ESPN Regional Acquires Texas Bowl

ESPN Regional Television has acquired the Texas Bowl, marking the seventh bowl game to come under the network’s reign. The game will now feature two bowl eligible teams from the Big 12 Conference and the Big Ten Conference and continue to be played at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The Houston Texans’ Lone Star Sports and Entertainment subsidiary will continue to manage the event while ESPN will broadcast the game for the next four years. Navy’s 35-13 win over Missouri on Dec. 31 in the 2009 Texas Bowl was the first to appear on ESPN (previous games appeared on the NFL Network).

“We are excited to work with ESPN to take the Texas Bowl to an even higher level of performance for our community, our conference partners and the student athletes we serve,” says Heather Houston, Texas Bowl executive director. “ESPN brings a wealth of resources and experience that will help the Texas Bowl rapidly reach its full potential. We look forward to working with the professionals at ESPN on this exciting project and expanding our relationship with them in the years to come.”

Bowl rights ownership has become a staple of ESPN Regional in recent years with a portfolio that includes the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, St. Petersburg Bowl, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, and PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Founded in 2006, the Texas Bowl has generated an average of $25 million in economic impact around the Houston community and is ranked among the most highly attended non-BCS bowl games.