Big Ten Extends Relationship with the Heart of Dallas Bowl

[Harry]

July 23, 2013

The Big Ten Conference extends its relationship with the Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank and enters into an agreement with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl to secure a commitment to have a conference school play in the postseason games, on a rotating basis, during a seven-year period following the 2013-2019 seasons.

Starting in 2013, the Big Ten will place seven teams over a seven-year period in the Metroplex. The 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank will host the Big Ten on an ESPNU televised game. Their opponent will be a school from Conference USA and the game will kickoff at 11 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014 at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas, Texas.

"The Big Ten has played bowl games in the state of Texas annually since 1995 and we look forward to continuing that tradition by participating in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl and Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank," Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany said. "The opportunity to play in a historic venue like Cotton Bowl Stadium first drew us to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and the hospitality of the people of Dallas and the charitable generosity of the bowl committee make this an ideal partnership. In addition, the agreement with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will allow the Big Ten to maintain an annual presence in the state of Texas, which is home to a large alumni base from conference schools. These two postseason games in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area are welcome additions to our national bowl lineup."

"We are extremely pleased to extend our relationship with the Big Ten for the Heart of Dallas Bowl game," said Kern Egan, Heart of Dallas board member. "The ongoing support of one of college football's premier conferences will continue to help the Heart of Dallas raise money for charities to make our city a better place."

Owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl has featured the "armed forces" theme since 2006. Patriotic overtones recognizing all five branches of the service are prevalent throughout the game. Past Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowls have included fan-fest areas showcasing armed forces hardware; flyovers; demonstrations by several of the military's top skydiving teams; custom homes awarded to wounded warriors; on-field induction ceremonies; armed forces bands and honor guards; the annual Great American Patriot Award presented by Armed Forces Insurance; and the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.

"This is another major milestone for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl," said Brant Ringler, BHAFB executive director. "We look forward to working with the Big Ten Conference officials and Heart of Dallas Bowl representatives during this process to produce exciting postseason football games in North Texas."

With Rice defeating Air Force 33-14, the 2012 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl drew an attendance of 40,754 and the largest TV audience in the game's history with an average of 2,584,000 households. The ESPN telecast had a 2.6 average household coverage rating - marking the bowl's second-highest rating in the event history.

After two seasons as the TicketCity Bowl, the name of the postseason game at the Cotton Bowl was changed to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The 2013 game featured Oklahoma State defeating Purdue before a crowd of 48,313. The bowl game raised

$100,000 for the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance.

ESPN Regional Television
ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates collegiate sporting events worldwide, including two Labor Day Kickoff college football games; seven college bowl games and eight college basketball events. These account for approximately 200 hours of programming, reach almost 64 million viewers and attract nearly half a million attendees each year.

The owned and operated events build relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as provide unique experiences for teams and fans. In addition to event ownership, ERT manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football

BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Beef `O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Las Vegas Bowl; MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu) and The Home Depot College Football Awards

Collegiate Basketball
Armed Forces Classic (TBD); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men's & Women's Basketball Classics presented by Corona Extra (Madison Square Garden & Durham, N.C.); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan, PR); State Farm Champions Classic (United Center, Chicago) and Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.)

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072313aaa.html

[Harry]

Dan McCarney and North Texas vs. Urban Meyer and The Ohio State University in the Heart of Dallas Bowl in Cotton Bowl Stadium!!

[PlummMeanGreen]

Dan McCarney and North Texas vs. Urban Meyer and The Ohio State University in the Heart of Dallas Bowl in Cotton Bowl Stadium!!

T H I S I S

T E X A S - S I Z E D

H U G E ... and great news for the new Conference-USA!

[houstonmeangreen]

UNT is going to have a great opportunity to showcase the University of North Texas every year, perhaps with some big name programs...this is great...so much better exposure with CUSA regardless of who leaves. I can see UNT making real progress in the next few years with this conference change.

[Side Show Joe]

This is great news. It will be even better if C-USA can retain a spot in the Armed Forces Bowl too. There is a chance we will be rotating with the Big 10 for that spot against the MWC.

Also it appears the SEC will not extend their association with the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Independence Bowl. I'm sure the AAC is upset about this, but it could be good news for C-USA. We will see.

[Harry]

This is great news. It will be even better if C-USA can retain a spot in the Armed Forces Bowl too. There is a chance we will be rotating with the Big 10 for that spot against the MWC.

Also it appears the SEC will not extend their association with the BBVA Compass Bowl or the Independence Bowl. I'm sure the AAC is upset about this, but it could be good news for C-USA. We will see.

I wouldn't get hopes too high up on Armed Forces bowl. With Navy joining the AAC I think they will have the upper hand in that one.

Still doesn't detract from the fact that the Heart of Dallas bowl seems to be on the rise with the Big 10 alliance.

[UNT 90 Grad]

So if UNT gets into the Heart of Dallas bowl, how many fans would we draw?

[emmitt01]

So if UNT gets into the Heart of Dallas bowl, how many fans would we draw?

A lot.

Also, every year I attend the Heart of Dallas Bowl (used to be the TicketCity.com Bowl) on free tickets. They give away up to 5 to city employees who want them because usually it is a Big XII team who is disappointed to be there versus a Big 10 team who is really far from home. If we got into this bowl K would make every fellow city employee I know take the five tickets even if they couldn't attend, and then give them away to students.

[CMJ]

Didn't a "disappointed-to-be-there" Houston bring like 35K to the game a couple of years ago? I know Houston has a bigger fan base, but we WOULDN'T be disappointed to be there. I think we could get around that number.

Edited July 24, 2013 by CMJ