The Alamo Bowl’s attempt to be allowed to choose SEC-bound Texas or Oklahoma for its bowl games in 2024 and 2025 has been denied, sources told Action Network.
The Alamo Bowl, which has two years left on its contract pitting the Pac-12 and Big 12, wanted to be able to select Texas or OU as a replacement for a Pac-12 school for the next two seasons.
In February, Action Network reported the 10 schools leaving the Pac-12 — the “Pac-12 legacy members” — would still play in Pac-12 affiliated bowls and not in bowl tie-ins with their new conferences for the next two seasons.
However, the Alamo Bowl wanted to replace its Pac-12 team with either Texas or Oklahoma, setting up a matchup between UT or OU against a Big 12 team in the San Antonio Bowl, sources said.
That plan was tentatively in place a few weeks ago, according to a document sent to several bowl officials that was obtained by Action Network. This would have allowed the Alamo to select Texas or OU if either wasn’t selected for the College Football Playoff.
Ultimately, though, that was squashed last week after pushback from Texas and Oklahoma, current SEC bowls and the SEC, sources said.
“Allowing the Alamo to take OU or Texas instead of a Pac-12 legacy team would have caused a lot of issues with the SEC bowls,” a source said. “And we don’t like issues.”
The Alamo Bowl has selected either Texas or Oklahoma in each of the past five Alamo Bowls, and neither school had interest in playing in a non-SEC affiliated bowl if it didn't make the playoff, sources said.
With the contracts between the 10 conferences and the bowls not ending until after the 2025 season, a way was needed to fill all the Pac-12 bowls with only Oregon State and Washington State remaining in the league.
The solution, according to a document sent to the bowls last month, allows the Pac-12 bowls — Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Sun, Los Angeles, Independence and an ESPN event bowl — to select either “Pac-12 legacy members” or Oregon State and Washington State.
This keeps Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington (Big Ten), Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah (Big 12) and Cal and Stanford (ACC) from participating in their respective new conference bowl games until 2026.
After the 12-team College Football Playoff field is selected, the Alamo Bowl will get the first selection from the “Pac-12 legacy members” or Pac-12, followed by the Holiday, Las Vegas, Sun, Los Angeles and Independence bowls.
The Alamo Bowl has featured teams from the Pac-12 and Big 12 every season since 2010.
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