Newest Bowl Game Includes Conference USA
Jun 21, 1999 | Football
May 11, 1999
By GARRY MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
MOBILE, Ala. -- While organizers are still deciding on a final name for it, college football's newest bowl game announced a tie-in Tuesday with Conference USA and the Western Athletic Conference.
The bowl, which is currently being called the Mobile, Alabama Bowl, will have the second selection of available teams from both the WAC and C-USA for the Dec. 22 game.
The C-USA signed a five-year deal to send its teams to the bowl, while the WAC signed for only one year.
The game offers a minimum $750,000 payout to each participating school. The city of Mobile is the main title sponsor of the bowl, pledging $950,000.
Because the city is the title sponsor, it decided to call the game the Mobile, Alabama Bowl. Residents hated it and made their own suggestions in a call-in survey to the Mobile Register.
Readers suggested names like the Mardi Gras Bowl, Seafood Bowl, Shrimp Bowl, Azalea Bowl, and so on with links to the community.
The survey said the Azalea Bowl, named for the city's trademark blossoms, was the most popular suggestion.
Mobile Mayor Mike Dow had this suggestion to solve the name game, which has drawn some less serious entries like Bubba Bowl, Pawn Shop Bowl or the Big Oyster Bowl.
Dow said he would call it: Mobile Azalea Mardi Gras Port City Alabama Bowl -- or MAMGPCAB -- for short.
In all seriousness, though, Dow said he wants the city's name to remain.
If you talk to the commissioners and professionals in the industry, they think the idea of putting Mobile in the name is paramount,'' Dow said. We've got enough fans around here to fill up that stadium. With the number of fans coming from the outside, we're going to be more concerned trying to find seats for local people.''
