There are a few new bowls [and two renamed ones] for the upcoming college bowl season. Let's take a look......
NEW MEXICO BOWL. The New Mexico Bowl will be played in Albuquerque, NM and feature the #3 or #4 team from the Mountain West Conference and the #3 team from the WAC. The game will be played on December 23.
BIRMINGHAM BOWL: Conference USA will play a team from the Big East this year [they alternate with the MAC] in the first Birmingham Bowl. It too will be played on December 23. This marks the return of college bowls to Birmingham. They've held the Dixie Bowl [1947-48], the Hall of Fame Classic [1977-1985...then moved to Tampa and eventually became the Outback Bowl] and the All American Bowl [1986-1990].
TEXAS BOWL: The Texas Bowl was the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl and the Houston Bowl the last few years. This bowl was dead in the water this spring. The sponsorship with EV1.net expired and the Houston Bowl was broke. But, the Houston Texans and NFL Network stepped in and took control of the bowl and are reviving it as the "Texas" Bowl. The Big XII, Big East and Conference USA [along with TCU from the Mountain West Conference] will be associated with the game. It will be played on December 28.
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL: This was the Peach Bowl from 1968 until, well, today. Chick-fil-A had been the main sponsor for the game since 1997 and took over control this season. This bowl has big plans when the the BCS and other bowls adjust themselves in a few years. This bowl wants a bigger matchup....possibly taking the Capital One Bowl's place in the heiarchy. In fact, the new name [and more money] has convinced the ACC to give the Chick-fil-A bowl first pick after the BCS selections. The ACC team routinely plays the 5th place SEC team. It will be played in Atlanta on December 30.
INTERNATIONAL BOWL: This new bowl will be played in Toronto's Rogers Centre [better known as the SkyDome]. It's the first NCAA sanctioned bowl game to be played outside of the United States since the Bacardi Bowl in Cuba back in 1937. The Big East and MAC face off in the game...which will be played on January 7.
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Technically not a bowl game....kinda. Since 1998, the BCS has pitted their championship game on a rotating basis with the Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls. Now, they've added this bowl game....which will use a "double host" system. That means that one of those four bowl games will play host to the BCS Championship game a week after their bowl games. This year, the game will be played in Glendale, AZ....site of the Fiesta Bowl. Tostitos has bought the rights to sponsor the game....and keeping it's Fiesta Bowl ties as well.
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