We already knew the Yankee Bowl was in the works and likely a foregone conclusion. We just didn't know the exact specifics. Well now we do. It's happening, people, and it's happening soon.
New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the commissioners of the Big East and Big 12 will announce at a news conference Wednesday the formation of the Yankee Bowl, to be held at the new Yankee Stadium beginning with the 2010-11 postseason, according to sources with knowledge of the event.
The game, which will seek NCAA certification next spring, would reportedly pit the Big East's fourth-place team against the Big 12's No. 7 selection. Organizers plan to hold the first edition between Dec. 29, 2010 and Jan. 2, 2011.
That would make it the 35th bowl in this wonderful system we call the FBS and yet another game that will likely pit two mediocre teams against one another in a game you wouldn't watch if it were on this weekend unless your team was involved.
The arrangement bodes well for the chances of Syracuse playing the game more often than not. The Orange are (hopefully) on a trajectory to be a bowl team by next year and you can bet that Yankee Stadium will want to take advantage of the alumni base in the city whenever possible. Of course, if they have to go with Rutgers or UConn instead, it's not a big loss for them.
Just to get a feel for what the Yankee Bowl would have looked like had it been around the last couple seasons, let's see which teams would have likely played there.
2008 - Rutgers vs. Kansas
2007 - South Florida vs. Oklahoma State
2006 - South Florida vs. Kansas State
2005 - South Florida vs. Missouri
Now that we have such region and team-specific bowl arrangements, it would be pretty humorous to watch South Florida play in the Yankee Bowl while UConn or Rutgers plays in the St. Petersburg Bowl.