Texas Bowl

Post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game

College football bowl game

Texas Bowl

Kinder's Texas Bowl
Stadium| NRG Stadium
Location| Houston, Texas
Operated| 2006–present
Conference tie-ins| Big 12, SEC
Previous conference tie-ins|

* Big East/C-USA/MWC (alternating years) (2006–2009)
* Big Ten (2010–2013)

Payout| US$6.4 million (2019)[1]
Website| kinderstexasbowl.com
Preceded by| Houston Bowl
Sponsors

* Meineke Car Care (2011–2012)
* AdvoCare (2014–2016)
* Academy Sports + Outdoors (2017–2019)
* Mercari (2020)
* TaxAct (2021–2023)
* Kinder's (2024–present)

Former names

* Texas Bowl (2006–2010)
* Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (2011–2012)
* Texas Bowl (2013)
* AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (2014–2016)
* Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl (2017–2019)
* Mercari Texas Bowl (2020, game canceled)
* TaxAct Texas Bowl (2021–2023)

2023 matchup
Oklahoma State vs.  Texas A&M
(Oklahoma State 31–23)
2024 matchup
Baylor vs.  LSU (LSU 44–31)

The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replaced the defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005, and before that the Bluebonnet Bowl, the first bowl game in Houston, played from 1959 through 1987.

## History

[edit]

### Replacing the Houston Bowl

[edit]

Speculation surfaced questioning the long-term survival of the former Houston Bowl. The three-year contract with EV1.net expired on December 31, 2005, leaving the bowl game without a title sponsor. A college football official told the Houston Chronicle that the bowl was in danger of ceasing operations, as a result of the game losing its title sponsor and because the Houston Bowl still owed roughly $600,000 to the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences following the 2005 game.[2] However, the NCAA approved Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, a division of the Houston Texans, who also play in Reliant Stadium, to take over game management. In July 2006, the NFL Network acquired TV rights and naming rights to the bowl.[3]

### Texas Bowl introduction

[edit]

The Texas Bowl name and logo were officially unveiled on August 10, 2006, at a press conference along with conference affiliations for the bowl spots. The Big 12, Big East and Conference USA will be affiliated with the game, as well as Texas Christian University of the Mountain West. The 2006 matchup featured teams from the Big 12 and Big East Conferences.[4]

On December 3, 2006, Rutgers accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl. "We're ecstatic about having Rutgers," Texas Bowl director David Brady said. "This is a top-15 team that was three yards away from a BCS game. We couldn't be happier to have them here."[5]

2010 marked the eleventh consecutive year a bowl game has played in Houston, and the 40th year overall with a bowl game there (the Bluebonnet Bowl lasted 29 years). It was also announced on December 30, 2009, that ESPN Events would take over as part owner and operator of the game, while Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will maintain a stake in the bowl, and would be carried on ESPN.

### Sponsors

[edit]

On April 12, 2011, ESPN announced Meineke Car Care signed a three-year title sponsorship deal beginning in 2011, changing name of the bowl to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.[6] On February 12, 2014, it was announced that AdvoCare will be the title sponsor for the bowl game.[7] That sponsorship concluded after the 2016 game. On November 15, 2017, Academy Sports + Outdoors became the new title sponsor of the bowl.[8][9] That sponsorship concluded after the 2019 game.

On December 14, 2020, Mercari was announced as the new title sponsor of the game.[10] The 2020 game was later canceled due to COVID-19 issues.[11] On November 24, 2021, TaxAct was named as the new title sponsor of both the Texas Bowl and the Camellia Bowl.[12] This arrangement remained in place through the 2023 edition. On December 4, 2024, Kinder's Flavors was named as the new title sponsor.[13]

### Conference tie-ins

[edit]

On May 17, 2007, it was announced Conference USA would have a team in the 2007 Texas Bowl. The Texas Bowl has a rotating commitment with the Big East Conference and Conference USA for 2006-09 while the Big 12 Conference will have a team in all four of those games. In 2007, TCU took the place of the Big 12 team when Kansas and Oklahoma were put into the BCS, and Houston, a "home team," represented C-USA. The conferences would receive $612,500 each as per the rules of the agreements as usually, the Big East (or Big 12) would have received $750,000 for playing and C-USA would have received a $500,000 stipend for their team playing.

