Texas Bowl
| TaxAct Texas Bowl | |
|---|---|
| TaxAct Texas Bowl | |
| File:Texas Bowl.jpg | |
| Stadium | NRG Stadium |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Operated | 2006–present |
| Conference tie-ins | Big 12, SEC |
| Previous conference tie-ins | |
| Payout | US$6.4 million (2019)[1] |
| Preceded by | Houston Bowl |
| Sponsors | |
| |
| Former names | |
| |
| 2019 matchup | |
| Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M (Texas A&M 24–21) | |
| 2021 season matchup | |
| Kansas State vs. LSU (January 4, 2022) | |
The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced the defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005, and before that the Bluebonnet Bowl, the first bowl game in Houston, played from 1959 through 1987.
Beginning with the 2020 edition, the bowl is sponsored by Mercari, a Japanese e-commerce company, and is officially known as the Mercari Texas Bowl. The game was previously sponsored by Academy Sports + Outdoors from 2017 to 2019 when it was known as the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, AdvoCare from 2014 to 2016 when it was known as the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, and Meineke Car Care from 2011 to 2012 when it was known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
The 2020 edition, slated for December 31 between TCU and Arkansas, was cancelled on December 29 due to COVID-19 issues within the TCU program.[2]
History
Replacing the Houston Bowl
Speculation surfaced questioning the long-term survival of the former Houston Bowl. The three-year contract with EV1.net expired on December 31, 2005, leaving the bowl game without a title sponsor. A college football official told the Houston Chronicle that the bowl was in danger of ceasing operations, as a result of the game losing its title sponsor and because the Houston Bowl still owed roughly $600,000 to the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences following the 2005 game.[3] However, the NCAA approved Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, a division of the Houston Texans, who also play in Reliant Stadium, to take over game management. In July 2006, the NFL Network acquired TV rights and naming rights to the bowl.[4]
Texas Bowl introduction
The Texas Bowl name and logo were officially unveiled on August 10, 2006, at a press conference along with conference affiliations for the bowl spots. The Big 12, Big East and Conference USA will be affiliated with the game, as well as Texas Christian University of the Mountain West. The 2006 matchup featured teams from the Big 12 and Big East Conferences.[5]
On December 3, 2006, Rutgers accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl. "We're ecstatic about having Rutgers," Texas Bowl director David Brady said. "This is a top-15 team that was three yards away from a BCS game. We couldn't be happier to have them here."[6]
2010 marked the eleventh consecutive year a bowl game has played in Houston, and the 40th year overall with a bowl game there (the Bluebonnet Bowl lasted 29 years). It was also announced on December 30, 2009, that ESPN Events would take over as part owner and operator of the game, while Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will maintain a stake in the bowl, and would be carried on ESPN.
Sponsors
On April 12, 2011, ESPN announced Meineke Car Care signed a three-year title sponsorship deal beginning in 2011, changing name of the bowl to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.[7]
On February 12, 2014, it was announced that AdvoCare will be the title sponsor for the bowl game.[8] That sponsorship concluded after the 2016 game.
On November 15, 2017, Academy Sports + Outdoors became the new title sponsor of the bowl.[9][10] That sponsorship concluded after the 2019 game.
On December 14, 2020, Mercari was announced as the new title sponsor of the game.[11]
Conference tie-ins
On May 17, 2007, it was announced Conference USA would have a team in the 2007 Texas Bowl. The Texas Bowl has a rotating commitment with the Big East Conference and Conference USA for 2006–09 while the Big 12 Conference will have a team in all four of those games. In 2007, TCU took the place of the Big 12 team when Kansas and Oklahoma were put into the BCS, and Houston, a "home team," represented C-USA. The conferences would receive $612,500 each as per the rules of the agreements as usually, the Big East (or Big 12) would have received $750,000 for playing and C-USA would have received a $500,000 stipend for their team playing.
