The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and New Mexico Bowl are prepared to flex their kickoff times and television networks this season, ESPN Events has announced.
Both the Las Vegas Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl are scheduled to be played on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. The Las Vegas Bowl is played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is currently scheduled to kickoff at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT on ABC.
However, Allegiant Stadium is also scheduled to host the Las Vegas Raiders’ home contest against the New England Patriots the following day on Sunday, Dec. 18. Kickoff for that game is currently set for 8:20pm ET / 5:20pm PT.
Due to the NFL’s flexible scheduling procedures, there is a possibility that the Raiders-Patriots game may be flexed to an earlier kickoff time on Sunday, which would leave Allegiant Stadium with a shorter window to transition from the Las Vegas Bowl to an NFL game.
Should the Raiders-Patriots game be flexed to an earlier kickoff time, the Las Vegas Bowl will move from 7:30pm ET to a 2:30pm ET kickoff on ESPN, which is the time slot and network that is currently held by the New Mexico Bowl. The New Mexico Bowl would then be moved to a 7:30pm ET kickoff on ABC.
Per the release, the kickoff times and networks for both games will be confirmed by the first week of December.
The Las Vegas Bowl will feature a matchup between the Pac-12 and SEC, while the New Mexico Bowl will feature a team from the Mountain West against an team from the American, MAC, Sun Belt or Conference USA.
“The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and New Mexico Bowl are both owned and operated by ESPN Events, so this change is a solution that will work for all parties,” said Clint Overby, Vice President, ESPN Events. “While this situation poses a challenge, we are accustomed to flexibility and having to maneuver our event schedules. We are more than prepared to move forward with this revised schedule if necessary.”
The College Football Playoff Semifinals this season are set for New Year’s Eve, Saturday, Dec. 31 at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga., and the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.
The College Football National Championship is scheduled for Monday, January 9, 2023, and it will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Football Schedules