### Issues

[edit]

According to Sports Illustrated, in 2008 the bowl required Western Michigan University to purchase 11,000 tickets at full price in order to accept the invitation to play in the bowl. The university was only able to sell 548 tickets at that price, forcing it to accept a $462,535 loss, before travel expenses, to pay for the privilege of playing in the bowl.[14]

The 2020 edition, slated for December 31 between TCU and Arkansas, was cancelled on December 29 due to COVID-19 issues within the TCU program.[11]

## Game results

[edit]

Rankings are based on the AP Poll prior to the game being played.

Date  | Time (CST) | Bowl name  | Winning team  | Losing team  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|

December 28, 2006 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | No. 16 Rutgers | 37 | Kansas State | 10 | 52,210
December 28, 2007 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | TCU | 20 | Houston | 13 | 62,097
December 30, 2008 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Rice | 38 | Western Michigan | 14 | 58,880
December 31, 2009 | 2:30 PM | Texas Bowl | Navy | 35 | Missouri | 13 | 69,441
December 29, 2010 | 5:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Illinois | 38 | Baylor | 14 | 68,211
December 31, 2011 | 11:00 AM | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | Texas A&M | 33 | Northwestern | 22 | 68,395
December 28, 2012 | 8:00 PM | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas | Texas Tech | 34 | Minnesota | 31 | 50,386
December 27, 2013 | 5:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Syracuse | 21 | Minnesota | 17 | 32,327
December 29, 2014 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Arkansas | 31 | Texas | 7 | 71,115
December 29, 2015 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | No. 22 LSU† | 56 | Texas Tech | 27 | 71,307
December 28, 2016 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Kansas State | 33 | Texas A&M | 28 | 68,412
December 27, 2017 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Texas | 33 | Missouri | 16 | 67,820
December 27, 2018 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Baylor | 45 | Vanderbilt | 38 | 51,104
December 27, 2019 | 5:45 PM | Texas Bowl | Texas A&M | 24 | No. 25 Oklahoma State | 21 | 68,415
December 31, 2020 | 7:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[15][a] | —
January 4, 2022 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Kansas State | 42 | LSU | 20 | 52,207
December 28, 2022 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | Texas Tech | 42 | Ole Miss | 25 | 53,251
December 27, 2023 | 8:00 PM | Texas Bowl | No. 22 Oklahoma State | 31 | Texas A&M | 23 | 55,212
December 31, 2024 | 2:30 PM | Texas Bowl | LSU | 44 |  Baylor | 31 | 59,940

Source:[16]
† LSU's win in the 2015 edition was vacated in 2023 by the NCAA for a booster-related violation.[17]

## MVPs

[edit]

2009 MVP Ricky Dobbs Year | MVP | Team | Position

|
|
|

2006 | Ray Rice | Rutgers | RB
2007 | Andy Dalton | TCU | QB
2008 | Chase Clement | Rice | QB
2009 | Ricky Dobbs | Navy | QB
2010 | Mikel Leshoure | Illinois | RB
2011 | Ryan Tannehill | Texas A&M | QB
2012 | Seth Doege | Texas Tech | QB
2013 | Terrel Hunt | Syracuse | QB
2014 | Brandon Allen | Arkansas | QB
2015 | Leonard Fournette | LSU | RB
2016 | Jesse Ertz | Kansas State | QB
2017 | Michael Dickson | Texas | P
2018 | Charlie Brewer | Baylor | QB
2019 | Kellen Mond | Texas A&M | QB
Jan. 2022 | Skylar Thompson | Kansas State | QB
Dec. 2022 | Tyler Shough | Texas Tech | QB
2023 | Rashod Owens | Oklahoma State | WR
2024 | Garrett Nussmeier | LSU | QB

Source:[18][19][20][21]

## Most appearances

[edit]

Head coach Jerry Kill led Minnesota to Texas Bowl appearances in 2012 and 2013.

