The Big West, which had Boise State as a member at the time, agreed to terms to send its champion to the bowl.

From 1997 to 1999, the Big West champion was matched with a team from Conference USA (C-USA), while in 2000 the WAC sent a representative.

The Big West stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season, and bowl organizers extended a permanent invite to the WAC to replace the Big West as host of the game, and struck an agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to provide a bowl-eligible team if it had yet to fill its bowl allotment.

After the WAC stopped sponsoring football in 2012, Mountain West inherited its spot as host, reaching agreement with the bowl to provide a team, starting with the December 2013 edition.

In 2016, the bowl invited in-state Idaho of the Sun Belt Conference in place of a MAC team.

In late July 2019, it was announced that the Mountain West and MAC would maintain their tie-ins to the bowl through the 2025–26 football season.

[6] On May 25, 2010, uDrove, a maker of applications for the transportation industry, became the sponsor of the Humanitarian Bowl, signing a four-year agreement to replace Roady's.

[10] From 2008 through 2012, bowl organizers, in conjunction with the Truckload Carriers Association, featured a "Highway Angel of the Year" to game attendees.

Highway Angels are truck drivers who performed a heroic feat to save the life of another motorist.