Issues
According to Sports Illustrated, in 2008 the bowl required Western Michigan University to purchase 11,000 tickets at full price in order to accept the invitation to play in the bowl. The university was only able to sell 548 tickets at that price, forcing it to accept a $462,535 loss, before travel expenses, to pay for the privilege of playing in the bowl.[12]
Game results
Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.
| Date | Time (CST) | Bowl name | Winning team | Losing team | Attnd. | TV | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 28, 2006 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | No. 16 Rutgers | 37 | Kansas State | 10 | 52,210 | NFL Network |
| December 28, 2007 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | TCU | 20 | Houston | 13 | 62,097 | |
| December 30, 2008 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Rice | 38 | Western Michigan | 14 | 58,880 | |
| December 31, 2009 | 2:30 PM | Texas Bowl | Navy | 35 | Missouri | 13 | 69,441 | ESPN |
| December 29, 2010 | 5:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Illinois | 38 | Baylor | 14 | 68,211 | |
| December 31, 2011 | 11:00 AM | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | Texas A&M | 33 | Northwestern | 22 | 68,395 | |
| December 28, 2012 | 8:00 PM | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | Texas Tech | 34 | Minnesota | 31 | 50,386 | |
| December 27, 2013 | 5:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Syracuse | 21 | Minnesota | 17 | 32,327 | |
| December 29, 2014 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Arkansas | 31 | Texas | 7 | 71,115 | |
| December 29, 2015 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | No. 22 LSU | 56 | Texas Tech | 27 | 71,307 | |
| December 28, 2016 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Kansas State | 33 | Texas A&M | 28 | 68,412 | |
| December 27, 2017 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Texas | 33 | Missouri | 16 | 67,820 | |
| December 27, 2018 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Baylor | 45 | Vanderbilt | 38 | 51,104 | |
| December 27, 2019 | 5:45 PM | Texas Bowl | Texas A&M | 24 | No. 25 Oklahoma State | 21 | 68,415 | |
| December 31, 2020 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[13] | — | ||||
Source:[14]
MVPs
| Year | MVP | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Ray Rice | Rutgers | RB |
| 2007 | Andy Dalton | TCU | QB |
| 2008 | Chase Clement | Rice | QB |
| 2009 | Ricky Dobbs | Navy | QB |
| 2010 | Mikel Leshoure | Illinois | RB |
| 2011 | Ryan Tannehill | Texas A&M | QB |
| 2012 | Seth Doege | Texas Tech | QB |
| 2013 | Terrel Hunt | Syracuse | QB |
| 2014 | Brandon Allen | Arkansas | QB |
| 2015 | Leonard Fournette | LSU | RB |
| 2016 | Jesse Ertz | Kansas State | QB |
| 2017 | Michael Dickson | Texas | P |
| 2018 | Charlie Brewer | Baylor | QB |
| 2019 | Kellen Mond | Texas A&M | QB |
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2019 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).
- Teams with multiple appearances
| Rank | Team | Appearances | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M | 3 | 2–1 |
| T2 | Baylor | 2 | 1–1 |
| T2 | Kansas State | 2 | 1–1 |
| T2 | Texas | 2 | 1–1 |
| T2 | Texas Tech | 2 | 1–1 |
| T2 | Minnesota | 2 | 0–2 |
| T2 | Missouri | 2 | 0–2 |
- Teams with a single appearance
Won: Arkansas, Illinois, LSU, Navy, Rice, Rutgers, Syracuse, TCU
Lost: Houston, Northwestern, Western Michigan, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt
Appearances by conference
Updated through the December 2019 edition (14 games, 28 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost | |
| Big 12 | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 | 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2019 |
| SEC | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2014, 2015, 2019 | 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Big Ten | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 2010 | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| C-USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2008 | 2007 |
| ACC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2013 | |
| Big East | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2006 | |
| Independents | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2009 | |
| Mountain West | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2007 | |
| MAC | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2008 | |
- Rutgers appeared in 2006 as a member of the Big East; the American Athletic Conference (The American) retains the conference charter following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines.
