Big 12 Conference

Big 12, SEC To Square Off In Texas Bowl Starting In 2014

by Chip Rouse

The Big 12 Conference and the Southeasten Conference have agreed to another postseason bowl contract that will assure a Big 12-SEC matchup in the Texas Bowl, begiuning in the 2014 season.

Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, home of the Texas Bowl and of the Houston Texans of the NFL.

The Texas Bowl, which takes place at Reliant Stadium in Houston, currently pairs the the sixth or seventh best team in the Big 12 against a team from the Big 12. This arrangement will change after this season. A team from the SEC will replace the Big Ten opponent, and the Texas Bowl will move up in the Big 12’s bowl selection order. The Texas Bowl will get the fourth team in the Big 12 bowl selection process after the forthcoming college playoff seeds are announced as well as the pairungs for the other select bowls.

The Big 12 and SEC, considered by many experts to be the two strongest college football conferences, previously announced an agreement with the Sugar Bowl to showcase the top two teams from both conferences, beginning with the Jan. 1, 2015, Sugar Bowl game. The only factor that would preclude a pairing of the top two teams from both leagues would be if one or both were playing in college football’s new national championship playoff format.

The Texas Bowl had had an affiliation with the Big 12 since the bowl game was created for the 2006 season.

“The Big 12 values its presence in the Houston area and the role it has played in the growth of the Texas Bowl,” commissioner Bob Bowlsby said.

Teams from the Big 12 and SEC have produced a combined 29 national champions and 28 Heisman Trophy winners, including nine of the past 15 Heisman winners.

The first Texas Bowl was played in late December 2006, with Rutgers defeating Kansas State 37-10. Last season, Texas Tech downed Minnesota 34-31 on a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

The Big 12 placed nine of its 10 conference teams in postseason bowls in the 2012 season, a record for the highest percentage of teams from one conference in college football history.