The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Conference USA Announces Future Bowl Schedule
4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 29, 2010
IRVING, Texas ----- Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced Thursday the schedule of bowl games that the league is partnered with for the 2010 season. The league has guaranteed spots in six games during the upcoming season and serves as a primary back-up for a possible seventh game.
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl has the top selection of C-USA teams and the league will also send teams to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, EagleBank Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl this season.
The league also has an agreement with the new Dallas Football Classic to participate in that game should be the Big Ten or Big 12 be unable to provide a team for the first-year game.
The NCAA Football Issues committee approved each of these games, among 35 bowls that received certification last week. For the first time, bowls received a four-year approval rather than one year to keep aligned with the various conferences' bowl agreements.
Conference USA has commitments with seven bowl partners during the period that includes games following the 2010-2013 regular seasons and the agreements with seven bowls feature postseason games against seven different conferences. Included are matchups against schools from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and SEC, along with the Mountain West, Sun Belt and WAC.
"We are looking forward to the next four years and we are pleased to have these outstanding postseason opportunities waiting for our teams," said Banowsky. "We believe in the bowl system and have some exceptional partners, great destinations, and solid opponents. There will be some terrific bowl games for all to enjoy."
The 52nd annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl is scheduled for Friday, December 31 in Memphis. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will match the top Conference USA team against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference in a game that will air on ESPN with a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff.
The third annual Beef O'Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg will take place on Tuesday, December 21 at 8 p.m. ET. Conference USA will face an opponent from the Big East Conference in a game that will air on ESPN from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The league continues its partnership with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, December 30. C-USA faces an opponent from the Mountain West Conference in the game, which be televised by ESPN.
The third annual EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C. will feature a Conference USA team this season to face an opponent from the ACC. This year's game will be played on Wednesday, December 29 at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Conference USA will participate in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for the ninth consecutive season when it plays in the Saturday, December 18th contest this year. C-USA will play the Sun Belt Conference champion at the Louisiana Superdome, beginning at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
The league will compete in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Friday, December 24 in Honolulu. C-USA's representative will face a Western Athletic Conference opponent in the game, which will kick off at 3 p.m. HT (8 p.m. ET) and be televised by ESPN.
The Dallas Football Classic will debut on New Year's Day at the historic Cotton Bowl. Conference USA has an agreement to be part of their inaugural game this season if it has a seventh bowl-eligible team and the Big Ten or Big 12 is unable to fulfill its spot in the game.
It is important to note that a Conference USA champion may qualify for the Bowl Championship Series if ranked in the BCS final Top 12 or, in the BCS Top 16 and ranked higher than a team which receives automatic qualification.
The 2010 season gets underway on Thursday, September 2. The league's sixth annual C-USA Championship Game will be held on Saturday, December 4.
