the help of many other sponsors, brought the East/West All-Star Game back.
Since return of the game it was played in Western PA (Gateway-2012, Franklin Regional-2014, Cupples Stadium-2016) and in Eastern PA (Downingtown-2013, 2015) in the odd numbered years. The game returned to Altoona in 2017 and stayed their until 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the game in 2020, the game was restructured to a Large and Small School format.