The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at Reliant Stadium, previously known as NRG Stadium. The bowl replaced the defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005, and before that the Bluebonnet Bowl, the first bowl game in Houston, played from 1959 through 1987.
History Replacing the Houston Bowl Speculation surfaced questioning the long-term survival of the former Houston Bowl. The three-year contract with EV1.net expired on December 31, 2005, leaving the bowl game without a title sponsor. A college football official told the Houston Chronicle that the bowl was in danger of ceasing operations, as a result of the game losing its title sponsor and because the Houston Bowl still owed roughly $600,000 to the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences following the 2005 game. However, the NCAA approved Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, a division of the Houston Texans, who also play in Reliant Stadium, to take over game management. In July 2006, the NFL Network acquired TV rights and naming rights to the bowl.
Texas Bowl introduction The Texas Bowl name and logo were officially unveiled on August 10, 2006, at a press conference along with conference affiliations for the bowl spots. The Big 12, Big East and Conference USA will be affiliated with the game, as well as Texas Christian University of the Mountain West. The 2006 matchup featured teams from the Big 12 and Big East Conferences.
On December 3, 2006, Rutgers accepted an invitation to play Kansas State in the inaugural Texas Bowl. "We're ecstatic about having Rutgers," Texas Bowl director David Brady said. "This is a top-15 team that was three yards away from a BCS game. We couldn't be happier to have them here."
2010 marked the eleventh consecutive year a bowl game has played in Houston, and the 40th year overall with a bowl game there (the Bluebonnet Bowl lasted 29 years). It was also announced on December 30, 2009, that ESPN Events would take over as part owner and operator of the game, while Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will maintain a stake in the bowl, and would be carried on ESPN.
Sponsors On April 12, 2011, ESPN announced Meineke Car Care signed a three-year title sponsorship deal beginning in 2011, changing name of the bowl to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. On February 12, 2014, it was announced that AdvoCare will be the title sponsor for the bowl game. That sponsorship concluded after the 2016 game. On November 15, 2017, Academy Sports + Outdoors became the new title sponsor of the bowl. That sponsorship concluded after the 2019 game.
On December 14, 2020, Mercari was announced as the new title sponsor of the game. The 2020 game was later canceled due to COVID-19 issues. On November 24, 2021, TaxAct was named as the new title sponsor of both the Texas Bowl and the Camellia Bowl. This arrangement remained in place through the 2023 edition. On December 4, 2024, Kinder's Flavors was named as the new title sponsor.
Conference tie-ins On May 17, 2007, it was announced Conference USA would have a team in the 2007 Texas Bowl. The Texas Bowl has a rotating commitment with the Big East Conference and Conference USA for 2006–09 while the Big 12 Conference will have a team in all four of those games. In 2007, TCU took the place of the Big 12 team when Kansas and Oklahoma were put into the BCS, and Houston, a "home team," represented C-USA. The conferences would receive $612,500 each as per the rules of the agreements as usually, the Big East (or Big 12) would have received $750,000 for playing and C-USA would have received a $500,000 stipend for their team playing.
Issues According to Sports Illustrated, in 2008 the bowl required Western Michigan University to purchase 11,000 tickets at full price in order to accept the invitation to play in the bowl. The university was only able to sell 548 tickets at that price, forcing it to accept a $462,535 loss, before travel expenses, to pay for the privilege of playing in the bowl.
The 2020 edition, slated for December 31 between TCU and Arkansas, was cancelled on December 29 due to COVID-19 issues within the TCU program.
Game results Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played. DateTime (CST)Bowl name Winning team Losing teamAttendance December 28, 2006 7:00 PM Texas Bowl No. 16 Rutgers 37 Kansas State 10 52,210 December 28, 2007 7:00 PM Texas Bowl TCU 20 Houston 13 62,097 December 30, 2008 7:00 PM Texas Bowl Rice 38 Western Michigan 14 58,880 December 31, 2009 2:30 PM Texas Bowl Navy 35 Missouri 13 69,441 December 29, 2010 5:00 PM Texas Bowl Illinois 38 Baylor 14 68,211 December 31, 2011 11:00 AM Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22 68,395 December 28, 2012 8:00 PM Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas Texas Tech 34 Minnesota 31 50,386 December 27, 2013 5:00 PM Texas Bowl Syracuse 21 Minnesota 17 32,327 December 29, 2014 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Arkansas 31 Texas 7 71,115 December 29, 2015 8:00 PM Texas Bowl No. 22 LSU 56 Texas Tech 27 71,307 December 28, 2016 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Kansas State 33 Texas A&M 28 68,412 December 27, 2017 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Texas 33 Missouri 16 67,820 December 27, 2018 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Baylor 45 Vanderbilt 38 51,104 December 27, 2019 5:45 PM Texas Bowl Texas A&M 24 No. 25 Oklahoma State 21 68,415 December 31, 2020 7:00 PM Texas Bowl Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic January 4, 2022 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Kansas State 42 LSU 20 52,207 December 28, 2022 8:00 PM Texas Bowl Texas Tech 42 Ole Miss 25 53,251 December 27, 2023 8:00 PM Texas Bowl No. 22 Oklahoma State 31 Texas A&M 23 55,212 December 31, 2024 2:30 PM Texas Bowl LSU 44 Baylor 31 59,940 December 27, 2025 8:15 PM Texas Bowl Houston 38 LSU 35 63,867 Source:
LSU's win in the 2015 edition was vacated in 2023 by the NCAA for a booster-related violation.
