Plot Synopsis

Before the first game was even played, NFL Network acquired the rights to the event from the Houston Texans in 2006. Created to celebrate the culture, heritage and football tradition of the Lone Star State, the inaugural Texas Bowl featured Rutgers beating K-State 37-10 before a crowd of 52,210 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. In the early years, the Texas Bowl partnered with the Big 12 Conference, Conference USA and the Big East Conference, featuring a Big 12 school each year and C-USA and Big East in alternate years. For the 2008 game, the Texas Bowl held the third selection among Conference USA-affiliated bowls and the seventh choice among Big 12-affiliated bowls (after the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) pairings have been set). After three years on NFL Network, the game moved to ESPN in 2009 and is now owned and operated by ESPN Events. Beginning in 2010, the Texas Bowl held the fifth choice in the Big 12 after the BCS bowls are announced, now matched with a team from the Big Ten for the next four years. During that time, Meineke Car Care Centers announced a title sponsorship deal of the Texas Bowl in 2011, lasting for two years. Three years later in 2014, the Texas Bowl, with Advocare as a new title sponsor, became part of a selection pool that takes place after teams are chosen for the College Football Playoff and the Capital One Bowl, choosing teams from the Big 12 and the SEC. Since 2014, the bowl has showcased teams from the Big 12 and the SEC.