| The Valero Alamo Bowl is held each year in San | | | | is that each year the game is featured on ESPN. |
| Antonio, Texas and takes place at the | | | | The 2010 Valero Bowl, featuring Texas Tech vs |
| Alamodome, which opened the same year. | | | | Michigan State, became the most watched game |
| Founded in 1993, traditionally Bowl has been | | | | in ESPN history. To date the Valero Alamo Bowl |
| played in December. The January 2, 2010 Valero | | | | constitutes eight of the "20 Most-Watched Bowl |
| Alamo Bowl was the first time in the game's | | | | Games" in ESPN's thirty-one year history; an |
| history it was held in January. The Valero Bowl | | | | impressive record for any venture. |
| ties in the fourth and fifth choice teams from | | | | The college football game has undergone several |
| both the Big Ten and the Big Twelve conferences. | | | | name changes in the game's history. Initially, the |
| This was not always the case however; in | | | | Bowl was referred to as the "Builders Square" |
| previous years the game carried with it an | | | | Alamo Bowl. In 1998 sponsorship of the game |
| automatic invitation to a team from the | | | | switched over to "Sylvania" Alamo Bowl. From |
| Southwest Conference. However, the Southwest | | | | 2002 until 2005 it was called the "MasterCard" |
| Conference dissolved just three years after the | | | | Alamo Bowl, followed by a year where no |
| introduction of the Valero Alamo Bowl. | | | | sponsorship was involved and it was called simply |
| The Bowl is one of the biggest college football | | | | the Alamo Bowl. However, since 2007 it has been |
| events held in San Antonio each year. The | | | | sponsored by Valero Energy Corporation. |
| Alamodome completed construction at an | | | | Football has veins that run deep in the state of |
| astounding $186 million and is built to | | | | Texas, with one of the first known college |
| accommodate 65,000 Bowl fans. The Valero | | | | football teams in Texas, the Texas Longhorns, |
| Alamo Bowl has grown in popularity at a surprising | | | | founded in 1893. As such, the demand for Valero |
| rate. In the game's first two years, a shallow | | | | Alamo Bowl tickets each year is high, especially |
| 45,000 and 44,000 respectively showed in | | | | following the successful T.V. ratings of the 2010 |
| attendance. However, by the third year | | | | match. Finding the right tickets to attend the |
| attendance jumped up by 20,000. Since then | | | | Valero Bowl can be a daunting task. Like any |
| attendance has never been below 55,000. | | | | important purchase decision, do your homework. |
| Another test to the popularity of the Valero Bowl | | | | |
