The Allstate Sugar Bowl will host the post-season bowl game that features the SEC and Big 12 champions, the two conferences announced this evening.
The game will be played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the first matchup taking place on January 1, 2015.
Champions from the SEC and Big 12 will face off against one another unless one or both of them are selected to play in the four-team college football playoff, which begins after the 2014 regular season. If that happens, “another deserving team from the conference(s) will be selected for the game.”
The game, which was previously dubbed the Champions Bowl, will keep the Sugar Bowl name and ESPN will pay $80 million annually to broadcast the game.
“New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl are synonymous with post-season college football. For many years, fans have enjoyed the color and pageantry that New Orleans offers,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “The Mercedes-Benz Superdome has hosted many Super Bowls, Sugar Bowls and National Championship Games and having teams from the Big 12 and the SEC in a postseason college football game together only adds to this list. We look forward to competing against the Big 12 as a new championship tradition begins on New Year’s Day.”
“From the moment this game was announced, there has been tremendous excitement associated with the collaboration between these two conferences. That excitement is reflected in the bids received to host this game. There were great cities, attractive destinations, and impressive venues to consider,” commented Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “Now Big 12 fans can look forward to a New Year’s tradition and coming to New Orleans to support their team. We are thrilled about our long-term association with our SEC colleagues and to be in partnership with the Allstate Sugar Bowl.”