Name this couple: They're a major American city without a major college football bowl game. They're an indoor facility that's only ten years old and have hosted a Super Bowl, a Final Four and a WrestleMania, but the biggest college bowl they've managed to lure pits two 6-6 teams against one another. The Texas Bowl's meager payout (1.6 million) is basically nothing compared to the BCS and "top-tier" bowls in other SEC/Big 12 footprint cities.
Needless to say, it would be very, very prudent that the city of Houston and Reliant Stadium make a play at the Big 12 and SEC's new brainchild, and do it quickly. The announcement of the non-bowl game was made without mention of partnering with the Cotton (Dallas), Sugar (New Orleans) or Chick-Fil-A (Atlanta).
With those cities tied up by preexisting obligations (read: big, fat contracts) with existing bowls considered rivals to the new "alliance event" and other SEC events (Atlanta will host the SEC Championship for the foreseeable future), Houston could make a huge splash by landing the game, which would almost always be a convenient trip for the participating teams (check out a list of teams that would've played in this game in previous seasons).
GIven the defection of A&M to the SEC and the inclusion of the Texas-anchored Big 12 Conference, there won't be a better opportunity for the city than this one. They could even keep the Texas Bowl, especially if the decrepit Citrus Bowl can host two bowls a year.
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