NCAA football bowl games, 2008-09

The 2008-09 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Post-Season, which will follow the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season will contain a record number of bowl games scheduled in history, as a total of 34 bowl games (exempting the All-Star Games) will be played starting on December 20th 2008 with four contests and running through the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida to be played on January 8th at Dolphin Stadium.

The NCAA divided Division I schools into two divisions starting in 1978: The Football Bowl Subdivision (known as Division I-A from 1978 through 2005) does not have a playoff system, and rewards schools which have football programs with outstanding records on the field during a season to play in bowl games as a reward. The Football Championship Subdivision (known through this same period as Division I-AA) plays in a sixteen-team, single elimination tournament for a recognized national championship, with the notable exception of The Ivy League, which abstains from football playoff participation in this division.

Besides the current 32 games (including those in the BCS), the NCAA formally approved two new games: The EagleBank Bowl, to be played in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium, which will be the first Bowl Game to be played on December 20th with an 11 AM kickoff and The St. Petersburg Bowl, played in the Florida namesake city at Tropicana Field [cite news |title=St. Petersburg, Washington will host bowl games in 2008 |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3375625&campaign=rss&source=NCFHeadlines |publisher=ESPN |date=2008-04-30 |accessdate=2008-05-02] . This will mean that 68 teams out of 119 in the FBS could be bowl eligible provided they meet certain criteria listed below.

election of the teams

NCAA bylaws require that a school with a record of 6-6 in regular season play are eligible only after conferences cannot fill out available positions for bowl games with teams having seven (or more) wins automatically eligible, excluding games played in Hawaiokinai and conference championship games in the ACC, Big 12, Conference USA and the SEC. An example was in 2007 when the Big Ten and Big 12 each had two teams selected for the Bowl Championship Series games - Ohio State and Illinois from the Big Ten and Kansas and Oklahoma from the Big 12. As a result, when all the pieces were finally put together, Northwestern and Iowa of the Big Ten were odd teams out from that conference. However, with two teams in the BCS as well, the Big 12 did not have enough teams to fulfill their required bowl slots, so their spot in the Texas Bowl was forfeited and given to Texas Christian University.

=2008-09 Schedule [cite news |title=2008-09 Bowl Schedule |url=http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/10823453 |publisher=CBSSports.com |date=2008-06-19 |accessdate=2008-06-19] =

:"All kickoff times US EST"

=Non-BCS Contests=

December 20

*EagleBank Bowl (RFK Stadium, Washington, DC; 11 AM, ESPN; match up from two of the following: Navy, Army, Atlantic Coast Conference {ACC} #9 and/or Mid-American Conference {MAC})
*New Mexico Bowl (University Stadium, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; 2:30 PM, ESPN; Western Athletic Conference {WAC} vs. Mountain West Conference {MWC})
*St. Petersburg Bowl (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida; 6:30 PM, ESPN 2; Big East Conference #6 vs. Conference USA {C-USA})^§
*Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (Sam Boyd Stadium, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada; 8 PM, ESPN; Pacific Ten Conference {Pac-10} vs MWC Champion)

December 21

*R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana; 8 PM, ESPN; Sun Belt Champions vs. C-USA #5)

December 23

*SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California; 8 PM, ESPN; MWC vs. Pac-10 #6)

December 24 (Christmas Eve)

*Sheraton Hawaiokinai Bowl (Aloha Stadium, okinaAiea, Hawaiokinai; 8 PM, ESPN; Pac-10 vs. WAC/Hawaiokinai)

December 26

*Motor City Bowl (Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan; ESPN 2, 7:30 PM; MAC Champion vs. Big Ten Conference #7)

December 27

*Meineke Car Care Bowl (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina; ESPN, 1 PM; ACC #5/6/7 vs. Big East #3)
*Champs Sports Bowl (Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida; ESPN, 4:30 PM; ACC #4 vs. Big Ten #4/5)
*Emerald Bowl (AT&T Park, San Francisco, California; ESPN, 8 PM; ACC #5/6/7 vs. Pac-10)

December 28

*PertoSun Independence Bowl (Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana; ESPN, 8 PM; Big 12 Conference {Big 12}#7 vs. Southeastern Conference {SEC})^§

December 29

*Papajohns.com Bowl (Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama; ESPN 2, 2 PM; Big East vs. SEC's lowest ranked team)^§
*Valero Energy Alamo Bowl (Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas; ESPN, 8 PM; Big Ten #4/5 vs. Big 12 #4/5)

December 30

*Roady's Humanitarian Bowl (Bronco Stadium, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho; ESPN 2, 4:30 PM; WAC vs. ACC #8)
*Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California; ESPN, 8 PM; Pac-10 #2 vs. Big 12 #3/4)
*Texas Bowl (Reliant Stadium, Houston Texas; NFL Network, 8 PM; Big 12 #8 vs. C-USA)

December 31 (New Years Eve)

*Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl (Amon G. Carter Stadium, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas; ESPN, 12:30 PM; MWC vs. C-USA
*Brut Sun Bowl, (Sun Bowl Stadium, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas; CBS, 2 PM; Pac-10 #3 vs Big East #2, Notre Dame or Big 12)
*Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee; ESPN, 3:30 PM; SEC vs. ACC #5/6/7)
*Insight Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona; NFL Network, 5:30 PM; Big Ten #6 vs. Big 12 #6)
*Chick-fil-A Bowl (Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia; ESPN, 7:30 PM; ACC #2 vs. SEC)

January 1 (New Years Day)

*Outback Bowl (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida; ESPN, 11 AM; Big Ten #3 vs. SEC)
*Konica Minolta Gator Bowl (Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida; CBS, noon; ACC #3 vs. Big East, Notre Dame or Big 12)
*Capital One Bowl (Citrus Bowl, Orlando Florida; ABC, 1 PM; Big Ten #2 vs. SEC #2)

January 2

*AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (Cotton Bowl, Fair Park, Dallas, Texas; FOX, 2 PM; Big 12 #2 vs. SEC)
*AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee; ESPN, 5 PM, C-USA Champion vs. SEC)

January 3

*International Bowl (Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ESPN, 12 noon; Big East vs. MAC#3)

January 6

*GMAC Bowl (Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama; ESPN, 8 PM; C-USA vs. MAC or WAC)

Bowl Championship Series

January 1

*Rose Bowl Game presented by citi (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California; ABC, 5 PM; Big Ten Champion or BCS at-large vs. Pac-10 Champion or BCS at-large)
*FedEx Orange Bowl (Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida; Fox, 8:30 PM; ACC Champion vs. BCS at-large)

January 2

*Allstate Sugar Bowl (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, Fox, 8 PM; SEC Champion or BCS at-large vs BCS at-large)

January 5

*Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, Fox, 8 PM; Big 12 Champions or BCS at-large vs BCS at-large)

January 8

*2009 FedEx BCS National Championship (Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida; Fox, 9 PM; BCS #1 vs. BCS #2)

^§ — In the event that a team from one of the two conferences are not bowl eligible, the Sun Belt Conference will have a team in their place, subject to the same rule.

References

External links