Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
The long-rumored Yankee Bowl in New York City will be announced on Wednesday. The game will begin next season and will pit the No. 4 Big East team against the No. 7 team from the Big 12.
The No. 3 Big East team could go to the Yankee Bowl if Notre Dame takes the league's Champs Sports Bowl bid once during the next four-year cycle. And the Irish are tangentially involved in the Yankee Bowl, because they could take the Big 12 spot in years when the Big 12 doesn't have enough eligible teams.
A lot of things would have to happen for that to occur, including the Irish going 6-6 or 7-5 and not getting interest from other major bowls. But wouldn't that be fun to see a Big East team playing Notre Dame in a bowl?
We've talked about the Yankee Bowl here before at length, and despite the weather issues, I think it's a great idea. Fans can go to New York City, which is so close for many of the league teams and the city is a Big East base. It's also good that the Big 12 is on the other side, though No. 7 is pretty low. If the Big 12 puts two teams in the BCS, as it did a year ago, then it might not have a seventh bowl-eligible team. That would have been the case last season.
The Yankee Bowl basically replaces the International Bowl in the Big East lineup, which will now consist of the Champs Sports, Meineke Car Care, Papajohns.com and St. Petersburg bowls in addition to the New York City game.
The league pretty much helped invent two games in its lineup, with the St. Pete bowl being the other. There's not a real traditional game in the bunch, but there are good sites for the most part. Remember that bowl games are businesses whose primary job is to fill hotel rooms and restaurants. That's why conferences like the Big Ten, with their huge alumni bases and eager traveling fans, are so attractive to bowl games regardless of performance. The Big East just isn't at that level yet, like it or not.
Does America really need a 35th college bowl game? Of course not. But if there's going to be a new one that the Big East is involved with, aren't you glad it's in New York City?
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
BIG EAST SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 12/17
Final Temple 37 Wyoming 15 Final Ohio 24 Utah State 23 Final San Diego State 30 Louisiana-Lafayette 32
Tuesday, 12/20
Wednesday, 12/21
Final 18 TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24
Thursday, 12/22
Saturday, 12/24
Final Nevada 17 21 Southern Miss 24
Monday, 12/26
Tuesday, 12/27
Final Western Michigan 32 Purdue 37 Final Louisville 24 North Carolina State 31
Wednesday, 12/28
Final Toledo 42 Air Force 41 Final California 10 24 Texas 21
Thursday, 12/29
Final Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14 Final Washington 56 12 Baylor 67
Friday, 12/30
Final Brigham Young 24 Tulsa 21 Final Rutgers 27 Iowa State 13 Final Mississippi State 23 Wake Forest 17 Final Iowa 14 14 Oklahoma 31
Saturday, 12/31
Final Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22 Final/OT Georgia Tech 27 Utah 30 Final Illinois 20 UCLA 14 Final Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24 Final Virginia 24 25 Auburn 43
Monday, 1/2
Final 19 Houston 30 22 Penn State 14 Final Ohio State 17 Florida 24 Final/3OT 17 Michigan State 33 16 Georgia 30 Final 20 Nebraska 13 9 South Carolina 30 Final 10 Wisconsin 38 5 Oregon 45 Final/OT 4 Stanford 38 3 Oklahoma State 41
Tuesday, 1/3
Final/OT 13 Michigan 23 11 Virginia Tech 20
Wednesday, 1/4
Final 23 West Virginia 70 15 Clemson 33
Friday, 1/6
Final 8 Kansas State 16 6 Arkansas 29
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