BIG TEN ANNOUNCES NEW POSTSEASON SLATE WITH AT LEAST 11 DIFFERENT BOWLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
New bowl lineup begins with 2020 season and includes games against ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and MAC in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten unveiled its most diverse postseason lineup in conference history on Tuesday, with at least 11 different bowl partners spread across the country beginning with the 2020 college football season. Stretching from coast to coast, the Big Ten’s future bowl lineup will be highlighted by annual games against quality opponents from the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, and MAC in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee, along with the opportunity to visit four other outstanding postseason venues as part of the College Football Playoff.
The Big Ten’s new bowl lineup will allow teams and fans to visit world-class cities while having the opportunity to experience 11 different NFL stadiums, along with some of the most iconic venues in the country, including Rose Bowl Stadium and Yankee Stadium. These outstanding facilities have hosted or will host 29 different Super Bowls in nine different stadiums. In addition, new partnerships in Charlotte and Las Vegas will create opportunities for new postseason experiences for participants and fans, while the conference returns to Phoenix for the first time since the 2013 postseason.
The Big Ten’s future bowl lineup consists of the following postseason games:
- Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, Calif.)
- Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami)
- Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.)
- Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.)
- Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas)
- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.)
- New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, N.Y.)
- Belk Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Cheez-It Bowl (Phoenix)
- Redbox Bowl (Santa Clara, Calif.)
- Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, Mich.)
The conference office announced six-year bowl extensions with the Citrus, Music City, Outback, Quick Lane and Redbox Bowls and six-year agreements with the Belk, Cheez-It and Las Vegas Bowls. The Big Ten’s current agreement with the Pinstripe Bowl, which runs through 2021, has also been extended through 2025. The Big Ten previously announced a 12-year extension to face a Pac-12 team in the Rose Bowl Game through the 2025 campaign and an agreement with the Orange Bowl to send a Big Ten team to face an ACC representative at least three times following the 2014-25 seasons.
Big Ten schools will also look to secure berths in the College Football Playoff, with semifinals rotating between the Rose, Orange, Goodyear Cotton (Arlington, Texas), PlayStation Fiesta (Glendale, Ariz.), Chick-fil-A Peach (Atlanta, Ga.), and Allstate Sugar (New Orleans, La.) Bowls.
The Big Ten’s 2020-25 bowl lineup will also feature the same selection process that has been used since 2014 to ensure outstanding bowl matchups and fresh postseason destinations. Each bowl partner will work with the Big Ten to create the best possible matchup based upon an agreed set of parameters, with final approval by the conference office for all team selections. The Citrus, Outback, Music City, New Era Pinstripe, Cheez-It, Redbox and Quick Lane Bowls will feature a Big Ten team in each year of the agreement, while the Las Vegas and Belk Bowls will rotate annually and each feature three teams over the six-year agreement.