Updated through the December 2024 edition (18 games, 36 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances
Rank  | Team  | Appearances  | Record

|
|
|

1 | Texas A&M | 4 | 2–2
2 | Kansas State | 3 | 2–1
Texas Tech | 3 | 2–1
Baylor | 3 | 1–2
LSU | 3 | 1–1‡
6 | Texas | 2 | 1–1
Oklahoma State | 2 | 1–1
Minnesota | 2 | 0–2
Missouri | 2 | 0–2

‡ LSU's win in the 2015 edition was vacated by the NCAA in 2023.

Teams with a single appearance

Won (7): Arkansas, Illinois, Navy, Rice, Rutgers, Syracuse, TCU
Lost (5): Houston, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Western Michigan

## Appearances by conference

[edit]

Updated through the December 2024 edition (18 games, 36 total appearances).

Conference  | Record  | Appearances by season

|
|

Games  | W  | L  | Win pct.  | Won  | Lost  | Vacated
Big 12 | 15 | 8 | 7 | .533 | 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021*, 2022, 2023 | 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2024 |
SEC | 10 | 3 | 6 | .333 ‡ | 2014, 2019, 2024 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021*, 2022, 2023 | 2015
Big Ten | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 2010 | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
C-USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2008 | 2007 |
ACC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2013 |  |
Independents | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2009 |  |
Mountain West | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2007 |  |
Big East | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2006 |  |
MAC | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |  | 2008 |

‡ LSU's vacated victory following the 2015 season is excluded from the SEC's win–loss totals and winning percentage.

* Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year.
* Rutgers appeared in 2006 as a member of the Big East; the American Athletic Conference (The American) retains the conference charter following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines.
* Independent appearances: Navy (2009)

## Game records

[edit]

Team  | Record, Team vs. Opponent  | Year

|
|

Most points scored (one team)  | 56, LSU vs. Texas Tech  | 2015
Most points scored (losing team)  | 38, Vanderbilt vs. Baylor  | 2018
Most points scored (both teams)  | 83, shared by:
LSU (56) vs. Texas Tech (27)
Baylor (45) vs. Vanderbilt (38)  |
2015
2018
Fewest points allowed  | 7, Arkansas vs. Texas  | 2014
Largest margin of victory  | 29, LSU vs. Texas Tech  | 2015
Total yards  | 668, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt  | 2018
Rushing yards  | 385, Navy vs. Missouri  | 2009
Passing yards  | 436, Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M  | 2023
First downs  | 30, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt  | 2018
Fewest yards allowed  | 59, Arkansas vs. Texas  | 2014
Fewest rushing yards allowed  | 2, Arkansas vs. Texas  | 2014
Fewest passing yards allowed  | 57, Arkansas vs. Texas  | 2014
Individual  | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent  | Year
All-purpose yards | 256, Leonard Fournette (LSU) | 2015
Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 5, Leonard Fournette (LSU) | 2015
Rushing yards | 243, Ke'Shawn Vaughn (Vanderbilt) | 2018
Rushing touchdowns | 4, Leonard Fournette (LSU) | 2015
Passing yards | 402, Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State) | 2023
Passing touchdowns | 4, Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech) | 2015
Receptions | 16,Brennan Pressley (Oklahoma State) |
2023
Receiving yards | 164, Rashod Owens (Oklahoma State) | 2023
Receiving touchdowns | 3, Jakeem Grant (Texas Tech) | 2015
Tackles | 17, Micah Awe (Texas Tech) | 2015
Sacks | 2.5, shared by:
Justin Braska (Western Michigan)
Kendall Beckwith (LSU) |
2008
2015
Interceptions | 2, Michael Carter (Minnesota) | 2012
Long Plays  | Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent  | Year
Touchdown run | 79 yds., D. J. Chark (LSU) | 2015
Touchdown pass | 81 yds., Chris Hilton Jr. pass from Jontre Kirklin (LSU) | Jan. 2022
Kickoff return | 99 yds., Jakeem Grant (Texas Tech) | 2012
Punt return | 76 yds., Yamon Figurs (Kansas State) | 2006
Interception return | 62 yds., Wyatt Middleton (Navy) | 2009
Fumble return | 46 yds., Travon Bellamy (Illinois) | 2010
Punt | 65 yds., Chase Turner (Houston) | 2007
Field goal | 51 yds., Randy Bond (Texas A&M) | 2023

