December means more than Christmas lights and jingle bells to San Antonio. Since the first game in 1993, the Valero Alamo Bowl has created excitement and pageantry in San Antonio that wraps up the end of the month with thrilling games in front of capacity crowds and record television ratings.
The Valero Alamo Bowl showcases two of the premier conferences in the country, the Big 12 and Big Ten. The Bowl has quickly become one of the most popular bowls in the country, producing eight of the top 25 most-watched bowl games in ESPN history while selling out three of the last four years.
Over the last 15 years, the Valero Alamo Bowl has hosted 15 bowl games and three Big 12 Football Championship games in the Alamodome in San Antonio. These 18 games have attracted 1,075,753 spectators (over 50% are out-of-town visitors), generated a direct economic impact in excess of $292 million, contributed nearly $48.3 million to higher education, distributed $362,000 in local scholarship funds and been viewed by 115 million national television viewers on ESPN and ABC.
In 2007, an Alamodome record sports crowd of 66,166 for the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl between Penn State and Texas A&M translated into a bowl record $42.6 million direct economic impact for San Antonio. In 2006, the Alamo Bowl featured Texas and Iowa in a game that earned a 6.0 rating making it the most-watched college football game in ESPN history as more than 8.83 million viewers saw the telecast. To view the Valero Alamo Bowl's all-time attendance and TV rating records click here.
From NCAA record-breaking performances like Nebraska's 66 points in 2000 to thrilling finishes like Drew Brees leading Purdue in an 80 yard touchdown drive to overtake Kansas State in 1998 in the final seconds, the Valero Alamo Bowl has something for everyone.
This year the 16th annual Valero Alamo Bowl will be played on Monday, December 29, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. CST. The game will televised internationally on ESPN HD as well as heard on ESPN Radio and 1200 WOAI-AM.
For information on past Valero Alamo Bowls, please click the respective links below:
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Penn State 24
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Texas A&M 17
Penn State proves too strong, surging past Texas A&M 24-17 in Coach Joe Paterno's 500th game.
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Texas 26
vs
Iowa 24
Texas overcomes a 14-0 deficit to outlast Iowa 26-24 in front of record attendance and viewership
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Nebraska 32
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Michigan 28
Nebraska seals come-from-behind victory as Michigan's last play featuring seven laterals comes up short
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Ohio State 33
vs
Oklahoma State 7
Ohio State defense shuts down Oklahoma State
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Nebraska 17
vs
Michigan State 3
Nebraska's Blackshirt defense stifles the Michigan State offense
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Wisconsin 31
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Colorado 28
Wisconsin wins in overtime over Colorado
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Iowa 19
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Texas Tech 16
Iowa Outlasts Texas Tech 19-16
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Nebraska 66
vs
Northwestern 17
#8 Nebraska Overpowers #19 Northwestern
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Penn State 24
vs
Texas A&M 0
Penn State's All-American Defense Stifles Texas A&M Attack
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Purdue 37
vs
Kansas State 34
Kansas State and Purdue Trade Combacks in a True Thriller
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Purdue 33
vs
Oklahoma State 20
#16 Purdue Rides Big Third Quarter to Victory over #24 Oklahoma State
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Iowa 27
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Texas Tech 0
#21 Iowa Shutouts Texas Tech in Return To San Antonio
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Texas A&M 22
vs
Michigan 20
Bryant Kicks #19 Texas A&M Past #14 Michigan
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Washington State 10
vs
Baylor 3
Washington State Makes It Two Straight for the Pac-10
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California 37
vs
Iowa 3
California Offense Overwhelms Iowa in Inaugural Game
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