Mountain West, Armed Forces Bowl Agree To Two-Year Deal

After a two-year absence, the Mountain West is partnering up again with the Armed Forces Bowl through 2013. The matchup will feature a Mountain West team and a Conference USA team. This news comes off the heels of the Mountain West losing their spot in the Independence Bowl to the SEC.

Here is some of the press release about the new partnership:

"We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to host a MW institution as one of our bowl participants in 2012," said Brant B. Ringler, executive director of the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. "Our game has featured the Mountain West vs. Conference USA match-up three times, with the last two meetings in 2008 and 2009 attracting national attention as Air Force played Houston. The Falcons and Cougars split the two-game set with crowds of more than 40,000 for each contest."
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"The Mountain West is excited to renew its relationship with the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl," said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. "Our institutions have been a part of the fabric of the game's history and it's only fitting that a Mountain West representative will participate in the 10th anniversary of the bowl this December. The date and location are very attractive for our teams, the experiences of past participants have been very positive and we look forward to visiting newly-renovated Amon G. Carter Stadium."

This move brings back a similar matchup the ball used to have, and who knows if this partnership has something do with the alliance/merger that the Mountain West and Conference USA have. It would be nice to have this game possibly host the two champions of the two leagues instead of the Mountain West champ taking on the No. 5 Pac-12 team.

The Armed Forces Bowl is however played at an inconvenient time at 11:45 a.m. ET time which is 10:45 a.m. local time in Fort Worth on Dec. 29.

This gives the Mountain West five bowl tie-ins with the Armed Forces, Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Hawai'i and New Mexico Bowls.

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