Sun Bowl extends ACC affiliation
The Hyundai Sun Bowl has reached agreement on a six-year extension of its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The annual college football bowl game is currently heading in to the final year of its original four-year deal with the ACC. The new agreement starts with the 2014 game.
A news release provided by the Sun Bowl Association says the new national championship playoff and/or the Discover Orange Bowl will have first selection from the ACC, followed by the Russell Athletic Bowl.
In a departure from the previous formula, the Hyundai Sun Bowl will share the third through sixth selections from the ACC with the Belk Bowl, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl and the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl or the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Those bowl assignments will be made by the ACC conference commissioner, rather than through a selection process.
Sun Bowl President Bernie Olivas said that will address, and hopefully solve the problem of schools appearing in the same bowl in consecutive years, as Georgia Tech has done in the 2011 and 2012 Hyundai Sun Bowls.
“It’s going to work out great for all the bowls,” said Olivas, adding that bowls will meet with ACC commissioner John Swofford before the season starts to discuss bowl assignment criteria.
Last year’s Hyundai Sun Bowl was the only post-season game to feature teams from the ACC and Pac-12.
The 2013 game will be the 80th. Kickoff is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 31 at noon at Sun Bowl Stadium. CBS Sports will broadcast the game for the 46th consecutive year.
