Texas Bowl
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| Texas Bowl | |
|---|---|
 Texas Bowl logo |
|
| Stadium | Reliant Stadium |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Operated | 2006 — present |
| Conference Tie-ins | Big 12, Big East |
| Payout | US$500,000 (Big East) (2006) US$750,000 (Big 12) (2006) |
| 2006 Matchup | |
| Rutgers vs. Kansas State | |
The Texas Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaces the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Replacing the Houston Bowl
Recently, speculation had surfaced questioning the long-term survival of the former Houston Bowl. The three-year contract with EV1.net expired on December 31, 2005, leaving the bowl game without a title sponsor. A college football official told the Houston Chronicle that the bowl was in danger of ceasing operations, as a result of the game losing its title sponsor and because the Houston Bowl still owed roughly $600,000 to the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences following the 2005 game [1]. However, the NCAA approved Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, a division of the NFL's Houston Texans, who also play in Reliant Stadium, to take over game management. Then on July 20, the NFL Network acquired both TV rights and naming rights to the bowl, which is scheduled for December 28.[2]
The Texas Bowl name and logo were officially unveiled on August 10, 2006 at a press conference along with the conference affiliations for the bowl spots. The Big 12, Big East and Conference USA will be affiliated with the game, as well as Texas Christian University of the Mountain West. The 2006 matchup will feature teams from the Big 12 and Big East Conferences. Specific information regarding conference selection order will be released at a later date[3].
On December 3, 2006, Rutgers accepted an invitation to play Kansas State on December 28 at Reliant Stadium. “We’re ecstatic about having Rutgers,” Texas Bowl director David Brady said. “This is a top-15 team that was three yards away from a BCS game. We couldn’t be happier to have them here.”[4]
[edit] 2006 game notes
- On December 19, it was confirmed that Time Warner Cable will carry the NFL Network free for at least the duration of the game.[5] On December 22, Cablevision agreed to carry the game. [6] Neither cable company normally carries NFL Network. The announcements allayed fears that Rutgers fans living in New York and New Jersey would not be able to watch the game.
- New Jersey native Spero Dedes handled the play-by-play for the game on the NFL Network. However, his geographic knowledge of his home state was called into question, when he identified Rutgers being in "South Jersey" at least four times during the broadcast. He also referred to the main campus' location as "South Brunswick" instead of "New Brunswick". Although the Rutgers University system has a small South Jersey campus in Camden, it is a separate school and not associated with the main school's athletic program. (An equivalent would be comparing the University of North Carolina with UNC-Greensboro.) The home stadium and the Scarlet Knights are headquartered on the flagship New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, which is in central New Jersey. Other gaffes included calling running back Ray Rice as "Way Wice" and tight end Clark Harris "Cliff" Harris (Harris was a safety for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s). [7]
- The telecast had other missteps: the "1st & Ten" electronic yardage system malfunctioned several times and Marshall Faulk, who was scheduled to be the sideline reporter, did not show up; therefore, the game had no reports from field level, unlike most other college football telecasts.
- Texas Bowl officials referred to the game as "inaugural" and the official website makes no mention of the game it replaced.
[edit] Previous results
| Date Played | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | TV | notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 2006 | Rutgers | 37 | Kansas State | 10 | 52,210 | NFL Network | notes |
[edit] MVPs
| Year played | MVP | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Ray Rice | Rutgers | Halfback |
