Yankees Announce Plans For College Bowl Game At Yankee Stadium

Yankees Announce Plans To Host College Football Bowl Game

The Yankees, Big East and Big 12 this morning announced a partnership for a new college football bowl game at Yankee Stadium, set to begin next season. The four-year agreement, which is pending approval from the NCAA Bowl Licensing Committee, will see the Big East send its third or fourth selection to the bowl, facing off against the seventh pick from the Big 12. The name, date and TV plans for the bowl game have yet to be announced (THE DAILY). In Newark, Brendan Prunty reports the game is "scheduled to take place between Christmas and New Year's Day." Yankees co-Chair & Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner during today's press conference said, "This is a big deal. It's a big deal for all involved" (NJ.com, 9/30). SI.com's Stewart Mandel noted the game would be the "first staged in the New York area since Nebraska and Miami met in the 1962 Gotham Bowl, played at the original Yankee Stadium." If all other existing bowls remain intact, the Yankee Bowl "would become the 35th in the Football Bowl Subdivision" (SI.com, 9/29). ESPN.com's Brian Bennett noted Notre Dame "could also be involved in the game." If the Big 12 "does not have enough eligible teams to fill its slot," Notre Dame "could face the Big East in the Yankee Bowl" (ESPN.com, 9/29).

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY: A source indicated that the Yankees "will commit more than $16[M] over four years to host" the bowl game. The source said that details of the deal include the Yankees "receiving revenue for selling naming rights to a corporate sponsor." That money, "along with potential TV rights, anticipated additional corporate sponsorship and concessions could easily surpass the baseball team's expenditure for the event" (NEWSDAY, 9/30).