Capital One Bowl Extends Partnership with Big Ten Conference
The Capital One Bowl will continue to host the top non-BCS Big Ten team through 2013, the conference and FCSports announced Tuesday. The renewal for the 2010-2013 college football seasons extends the conference’s second-longest bowl agreement behind the Rose Bowl, a partnership that first began in 1992 and has set one of the Big Ten’s elite teams to Orlando for each of the last 17 years.
“The Capital One Bowl has a long-standing relationship with the Big Ten, and we are thrilled to continue this relationship another four years,” said FCSports President Chuck Beverly. “As one of the nation’s premier conferences, the Big Ten is one half of a New Year’s tradition that has brought Orlando one of the best matchups in college football, year-in and year-out.”
The announcement came as the conference unveiled its new postseason lineup for the 2010-13 college football seasons. The Capital One Bowl will be one of six Big Ten bowl games set to be featured annually on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and one of five contests on Jan. 1. In addition to the renewal with the Capital One Bowl, the Big Ten announced four-year bowl extensions with Outback and Insight and new four-year bowl agreements with the Konica Minolta Gator, Texas and Dallas Football Classic.
“We are excited to announce our bowl lineup for the 2010-13 seasons, with seven outstanding destinations in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, which will allow us to showcase our programs in six different New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day games,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “Big Ten student-athletes, coaches and fans can now look forward to rewarding trips to Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Tempe, Houston and Dallas, along with the conference’s traditional trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. With the number of Big Ten alumni in these states, this bowl lineup is a natural fit and should provide some compelling matchups on the field.”
Starting on January 1, 2011, the Capital One Bowl, Outback Bowl and Gator Bowl will all begin at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised by either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The Rose Bowl, which will move to ESPN starting with the 2011 game, will follow with its traditional 5 p.m. ET kickoff.
“It is an honor to serve as one of the Big Ten’s oldest bowl traditions. Maintaining the first selection of available teams affords our community the opportunity to reward a group of highly successful student athletes, both on the field and in the classroom, with a trip to Orlando.”
The Big Ten has won four of the last five Capital One Bowl games. Orlando’s New Year’s Classic is had the highest television rating among non-BCS bowls in 2008-09, attaining a 6.4 rating. For the second consecutive year, the Capital One Bowl was the only non-BCS game to rate higher than at least one Bowl Championship Series game. In 2008, it rated higher than three BCS games with a 9.1 rating.