The 117th Rose Parade, featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as Grand Marshal, was held on Monday, January 2, 2006 in observance of the Tournament’s “Never on Sunday” tradition. Though it rained throughout the parade, the festivities went on with great success. The Parade began with an opening spectacular featuring Grammy Award winner LeAnn Rimes. The parade theme, It’s Magical, was beautifully represented by the magnificent floats, bands and equestrians in the Rose Parade.
The 2006 Rose Bowl Game National Championship was held on Wednesday, January 4 and featured two undefeated teams – the no.1 ranked USC taking on the no.2 ranked Texas Longhorns. It was one of the most exciting games in Rose Bowl history, with Texas beating USC 41-38 to earn the Longhorns their first National Championship since 1970.