MVPs
Year MVP Team Position 2006 Ray Rice Rutgers RB 2007 Andy Dalton TCU QB 2008 Chase Clement Rice QB 2009 Ricky Dobbs Navy QB 2010 Mikel Leshoure Illinois RB 2011 Ryan Tannehill Texas A&M QB 2012 Seth Doege Texas Tech QB 2013 Terrel Hunt Syracuse QB 2014 Brandon Allen Arkansas QB 2015 Leonard Fournette LSU RB 2016 Jesse Ertz Kansas State QB 2017 Michael Dickson Texas P 2018 Charlie Brewer Baylor QB 2019 Kellen Mond Texas A&M QB Jan. 2022 Skylar Thompson Kansas State QB Dec. 2022 Tyler Shough Texas Tech QB 2023 Rashod Owens Oklahoma State WR 2024 Garrett Nussmeier LSU QB 2025 Conner Weigman Houston QB Source:
Most appearances
Updated through the December 2025 edition (19 games, 38 total appearances).
Teams with multiple appearances RankTeamAppearancesRecord1 Texas A&M 4 2–2 LSU 4 1–23 Kansas State 3 2–1 Texas Tech 3 2–1 Baylor 3 1–26 Texas 2 1–1 Oklahoma State 2 1–1 Houston 2 1–1 Minnesota 2 0–2 Missouri 2 0–2 LSU's win in the 2015 edition was vacated by the NCAA in 2023.
Teams with a single appearance Won (7): Arkansas, Illinois, Navy, Rice, Rutgers, Syracuse, TCU
Lost (4): Northwestern, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Western Michigan
Appearances by conference Updated through the December 2025 edition (19 games, 38 total appearances).
ConferenceRecordAppearances by seasonGamesWLWin pct.WonLostVacated Big 12 16 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021*, 2022, 2023, 2025 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2024 SEC 11 2014, 2019, 2024 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021*, 2022, 2023, 2025 2015 Big Ten 4 2010 2011, 2012, 2013 CUSA 2 2008 2007 ACC 1 2013 Independents 1 2009 Mountain West 1 2007 Big East 1 2006 MAC 1 2008 LSU's vacated victory following the 2015 season is excluded from the SEC's win–loss totals and winning percentage.
Games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the following calendar year. Rutgers appeared in 2006 as a member of the Big East; the American Conference retains the conference charter following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines. Independent appearances: Navy (2009)
Game records TeamRecord, Team vs. OpponentYearMost points scored (one team) 56, LSU vs. Texas Tech 2015Most points scored (losing team) 38, Vanderbilt vs. Baylor 2018Most points scored (both teams) 83, shared by:LSU (56) vs. Texas Tech (27)Baylor (45) vs. Vanderbilt (38) 20152018Fewest points allowed 7, Arkansas vs. Texas 2014Largest margin of victory 29, LSU vs. Texas Tech 2015Total yards 668, Baylor vs. Vanderbilt 2018Rushing yards 385, Navy vs. Missouri 2009Passing yards 436, Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M 2023First downs 32, Houston vs. LSU 2025Fewest yards allowed 59, Arkansas vs. Texas 2014Fewest rushing yards allowed 2, Arkansas vs. Texas 2014Fewest passing yards allowed 57, Arkansas vs. Texas 2014IndividualRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYearAll-purpose yards 256, Leonard Fournette (LSU) 2015 Touchdowns (all-purpose) 5, Leonard Fournette (LSU) 2015Rushing yards 243, Ke'Shawn Vaughn (Vanderbilt) 2018 Rushing touchdowns 4, Leonard Fournette (LSU) 2015 Passing yards 402, Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State) 2023Passing touchdowns 4, shared by:Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech)Conner Weigman (Houston) 20152025Receptions 16, Brennan Presley (Oklahoma State) 2023Receiving yards 164, Rashod Owens (Oklahoma State) 2023 Receiving touchdowns 3, Jakeem Grant (Texas Tech) 2015 Tackles 17, Micah Awe (Texas Tech) 2015Sacks 2.5, shared by:Justin Braska (Western Michigan)Kendell Beckwith (LSU) 20082015Interceptions 2, Michael Carter (Minnesota) 2012 Long PlaysRecord, Player, Team vs. OpponentYearTouchdown run 79 yds., D. J. Chark (LSU) 2015Touchdown pass 81 yds., Chris Hilton Jr. pass from Jontre Kirklin (LSU) Jan. 2022Kickoff return 99 yds., shared by:Jakeem Grant (Texas Tech)Barion Brown (LSU) 20122025Punt return 76 yds., Yamon Figurs (Kansas State) 2006 Interception return 62 yds., Wyatt Middleton (Navy) 2009 Fumble return 46 yds., Travon Bellamy (Illinois) 2010 Punt 65 yds., Chase Turner (Houston) 2007 Field goal 51 yds., Randy Bond (Texas A&M) 2023
Media coverage The first three editions of the bowl were televised by NFL Network. Since 2009, it has been carried by ESPN.
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External links