- Independent appearances: Navy (2009)
Game records
| Team | Record, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 56, LSU vs. Texas Tech | 2015 |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 38, Vanderbilt vs. Baylor | 2018 |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 83, shared by: LSU (56) vs. Texas Tech (27) Baylor (45) vs. Vanderbilt (38) |
2015 2018 |
| Fewest points allowed | 7, Arkansas vs. Texas | 2014 |
| Largest margin of victory | 29, LSU vs. Texas Tech | 2015 |
| Total yards | 668, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt | 2018 |
| Rushing yards | 385, Navy vs. Missouri | 2009 |
| Passing yards | 384, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt | 2018 |
| First downs | 30, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt | 2018 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 59, Arkansas vs. Texas | 2014 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 2, Arkansas vs. Texas | 2014 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 57, Arkansas vs. Texas | 2014 |
| Individual | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| All-purpose yards | ||
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | ||
| Rushing yards | 243, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Vanderbilt vs. Baylor | 2018 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 4, Leonard Fournette, LSU vs. Texas Tech | 2015 |
| Passing yards | 384, Charlie Brewer, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt | 2018 |
| Passing touchdowns | 4, Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech vs. LSU | 2015 |
| Receiving yards | 154, Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M vs. Kansas State | 2016 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 3, Jakeem Grant, Texas Tech vs. LSU | 2015 |
| Tackles | ||
| Sacks | ||
| Interceptions | 2, Michael Carter, Minnesota vs. Texas Tech | 2012 |
| Long Plays | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent | Year |
| Touchdown run | 79, D. J. Chark, LSU vs. Texas Tech | 2015 |
| Touchdown pass | 79, shared by: Byron Pringle from Jesse Ertz, Kansas State vs. Texas A&M Johnathon Johnson from Drew Lock, Missouri vs. Texas |
2016 2017 |
| Kickoff return | 99, Jakeem Grant, Texas Tech vs. Minnesota | 2012 |
| Punt return | 76, Yamon Figurs, Kansas State vs. Rutgers | 2006 |
| Interception return | 61, Wyatt Middleton, Navy vs. Missouri | 2009 |
| Fumble return | ||
| Punt | 65, Chase Turner, Houston vs. TCU | 2007 |
| Field goal | 47, Randy Bullock, Texas A&M vs. Northwestern | 2011 |
Media coverage
The first three editions of the bowl were televised by NFL Network. Since 2009, it has been carried by ESPN.
References
- ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Fornelli, Tom; Kercheval, Ben (December 29, 2020). "2020 Texas Bowl canceled as COVID-19 outbreak at TCU forces it to pull out vs. Arkansas". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (18 April 2006). "Houston Bowl in jeopardy". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ "NFL Network gets bowl game in Houston". NFL.com. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006.
- ^ Chavez, Ana (29 August 2006). "Texas Bowl Board of Directors announced". houstontexans.com (Press release).
- ^ Duarte, Joseph (3 December 2006). "Rutgers to play in inaugural Texas Bowl". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (12 April 2011). "Texas Bowl gains new title sponsor". ESPN.com.
- ^ Cook, Kara (11 February 2014). "Advocare, LSSE excited for Texas Bowl partnership". houstontexans.com.
- ^ "ACADEMY SPORTS + OUTDOORS NAMED THE NEW TITLE SPONSOR OF THE TEXAS BOWL". academytexasbowl.com (Press release). November 15, 2017.
- ^ "Texas Bowl Hopes New Title Sponsor Deal With Locally-Based Academy Sports Brings Stability". Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Mercari Named New Title Sponsor of Texas Bowl". ESPN Events. 14 December 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Austin; Wetzel, Dan (15 November 2010). "Does It Matter?". Sports Illustrated. p. 47.
- ^ Khan Jr., Sam (December 29, 2020). "Texas Bowl between TCU Horned Frogs, Arkansas Razorbacks canceled". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. p. 15. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via NCAA.org.