The Valero Alamo Bowl announced today an extension of its partnership with the Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences. The six year arrangement covers the 2014-2019 Valero Alamo Bowls and will match the #1 Big 12 team vs. the #1 Pac-12 team outside of the College Football Playoff group.
“The Big 12 Conference has enjoyed a 17-year association with the Alamo Bowl dating back to the conference’s first season,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “Our member institutions are thrilled to continue the partnership for an additional six-year period. San Antonio is a great destination with a history of hosting top sporting events. We anticipate that being matched up against a quality Pac-12 opponent will annually produce one of the best bowl games of the season.”
“The Pac-12 Conference is delighted to continue its partnership with the Valero Alamo Bowl through the 2019 season,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “Postseason bowl games reward our student-athletes for a successful season, and we are thrilled to offer our teams and their fans such an enjoyable location as San Antonio. We look forward to what promises to be a great annual matchup with the best from the Big 12 Conference.”
“Our goal is to continually move up in the Bowl order and our new partnership with the Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences accomplished that and positions us well to make the next 20 years of Valero Alamo Bowls even more memorable than our first 20,” said Derrick Fox, President/CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl. “San Antonio’s already renowned, compact downtown is undergoing an amazing transformation that we are excited to showcase to the Big 12 and Pac-12 universities, student-athletes and their fans.”
This year’s Valero Alamo Bowl on Monday, December 30 is the final year of a four year agreement between the two conferences that places the Big 12’s #2 and the Pac-12’s #1 team outside of the BCS in San Antonio.
Last year a standing room only crowd of 65,277 attended the 20th Annual Valero Alamo Bowl to watch Texas’ 31-27 win over Oregon State marking the game’s fifth sellout in the last seven years and the seventh game in the last eight where the outcome wasn’t decided until the final two minutes.
The game earned a 4.8 rating meaning five of the last eight Valero Alamo Bowls now rank among the Top 15 slots for non-BCS bowls in ESPN history in terms of average household impressions.
“I’m looking forward to our Big 12 and Pac-12 partnership to deliver some of the best games and match-ups of the post-season and adding to our impressive history of exciting games in front of capacity crowds and record-setting viewership,” said Pat Frost, 2013 Valero Alamo Bowl Chairman.