\u201cYou know, the (College Football Playoff) kind of could have a little effect on it later on,\u201d Olivas said. \u201cBut I think most of the bowls are gonna be pretty safe. So, I think we\u2019re alright.\u201d<\/p>\n
That confidence is shared by leadership beyond El Paso.<\/p>\n
From the perspective of Bowl Season \u2014 the organization representing the nation\u2019s bowl games \u2014 the Sun Bowl\u2019s longevity and continued visibility place it among the sport\u2019s foundational postseason events.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/12-8-24_SBA_Selection_Sunday_Event_IPA_603.jpeg\")
Officials with the Sun Bowl Association announce the matchup for the 2024 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl during the annual selection event at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. The December bowl game, one of the longest-running in college football, will be played at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. (Courtesy Sun Bowl Association)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sun Bowl is the second-oldest bowl game, having started over 90 years ago,\u201d said Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season. \u201cFor this reason, it holds a very special place in the history of college football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carparelli said the modern postseason includes both the College Football Playoff and the broader bowl system, each serving a distinct role. The CFP is a postseason tournament that features the top NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams to crown a national champion, which expanded from four to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, college football\u2019s postseason is comprised of two equal components \u2013 the CFP and Bowl Season \u2013 both are extremely meaningful and important to the sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That framing matters for bowls such as the Sun Bowl, which operate outside the playoff but remain a consistent part of college football\u2019s year-end calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege football needs postseason opportunities that serve the 130-plus FBS institutions who are all at different points in their development and evolution as football programs,\u201d Carparelli said. \u201cEvery bowl game is meaningful to those programs and their fanbases who participate in them, regardless of their role in the national championship equation.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Olivas, those broader conversations exist alongside the immediate task of staging this year\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much, absolutely,\u201d he said, when asked whether he thinks about the Sun Bowl approaching its 100th anniversary in 2035. \u201cDay to day, that doesn\u2019t drive me as much as it\u2019s day to day to this year\u2019s game. We\u2019ve got something right here. Let\u2019s get this one done before we can move to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sun Bowl will be played again this year as it has for most of the past nine decades. What shape college football\u2019s postseason ultimately takes \u2014 and how bowl games fit within it \u2014 remains a question still being worked out elsewhere.<\/p>\n
A broadcast deal \u2014 and a waiting period<\/p>\n
The Sun Bowl\u2019s most immediate point of certainty comes from television.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the Sun Bowl Association announced a renewed broadcast partnership with CBS, extending the game\u2019s presence on network television through 2030. The agreement keeps the Sun Bowl on one of college football\u2019s primary broadcast platforms at a time when media rights and postseason windows are shifting across the sport.<\/p>\n
From a national standpoint, Bowl Season leadership views that continuity as significant.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/12-8-24_SBA_Selection_Sunday_Event_IPA_560.jpeg\")
Sun Bowl Association officials, including executive director Bernie Olivas, center, communicate with other bowl organizations across the country during the selection process. The coordinated effort helps determine which teams are selected to play in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso. (Courtesy Sun Bowl Association)<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege football bowl games provide great value to their television partners,\u201d Carparelli said. \u201cNo other sports programming outside of the NFL attracts more viewers than bowl games. CBS\u2019 long-standing commitment to the Sun Bowl is a testament to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal ensures national exposure, but it does not answer every question facing bowls in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
Many of those questions are tied to the future structure of the College Football Playoff. In November, the CFP and ESPN announced they would extend the deadline for finalizing the next phase of the playoff format, moving it from Dec. 1 into late January.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile no change to the current format is definite, this extension will allow the Management Committee additional time to evaluate the second year of the expanded playoff and ensure any potential modifications are carefully considered, fully vetted, and in the best interests of student-athletes, schools and fans,\u201d said Rich Clark, executive director of the CFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For bowl games, that timeline matters. Conference tie-ins, selection order and postseason planning often flow from playoff decisions. Until those decisions are finalized, bowls remain in a holding pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s waiting on the CFP,\u201d Olivas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For now, Olivas said, the Sun Bowl continues to operate with the understanding that clarity will come later.<\/p>\n
Opt-outs and a changing postseason<\/p>\n
The Sun Bowl\u2019s place in the modern postseason has also been shaped by changes on the field \u2014 particularly the growing prevalence of player opt-outs.<\/p>\n
The first high-profile instance came after the 2016 season, when Stanford University running back and current San Francisco 49er Christian McCaffrey opted not to play in the Sun Bowl as he prepared for the NFL draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, such decisions were rare. In the years since, they have become increasingly common across bowl games, especially among players with professional aspirations.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/12-29-23_OSU_vs_Notre_Dame_Action_IPA_1161.jpeg\")
Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli prepares to take a snap during the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Oregon State at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. Making his first career start after Sam Hartman\u2019s opted out of the game, Angeli threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Irish to a 40\u20138 victory. His performance elevated his standing within the program and later translated into expanded playing time, including an appearance in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State. (Courtesy Sun Bowl Association)<\/p>\n
By 2023, when University of Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman opted out of the Sun Bowl, the decision drew far less attention.<\/p>\n
Olivas said the Sun Bowl has adjusted its expectations accordingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, as far as opt-outs are concerned, we invite schools for the name on the front, not on the back,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way we see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach, Olivas said, reflects the reality of today\u2019s postseason, where rosters can look different from what fans saw during the regular season.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody will show up and he\u2019ll play hard,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some replacements that have been great, that have really come out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those opportunities, he said, can serve as a platform for players stepping into larger roles.<\/p>\n
