Saturday, July 2, 2005
Last modified at 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, 2005
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Big 12 examining new bowl affiliations

BY JEFF WALKER
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

The Big 12 Conference is closer to having a new bowl arrangement for the 2006 season.

Conference commissioner Kevin Weiberg confirmed Thursday that talks with the Gator, Insight and Sun bowls have progressed and the Big 12 could have a formal announcement in the coming weeks.

"We're continuing to work on it," Weiberg said. "We're fortunate that bowls like the Gator, Insight and Sun find us appealing and are willing to negotiate. We could have something in the next several weeks. We're close to resolving it, but we're not there yet."

Weiberg didn't set a timetable, but the Big 12 football media days are July 19-21 in Houston, and he has his annual state of the conference address scheduled for July 20.

The Big 12 is in its final season of a contract with eight bowls - the Fiesta, Cotton, Holiday, Alamo, Independence, Champs Sports, Houston and Fort Worth bowls.

The Gator Bowl is played at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., home of the NFL's Jaguars and last year's Super Bowl. The Gator Bowl traditionally has paired a team from the Big East against a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the loss of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College have perhaps made the Big East appear like a questionable partner conference.

The Big East also has an affiliation with the Insight Bowl, which is played at the Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. If the Big 12 reaches an agreement with the Insight Bowl, it could have a similar matchup as the Holiday Bowl: Big 12 vs. Pac-10.

The Sun Bowl in El Paso matches a team from the Pac-10 and Big Ten. The Big 12 has had history with the Sun Bowl. Tech played in the first televised Sun Bowl when NBC broadcast the game against Georgia in 1964.

The Red Raiders have appeared in the Sun Bowl nine times since 1937, most recently in 1993 in a 41-10 loss to Oklahoma prior to the formation of the Big 12.

If the Big 12 reaches agreements with the three new bowls, Weiberg said the conference would replace existing affiliates

The Gator Bowl would likely replace the Champs Sports Bowl.

A Tech official told The A-J last year that the conference loses money any time it sends a Big 12 school to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, because the expenses are more than the payout.

The Gator Bowl, however, had a payout of $1.6 million last year, nearly double the $850,000 payout by the Champs Sports Bowl.

The Sun Bowl payout last year was $1.425 million, while the Insight Bowl payout was $750,000.

The Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl also had a payout of $750,000, while the Houston Bowl paid $1.1 million and the Independence paid $1.2 million.

"We've been affiliated with some good bowls, with good groups and good partners," Weiberg said. "If we can put ourselves in other areas of the country and maybe get some more exposure, we have to look at it. It's a balancing act to try and do what's best."


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jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com 766-8736