Last week, USA Today reported some troubling news about the Houston Bowl:
The payouts from last season’s Houston Bowl have not yet been made in full, marking an unusually long wait for the conferences involved.
“It’s the first time that has happened to the Big 12 in its 10-year history,” said Bob Burda, assistant commissioner of communications for the league, which sent Iowa State to the bowl.
Including the 2005 season, Big 12 teams have 68 bowl appearances.
Houston Bowl executive director Shawn Bouley said Wednesday that he could not comment on the status of payouts, citing reasons of confidentiality.
Nearly a week later, the local Hearst daily decided the matter might be of interest to its readers:
Strapped by financial problems and waning attendance, the Houston Bowl could cease operations as early as next week, a college football official said Tuesday.
The 6-year-old bowl is currently without a sponsor, and the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences have yet to receive the full payout of $1.2 million each for participating in last year’s game.
It looks as if Houston’s lower-tier bowl is about to go the way of the Bluebonnet Bowl. Given recent attendance figures, it doesn’t appear that very many people are going to miss it.
