ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

The new "Yankee Bowl" was officially announced this morning at a news conference in Yankee Stadium. I put that in quotes, because officials stressed that the game hasn't been named yet and that they are still seeking a title sponsor. So it's officially the game with no name. But I'll refer to it as the Yankee Bowl until further notice.

Anyway, there wasn't much said in the news conference we didn't already know. The date of the game will be sometime between Christmas and New Year's Day, though Dec. 29 is the preferred date I'm hearing. It will be Big East No. 4 vs. Big 12 No. 7, with Notre Dame available to fill in for the Big 12 if needed. No TV deal has been brokered yet, either, though that shouldn't be a problem.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto said he envisions the game eventually being to New York what the Rose Bowl and Tournament of Roses Parade is to Pasadena. Organizers are hoping to capitalize on the holiday festivities around New York City, including New Year's Eve at Times Square.

Many of the questions about the game centered on the possible bad weather. Marinatto said that the league factored that in to its decision-making, of course, but that the pluses -- which included the location, the geographic fit and playing a BCS conference -- far outweighed any minuses. Even Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, who oversees many warm-weather schools, said the potential climate issues didn't bother him.

"Bring on the snow, bring on the ice, I don't care," Beebe said. "We'll put on ice skates instead of cleats. It's too great of an opportunity to pass up."

Granted, I am speaking here as a guy who watches games in enclosed press boxes, but I don't think the weather will be much of a factor. If, say, South Florida gets invited to the game, then maybe its fans won't be able to deal with the cold and snow. But most of the fan bases from the Northeastern schools are used to such conditions.

And I think this will make the game unique, especially for TV purposes. If you've watched an NFL game in high-def when it's cold and snowy, you know how spectacular that looks. Plus, it might even give Big East teams an advantage if, for example, Connecticut was playing Texas Tech in 25-degree temperatures.

The potential down sides I see are the seating -- which, judging by the configuration of Yankee Stadium, looks too far away from the field -- and lodging. Ever tried to book a hotel in New York City around Christmastime? You might need a loan to do so. Officials said they will work to have special bowl package deals, but those who like to make their own arrangements might find the trip prohibitively expensive.

The "Yankee Bowl" is happening, though, and it will be fascinating to see how this idea works.

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?