## Media coverage

[edit]

The first three editions of the bowl were televised by NFL Network. Since 2009, it has been carried by ESPN.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The 2020 game was set to feature TCU vs. Arkansas.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
2. ^ Duarte, Joseph (18 April 2006). "Houston Bowl in jeopardy". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
3. ^ "NFL Network gets bowl game in Houston". NFL.com. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006.
4. ^ Chavez, Ana (29 August 2006). "Texas Bowl Board of Directors announced". houstontexans.com (Press release).
5. ^ Duarte, Joseph (3 December 2006). "Rutgers to play in inaugural Texas Bowl". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
6. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (12 April 2011). "Texas Bowl gains new title sponsor". ESPN.com.
7. ^ Cook, Kara (11 February 2014). "Advocare, LSSE excited for Texas Bowl partnership". houstontexans.com.
8. ^ "ACADEMY SPORTS + OUTDOORS NAMED THE NEW TITLE SPONSOR OF THE TEXAS BOWL". academytexasbowl.com (Press release). November 15, 2017.
9. ^ "Texas Bowl Hopes New Title Sponsor Deal With Locally-Based Academy Sports Brings Stability". Retrieved November 16, 2017.
10. ^ "Mercari Named New Title Sponsor of Texas Bowl". ESPN Events. 14 December 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
11. ^ a b Fornelli, Tom; Kercheval, Ben (December 29, 2020). "2020 Texas Bowl canceled as COVID-19 outbreak at TCU forces it to pull out vs. Arkansas". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
12. ^ "TaxAct® Named Title Sponsor of Texas and Camellia Bowl Games as Part of a Multi-Event College Football Agreement with ESPN Events". bowlseason.com. November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
13. ^ "KINDER'S NAMED NEW TITLE SPONSOR OF THE TEXAS BOWL". Retrieved December 4, 2024.
14. ^ Murphy, Austin; Wetzel, Dan (15 November 2010). "Does It Matter?". Sports Illustrated. p. 47.
15. ^ Khan Jr., Sam (December 29, 2020). "Texas Bowl between TCU Horned Frogs, Arkansas Razorbacks canceled". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
16. ^ "Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl" (PDF). Bowl/All Star Game Records. NCAA. 2020. p. 15. Retrieved January 3, 2021 - via NCAA.org.
17. ^ Mandel, Stewart. "Vacated LSU wins leave Les Miles out of CFB Hall of Fame consideration". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
18. ^ "Bowl MVPs". TaxAct Texas Bowl (game program). Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. 2022. p. 20. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
19. ^ @RedRaiderSports (December 29, 2022). "Tyler Shough named Texas Bowl MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2022 - via Twitter.
20. ^ @jacobunruh (December 28, 2023). "Here is Texas Bowl MVP Rashod Owens. #OKState" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 - via Twitter.
21. ^ "Nussmeier throws for 304 yards and 3 TDs as LSU beats Baylor 44-31 in Texas Bowl". apnews.com. AP. December 31, 2024. Retrieved December 31, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

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