CLEVELAND – The MAC announced the 2016-17 Bowl Schedule with its tie ins on Thursday. The league will have five primary bowl tie-ins with two other secondary. The league is also part of the College Football Playoff system which sends the highest rated team from the MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, Conference USA and American Athletic Conference to a New Year's Day Bowl.
ESPN's 2016-17 college football bowl schedule will consist of 38 games, including 13 owned and operated games by ESPN Events, and the five primary bowl opportunities for the MAC this football season.
2016 MAC Bowl Partners (all games on ESPN):
Sat., Dec. 17 at 5:30 pm ET -- Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
Mon., Dec. 19 at 2:30 pm ET -- Miami Beach Bowl (Miami, Fla.; vs. American Athletic)
*Wed., Dec. 21 at 9:00 pm ET -- San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (MAC Backup to BYU)
Thur., Dec. 22 at 7:00 pm ET -- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.; vs. Mountain West)
Fri., Dec. 23 at 1:00 pm ET -- Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas; vs. Conference USA)
Fri., Dec. 23 at 8:00 pm ET -- GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.; vs. Sun Belt)
*Mon., Dec. 26 at 2:30 pm ET -- Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, Mich.) (MAC Backup both ACC and Big Ten Conference)
* MAC secondary bowl partner
The industry-leading slate will begin Saturday, Dec. 17, with a tripleheader on ESPN and a doubleheader on ABC, and continues through Monday, Jan. 2, with ESPN/ESPN2 televising 33 games and ABC airing four during the 17-action packed days. The season will conclude with the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 9, on ESPN.
The New Year's Six begins on Friday, Dec. 30, with the Capital One Orange Bowl (8 p.m.) and continues on New Year's Eve with the College Football Playoff Semifinals: the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (3 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET) and the Fiesta Bowl (3 p.m. or 7 p.m.). A tripleheader Monday, Jan. 2, will conclude the third year of the premier bowl series: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (1 p.m.), the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual (5 p.m.) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (8:30 p.m.). Each of the New Year's Six games will be televised on ESPN and heard on ESPN Radio.
2016 MAC BOWL PARTNERS:
In 2014 the MAC announced the creation of newly created bowl games in Boca Raton, Fla., Nassau, Bahamas and Miami Beach, Fla. for a six-year period (2014-2019), in addition to the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
These new bowl games increase the guaranteed bowl invitations for the MAC to five each football season. The Marmot Boca Raton Bowl, Popeyes Bahamas Bowl and Raycom Media Camellia Bowl join MAC bowl partners GoDaddy Bowl (Mobile, Ala.) and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Ida.) as primary bowl partners.
The MAC is a partner with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl as a primary partner in 2017 and 2019, and a secondary partner in 2016 and 2018 bowl seasons. The MAC will play the Mountain West in both the 2017 and 2019 bowl seasons, played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.
In the fall of 2014, the MAC announced a six-year (2014-9) backup agreement with the newly-formed Quick Lane Bowl, owned and operated by the Detroit Lions and Ford Field. The MAC also is a backup to various ESPN owned and operated bowl games (St. Petersburg, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.).
