Boca Raton Bowl adds sponsor, AAC
Third conference joins rotation with MAC and C-USA.
BOCA RATON — With the iconic Boca Raton Resort & Club serving as the backdrop Tuesday morning, the commissioners of the Mid-American Conference and the American Athletic Conference mingled with sponsors and partners of the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl.
The scene was representative of two major changes since last December’s inaugural Boca Raton Bowl — a title sponsor in Marmot, an outdoor clothing and equipment company that is part of Boca Raton-based Jarden Corporation, and a new participating conference in the American Athletic Conference.
Last year’s game between Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA’s Marshall was won by the Thundering Herd, 52-23, leaving MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher thirsting for a different outcome on Dec. 22 at FAU Stadium.
“It was a wonderful first year,” Steinbrecher said. “We want to win the game this time and that is our primary goal, but at the same time we want to make it another memorable event for everyone involved.”
The AAC, along with the MAC and C-USA, agreed to field a team that will make four appearanc- es over the bowl game’s initial six years and this was the AAC’s turn in the rotation.
There are presently three teams from the AAC ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (Memphis, Houston and Temple) and one from C-USA (Toledo), which is setting things up for another appealing and high-profile matchup in Boca Raton during Christmas week.
Pete Derzis, senior vice president of ESPN Events, which runs the bowl game, said the combination of an attractive winter destination host city, a new venue in FAU Stadium and the alliance with three strong mid-major conferences has paid dividends.
“When we identified this marketplace for a game and built out a plan, for us Year One was making sure we put a great foundation in place and the community was tremendous in responding,” said Derzis, whose committee will be selecting this year’s participants at the end of November.
“We were fortunate enough to land two conference champions last year, which made us the only bowl game outside of the College Football Playoffs to be able to make that claim. This year is shaping up to yield another exciting matchup.”
That’s precisely what AAC Commissioner Scott Draper is counting on.
“A football game is always a business trip and our goal is to win the game,” Draper said.
“But what I think this area offers for our league is a chance to be exposed to another part of the country and to be exposed to a community that has fully embraced the bowl game.”