The NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl was officially announced today by the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission.
The bowl will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 7:30pm ET at Arizona Stadium in Tucson and will pair teams from Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference.
Should either C-USA or the MWC not have enough bowl eligible teams, the Sun Belt Conference will serve as a backup.
The NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl will be the first post-season bowl game to have a “digitally-focused broadcast strategy.” Campus Insiders has partnered with the bowl to stream the game live. A television network partner will be announced at a later date.
With the addition of the Arizona Bowl, there are now a record 41 bowl games set for this season, including the College Football Playoff Championship Game. That means 80 FBS teams will be needed to fill all the positions.
With 128 FBS teams (Charlotte is not bowl eligible until 2016), 63% will play in the post-season.
Next season, there could be 42 or even 43 post-season games. The NCAA certified a bowl game for Austin, Texas, but organizers opted to delay their start. A bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas was also in the planning stages.