Texas Bowl

The Texas Bowl (officially known as the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas) is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that was held for the first time in 2006 in Houston, Texas. The bowl replaced the now-defunct Houston Bowl, which was played annually from 2000 to 2005. The first bowl game in Houston was the Bluebonnet Bowl, played from 1959 through 1987.

Replacing the Houston Bowl

Speculation had 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 NFL's Houston Texans, who also play in Reliant Stadium, to take over game management. Then on July 20, the NFL Network acquired both TV rights and naming rights to the bowl, which was played on December 28.

Texas

Texas /ˈtɛksəs/ (Spanish: Texas or Tejas [ˈtexas]) is a state in the United States of America. It is the second most populous and second largest state by area in the US. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares an international border with Mexico to the south and borders the states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²) and a growing population of over 27.5 million residents (July 2015).

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan statistical areas, respectively. Other major cities include Austin (the state capital) and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texan state flag and on the Texan state seal. The origin of the state name, Texas, is from the word, "Tejas", which means 'friends' in the Caddo language.

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to Kansas State or K-State, is a public research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. Kansas State was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 – the first public institution of higher learning in the state of Kansas. It had a record high enrollment of 24,766 students for the Fall 2014 semester.

Branch campuses are in Salina and Olathe. The Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina is home to the College of Technology and Aviation. The Olathe Innovation Campus is the academic research presence within the Kansas Bioscience Park, where graduate students participate in research bioenergy, animal health, plant science and food safety and security.

The university is classified as a research university with high research (RU/H) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Kansas State's academic offerings are administered through nine colleges, including the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Technology and Aviation in Salina. Graduate degrees offered include 65 master's degree programs and 45 doctoral degrees.

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, TAMU (/ˈtæmuː/), or A&M) is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas, United States. It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System, the fourth-largest university in the United States and the largest university in Texas. Texas A&M's designation as a land, sea, and space grant institution reflects a range of research with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. The school ranks in the top 20 American research institutes in funding and has made contributions to such fields as animal cloning and petroleum engineering.

The first public institution of higher education in Texas, the school opened on October 4, 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas under the provisions of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. Originally, the college taught no classes in agriculture, instead concentrating on classical studies, languages, literature, and applied mathematics. After four years, students could attain degrees in scientific agriculture, civil and mining engineering, and language and literature. Under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder in the 1960s, A&M desegregated, became coeducational, and dropped the requirement for participation in the Corps of Cadets. To reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic offerings, the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University in 1963. The letters "A&M", originally short for "Agricultural and Mechanical", are retained only as a link to the university's past. The school's students, alumni, and sports teams are known as Aggies.

Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M Aggies (variously A&M or Texas Aggies) refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "Ag" (agriculture) schools in many states.

The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports. Texas A&M was a charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution and subsequent formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The Aggies competed in the Big 12 until joining the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on July 1, 2012. Texas A&M's official school colors are maroon and white. The teams are referred to as Aggies and the mascot is a Rough Collie named Reveille.

Athletics

Texas A&M competes in the following varsity sports:

Football

The Texas A&M Aggies have earned three national titles (1919, 1927, and 1939), 20 conference titles and two Heisman trophies won by John David Crow in 1957 and Johnny Manziel, the first freshman to ever win the award, in 2012. A&M has had two perfect seasons having gone undefeated and unscored upon in both 1917 and 1919. The football program experienced a period of little success lasting from 1944 to 1971, when the Aggies won only two conference titles. With Emory Bellard as head coach beginning in 1972, the Aggies returned to prominence with two 10 win seasons during his short tenure. He was replaced by Tom Wilson who had little success at Texas A&M before Jackie Sherrill took over the program. Sherrill won three consecutive conference titles and two Cotton Bowl Classic postseason games. His defensive coordinator, R. C. Slocum, replaced him as head coach in 1989. Slocum finished in the top 25 during 10 of his 14 years at Texas A&M and won 4 conference titles, including the school's only Big 12 title in 1998.