**MORE THAN 31,000 TICKETS ALREADY SOLD
**Tickets for the 2006 Texas Bowl go on sale to the general public on Friday, Nov. 3, but advance ticket sales for the game have put the Texas Bowl on pace to deliver a breakthrough crowd in its inaugural year.
To date, over 10,000 local tickets have been sold for the game through the Texas Bowl presale program, which gave an advance purchase opportunity to Houston Texans season ticket holders and fans that signed up for the priority private sale through the game's official website (www.texasbowl.org). Combined with contractual commitments by the participating conferences, the Texas Bowl's total ticket sales number now stands at a staggering 31,000 seats. Participants in the Inaugural Texas Bowl game will be selected on the first weekend in December and will come from the Big 12 and the Big East conferences.
"The response to our presale has been tremendous and it is a testament to the passion for college football in Houston," said David Brady, director of Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. "We are half-way to a sell-out, which is remarkable for any bowl game, especially a new game. We anticipate that the demand for seats will continue to build and then intensify significantly once the Texas Bowl teams are announced."
Tickets can be purchased at Reliant Stadium, through Ticketmaster or online at www.texasbowl.org or by calling 1-866-GO TEXANS. Fewer than 5,000 seats remain in the lower bowl area. Fans purchasing seats through the presale, online and via phone (866.GO.TEXANS) receive the first right to renew their seats in future seasons.
"It is great to see the strong positive response from football fans in Houston to the Texas Bowl," Big 12 Conference commissioner Kevin Weiberg said. "To already have a ticket base of over 30,000 is outstanding and bodes well for the future. We are excited to be a part of this vibrant new bowl game."
The license for the Texas Bowl was awarded by the NCAA to Houston on June 28, 2006. Lone Star Sports & Entertainment has been leading the effort to launch the game and has established a clear vision to create an annual celebration of the culture, heritage and football tradition of the Lone Star State. Recently, the Bowl announced its board of prominent business leaders, selected DePelchin Children's Centers as its charitable beneficiary, and secured local and national radio partnerships with ClearChannel and Westwood One, respectively. The Bowl also has a regional television broadcasting relationship with Fox Sports Network Southwest (FSN).
The 2006 Texas Bowl will be televised live nationally on NFL Network at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006 at Reliant Stadium. The game will feature teams from the Big 12 and Big East conferences, although Texas Christian University (TCU) can replace either conference if it is bowl eligible.
The Texas Bowl is slotted to select third among Big East-affiliated bowls and eighth among Big 12-affiliated bowls. Although the official bowl pairing has not been announced, potential schools include a trio of Big East teams currently ranked in the top 15—West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers—as well as traditional Big 12 powers such as Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas State.