When Hartman opted out in 2023, it cleared a path for backup quarterback Steve Angeli to showcase his talent. Angeli threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 40-8 win over Oregon State University. At the end of the 2024-25 season, Angeli made an appearance in the Fighting Irish\u2019s Capital One Orange Bowl CFP semifinal against Penn State.<\/p>\n
Opt-outs are not the only roster disruptions bowls now face. Coaching turnover has increasingly affected postseason games, with staffs leaving for new positions before bowl season begins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a whole other thing that impacts the game, too, is these coaches that end up leaving or get fired or what have you,\u201d Olivas said.<\/p>\n
Attendance and El Paso\u2019s role<\/p>\n
Even as college football\u2019s postseason has changed, attendance at the Sun Bowl has remained relatively steady.<\/p>\n
Since Olivas became executive director in 2001, the game has dipped below 40,000 fans only twice \u2014 once in 2017 and again in 2021, when the bowl was played amid the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic. In most years, attendance has exceeded that mark, even as some bowls nationally have struggled to draw crowds.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/32661_highlight.jpg\")
An aerial view of Sun Bowl Stadium during the 1967 Sun Bowl in El Paso. Ole Miss defeated UTEP 32\u201314 in the postseason matchup, which was color-televised nationally by CBS. The Sun Bowl is the nation\u2019s second-oldest postseason college football game. (Courtesy El Paso Museum of History)<\/p>\n
Olivas attributes that consistency to local support rather than to traveling fan bases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still think the Sun Bowl has the largest economic impact of an annual event in El Paso,\u201d Olivas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the Sun Bowl is widely viewed as an economic plus for the region, some caution that the precise scale of its impact has never been formally measured.<\/p>\n
Tom Fullerton, an economics and finance professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said that despite the Sun Bowl\u2019s long history, no comprehensive analysis of its economic impact has ever been conducted.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause so little data have been assembled related to the second-oldest bowl game in the NCAA, no econometric analysis of Sun Bowl economic impacts has ever been carried out,\u201d Fullerton said. \u201cThat\u2019s a surprising knowledge gap given the tremendous history of this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
From a tourism perspective, the timing of the game has long been significant. Brooke Underwood, executive director of Visit El Paso, said late December is typically a slower period for travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, this time of year is a softer period for tourism,\u201d Underwood said. \u201cSo, having the Sun Bowl, with its longstanding, successful track record at the very end of the year, in what is typically a soft period, is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit El Paso\u2019s visitation data shows the Sun Bowl functions primarily as a regional, drive-market event, with a majority of visitors coming from within a day\u2019s drive, including Southern New Mexico and parts of Texas and Arizona. Underwood said that profile aligns with El Paso\u2019s existing hospitality and tourism infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey bring bands, they bring cheer groups, and then, of course, alumni,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, that is fantastic to fill our hotels in what typically might be seen as a softer period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fullerton said Visit El Paso\u2019s data aligns with broader trends in the region\u2019s hospitality sector, which has seen sustained investment over the past decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lodging segment of the El Paso metropolitan economy is in very good shape and highly dynamic,\u201d he said, noting that much of the recent investment has been in higher-end facilities \u2014 a reflection of national and regional economic growth rather than any single event.<\/p>\n
Rather than relying on a single day of activity, the Sun Bowl extends across multiple days through team arrivals, fan events, parades and pregame activities Downtown and on the UTEP campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really Visit El Paso\u2019s job to then build an itinerary around that major attraction,\u201d Underwood said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2019-Sun-Bowl-Fan-Fiesta.jpg\")
Tony the Tiger and the Amigo Man celebrate the 2019 Sun Bowl Fan Fiesta in Downtown El Paso. (Courtesy Sun Bowl Association)<\/p>\n
For Bowl Season, that kind of local integration is part of what has allowed certain bowls to remain stable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bowl system is one of the best promotional vehicles the game of college football has,\u201d Carparelli said. \u201cProviding over 40 communities across the country the opportunity to experience the game and develop future fans of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
In El Paso, that opportunity has remained closely tied to the city\u2019s willingness to support the game, regardless of matchup or roster changes \u2014 a factor Olivas said continues to matter as the postseason evolves.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur city is going to support us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Conference ties \u2014 and what comes next<\/p>\n
Beyond television and attendance, the Sun Bowl\u2019s future also depends on conference relationships \u2014 agreements that remain unsettled as college football continues to adjust to realignment. The Sun Bowl\u2019s deals with the Pacific-12 Conference\u2019s legacy teams and the Atlantic Coast Conference expires at the conclusion of this season.<\/p>\n
Olivas said the Sun Bowl\u2019s contracts are with conferences, not individual schools, a distinction that has become more pronounced as leagues grow larger and the number of power conferences shrinks.<\/p>\n
The Sun Bowl has historically hosted teams from major conferences, and Olivas said that remains the preference moving forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do want, obviously, we want to be with power schools,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, we want to negotiate with power conferences, and there\u2019s only four of them now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which conferences those will be \u2014 and how bowl selections will work \u2014 is still tied to decisions being made at the College Football Playoff level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From Bowl Season\u2019s perspective, that uncertainty does not diminish the role bowls play within the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege football needs bowl games as much as it needs the CFP,\u201d Carparelli said.<\/p>\n
For now, the Sun Bowl game continues \u2014 much as it has since a 10-year-old boy first walked into Sun Bowl Stadium and decided he would keep coming back.<\/p>\n
Make plans<\/p>\n
What: 92nd annual Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matchup: Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4) vs. Duke Blue Devils (8-5, 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference champions)\u00a0<\/p>\n
When: Kickoff, noon Wednesday, Dec. 31. Gates open at 9:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Sun Bowl Stadium, 2701 Sun Bowl Drive, on the University of Texas at El Paso campus<\/p>\n