 Washington, DC will be home to the new Congressional Bowl
Both the Congressional Bowl and the St. Petersburg Bowl received approval from the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee after making presentations to the committee April 30. A proposed third new bowl game in Salt Lake City, UT did not fare as well however as the Rocky Mountain Bowl's bid was rejected.
The St. Petersburg Bowl is slated to be played at Tropicana Field in St, Petersburg, FL featuring squads from the Big East and Conference USA while the Congressional Bowl is expected to kick off its inaugural game December 20 in Washington, DC likely to be played either at RFK Stadium or Nationals Park. Both bowl games received a commitment from ESPN to televise their games.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and Navy are expected to provide the combatants for the first-ever bowl game to be played in the nation's capitol however the Mid-American Conference is expected to be the Congressional Bowl's backup option should Navy or an ACC bowl-eligible squad not be available (also see: MAC Poised For Seat in Congressional Bowl).
The ACC is expected to provide its number nine bowl eligible team, however the ACC has never had more than eight teams reach bowl eligibility in a single season
The MAC currently has three bowl tie-ins and last season had four bowl eligible teams. Prior to last season however the MAC had no fewer than five bowl eligible teams every season since 1997.
The approval of two additional bowl games brings the total number of postseason bowl games to 34.
Southern Mississippi athletic director Richard Giannini, who serves as the chairman of the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee believes however that there will be enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the 34 bowl slots.
"The subcommittee spent a great deal of time reviewing the historical data of bowl eligible teams and feels there is adequate opportunity to fill all bowl positions," said Giannini. "The addition of two new bowl games will only provide more quality experiences for the student-athletes, institutions and fans."
The subcommittee also licensed all 32 bowls from last season for the upcoming season.
According to a release from the NCAA, approximately $222 million in bowl revenue was distributed last season to participating teams and conferences. Approximately 1.63 million fans attended the bowl games.
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