Arizona Bowl
| Arizona Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl | |
 | |
| Stadium | Arizona Stadium |
| Location | Tucson, Arizona |
| Operated | 2015 – present |
| Conference tie-ins | Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt (alternate) |
| Sponsors | |
|
Nova Home Loans (2015–) | |
| 2015 matchup | |
| Nevada vs. Colorado State (Nevada 28–23) | |
The Arizona Bowl, officially the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl for sponsorship purposes, is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2015 season. Backed by the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission,[1] it features bowl-eligible teams from Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference, or alternatively the Sun Belt Conference in the event that either conference does not have enough bowl-eligible teams.
The inaugural game was held on December 29, 2015, between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Colorado State Rams, both representing the Mountain West, marking the first time since 1979 that two teams from the same conference appeared in a non-championship bowl. Conference USA and the Sun Belt did not have enough bowl eligible teams to fill all their allotted bids.
History
The Arizona Bowl was one of two new bowl games sanctioned by the NCAA to begin play in the 2015 season. In May 2015, it was reported that the game was to be held at Arizona Stadium, and feature participants from Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference. It marks a return of post-season college football to Tucson, Arizona, which previously hosted what is now known as the Cactus Bowl.[2]
The Arizona Bowl was officially announced on October 1, 2015; Nova Home Loans was named title sponsor, naming the game as the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl. The inaugural game was scheduled to be held on December 29, 2015. It was also announced that the Sun Belt Conference would provide a secondary tie-in in case either conference does not have a bowl-eligible team to play the Arizona Bowl.[3][1]
The inaugural game featured the Nevada Wolf Pack against the Colorado State Rams; both, however, are Mountain West teams, as neither Conference USA or the Sun Belt had enough bowl-eligible teams that could be sent to the Arizona Bowl. This marked the first time since the 1979 Orange Bowl that a non-championship bowl game featured teams from the same conference. The outcome drew the ire of Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, who criticized how the NCAA selected teams with losing records to gain bowl eligibility "on an equal footing with 6-6 teams", explaining that "our Conference representatives argued steadfastly for an approach whereby all 6-6 teams would first be placed according to primary and secondary agreements among the conferences and bowl games. Our position was that only then would the safety net of 5-7 teams be activated for those games which had not yet secured participants, rather than allow those teams to fulfill conference agreements and usurp 6-6 teams from conferences with backup agreements."[4]
Game results
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 29, 2015 | Nevada | 28 | Colorado State | 23 | notes |
MVPs
| Year | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team | Pos. | |
| 2015 | James Butler | Nevada | RB | Ian Seau | Nevada | DE |
Most appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado State | 1 | 0–1 |
| 1 | Nevada | 1 | 1–0 |
Wins by conference
| Conference | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| MWC | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| C-USA | 0 | 0 | – |
| Sun Belt Conference | 0 | 0 | – |
Broadcasting
Organizers stated that the Arizona Bowl would have a "digitally-focused" broadcasting strategy, first announcing that the website Campus Insiders (a joint venture of IMG College and Silver Chalice) would hold online streaming rights to the game as its "primary digital media partner". Campus Insiders, in turn, partnered with 120 Sports (a digital sports network that is a joint venture of Silver Chalice, MLB Advanced Media, and Time Inc.)[5] to provide interactive in-game content, as well as pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows for the webcast.[6][3] [7]
Television rights to the game were sold in November 2015 to Sinclair Broadcast Group's American Sports Network; the telecast was syndicated to local television stations and regional sports networks.[8]
Television
| Date | Network | Play-by-play announcers | Color commentators | Sideline reporters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ASN | Ron Thulin | Doug Chapman | Monica McNutt |
See also
References
- 1 2 "Inaugural Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl to kick-off in Tucson on Dec. 29". NCAA.com (Turner Sports). Mountain West Conference. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ↑ "Mountain West adds Arizona Bowl to its post season lineup". MWConnection (SBNation). Vox Media. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Sun Belt gets secondary affiliation with new Arizona Bowl". AL.com. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ↑ "Commissioner calls bowl matchup of two MWC teams 'a travesty'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ↑ "Time Inc.-Backed 120 Sports to Launch Internet Video Network with MLB and Other Leagues". Variety. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ↑ "Arizona Bowl: Campus Insiders to stream game, TV partner in the works". MWConnection (SBNation). Vox Media. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ↑ "CAMPUS INSIDERS PARTNERS WITH MLBAM AND 120 SPORTS TO STREAM INAUGURAL NOVA® HOME LOANS ARIZONA BOWL FEATURING EXCLUSIVE, FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PRODUCTION". Mountain West Conference. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ↑ "Arizona Bowl: American Sports Network to air game". MWConnection (SBNation). Vox Media. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
External links
| ||||||||||||||