MAACO Bowl extends agreement with Mountain West, Pac-10

The Mountain West and Pac-10 conferences will continue to align themselves with the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, both the leagues and the game’s organizers announced today.

The agreement will run through the 2013 season, and will pit the No. 1 choice from the MWC with the No. 5 selection from the Pac-10.

Here’s the press release announcing the move:

LAS VEGAS (Aug. 24, 2009) - The top selection from the Mountain West Conference will continue to face off against the Pacific-10 Conference in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas through at least 2013 as renewal deals with both leagues were announced Monday.

The bowl game, which will stage its 18th edition this December during the last year of the current contracts, continues to have the No. 1 choice from the MWC and will have the No. 5 selection from the Pac-10. The bowl previously was in a rotation with the Emerald Bowl for its Pac-10 representative but will now have its choice of schools at that fifth spot starting in 2010.

“We are ecstatic that the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will continue to pit the two top conferences in the West against each other here in the Entertainment Capital of the World,” said MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Executive Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy. “There is a lot of movement going on out there right now in the bowl landscape and our executive committee worked really hard to get this extension done. It’s a great move for our city and our new title sponsor, MAACO.

“We’ve enjoyed unprecedented success since these two conferences joined our game and we expect that to continue,” she said. “We’ll put our bowl week experience for the teams and their fans up against any bowl in the country and I think both sides love coming to Las Vegas. In addition, along with this new contract, we will begin exploring opportunities to move future dates of our bowl to after the Christmas holiday for the first time ever to help grow our game.”

The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, which is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), is televised nationally on ESPN. The game has matched up the leagues since 2001 with each side winning four times. Last season saw Arizona down BYU 31-21 in front of the bowl’s fourth consecutive sellout crowd.

“The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas has been a tremendous partner since the inception of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, and Las Vegas has proven a great destination city for our fans,” said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. “I commend the bowl game on securing a great matchup. The MWC will face a Pac-10 opponent for the ninth straight year this season and we look forward to continuing the series.”

“The Pacific-10 Conference is delighted to extend its relationship with the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas,” said Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The Las Vegas Bowl has proved to be a top-flight destination for the Pac-10 teams that have earned a berth in the game and a favorite of the fans who follow those teams. The leadership, staff and volunteers of the bowl make participating in the game a truly memorable experience.”