re: Starting in 2014, bowls will be assigned by each conference commish

Changes imminent as Cotton Bowl prepares for playoff era

BY JIMMY BURCH
jburch@star-telegram.com

As officials from the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic spent Thursday reveling in their game’s return to national prominence, Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker reflected on a two-decade journey that led to Wednesday’s confirmation of playoff status for the annual game at Cowboys Stadium.

“It’s very emotional… to get back to being involved in the biggest games after almost 20 years of being on the outside looking in,” Baker said. “It’s gratifying and overwhelming. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

As one of six bowls in the semifinals playoff rotation under the new College Football Playoff system, widespread changes are coming to the Cotton Bowl. Among the tweaks will be a fresh date for most future games (Dec. 31) and a more national focus in future matchups, with teams assigned by College Football Playoff officials.

Those are welcomed changes in Arlington, where Cowboys Stadium will host its final Cotton Bowl matching Big 12 and SEC teams after this season (Jan. 3, 2014), with two high-profile games in a 13-day window the next year — the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31, 2014, and the first national championship game of the playoff era on Jan. 12, 2015.

For the Cotton Bowl, left out of the lucrative top tier of bowl games for almost two decades during the BCS era, Wednesday’s inclusion in the semifinals rotation represents a huge boost in national prestige and annual revenues. It also represents a significant rebound from what Baker cited as the “lowest of lows” in Cotton Bowl history: a rain-soaked, sparsely attended 1996 game played without a title sponsor in an era when bowls need them to help pay the bills.

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