Football 10.10.13 American Athletic Conference Announces Relationships With Four Bowl Games The American will send three teams annually to ESPN-affiliated bowls

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced relationships with four ESPN-owned bowl games for a six-year cycle beginning with the 2014 football season.



The American has extended its existing agreements with the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. The conference will also annually send a team to either the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, (in 2014, 2016 and 2018) or the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii (in 2015, 2017 and 2019). This group of bowls will annually select three of the top six eligible teams from The American.



The opponents for the American Athletic Conference representative will come from the Atlantic Coast Conference three times and from Conference USA three times in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. The Southeastern Conference will provide the opponents in the BBVA Compass Bowl. The opponents in the Armed Forces Bowl will be Army in 2014 and Big 12 Conference teams in the other two years. The American representative will oppose a Mountain West team in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.



"We are proud to continue our successful partnership with the industry leader in sports television. ESPN has established some of the most attractive bowl games in the nation," said Aresco. "These bowls allow us to play outstanding teams and they will also annually reward our student-athletes and coaches with memorable postseason experiences. Our fans will enjoy these great destinations and a national television audience will enjoy watching these compelling bowl games."



“These games provide our conference with the opportunity to face top competition in desirable locations, which has been our stated goal as we assemble our postseason lineup,” said Senior Associate Commissioner Nick Carparelli.



The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl has been affiliated with the conference since 2008. It is played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.



The BBVA Compass Bowl has been played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., since 2006. The bowl enjoyed a record attendance of nearly 60,000 last season and has had three crowds of 40,000 or more in the last four years.



The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl is played at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, and has been situated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex since its inception in 2003.



The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was established in 2002 and is played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The bowl has been played in front of crowds of 30,000 or more in each of the last six years.



The American Athletic Conference previously announced a partnership with the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman (against the ACC). The rest of the conference's postseason lineup for the 2014-19 cycle will be announced in the coming weeks.

