Sun Bowl the only bowl not on ABC or ESPN
Did you know the Sun Bowl is one of just four bowl games left on network TV, and the only one of 39 bowl games that’s not on ABC or ESPN?
The game’s relationship with CBS has reached 47 years and it appears there are many more years to come.
“We are the second oldest property they own,” said Sun Bowl selection committee chairman John Folmer. “The Masters is the other and then we’re the second and it’s built on relationships.”
Unlike many bowl games this time of year, the Sun Bowl stands are almost always full or at least close to it! And that goes a long way, according to Folmer, toward a lengthy relationship with CBS.
“That’s pretty amazing and it’s a relationship, needless to say, we appreciate and enjoy over many, many years,” Folmer said.
The Sun Bowl is in the first-year of a new six-year deal with CBS, which has agreed to televise the game through 2020.
“We get the majority of our money from our fans and the rental car tax,” Folmer said. “People approved this thing many years ago and it keeps us in business. We just hope we can stay in business because it’s something El Paso is very proud of.”
“I’ve been part of the game, either as associate director, the producer or coordinating producer 23 times including this year,” said Craig Silver, CBS’s coordinating producer of college football. “I think (the reason CBS keeps doing it) for starters it’s a great game. You show up and it’s a festive atmosphere, the locals come out and support the game, certainly every time I’ve ever been here. They get great teams, they have had memorable games and it’s an important property of CBS and it allows us to stay in the postseason of college football.”
Folmer added: “Who knows what’s going to happen? We’ve been so lucky to have them with the playoffs, bigger they get, it’s going to be a little more difficult.”
“It’s an exclamation point to our season and as long as the game remains great,” Silver added. “As long as the city of El Paso remains as strongly behind it as they have for 47 years, we will keep coming back and we’re proud to be here.”
