View source for Houston Bowl

{{Short description|Defunct American football college bowl game}}
{{Infobox college football bowl game
| name               = Houston Bowl
| full_name          = EV1.net Houston Bowl
| nickname           = 
| defunct            = yes
| logo               = HoustonBowlLogo.png
| image_size         =
| caption            = 
| stadium            = [[Reliant Stadium]] (2002–05)<br />[[Astrodome]] (2000–01)
| previous_stadiums  = 
| location           = [[Houston, Texas]]
| previous_locations = 
| years              = 2000–05
| preceded_by =  [[Bluebonnet Bowl]] (1987)
| succeeded_by = [[Texas Bowl]] (2006)
| previous_tie-ins   =
| conference_tie-ins = [[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] (2000-05)<br />[[Conference USA|C-USA]] (2000–02)
| payout             = $750,000 (2000)<ref name=hartford>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11121953/two_more_college_bowls/ |title=Two More College Bowls |newspaper=[[Hartford Courant]] |date=April 22, 2000 |access-date=May 20, 2017 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
| sponsors           = galleryfurniture.com (2000–01)<br /> EV1.net (2002–05)
| former_names       = galleryfurniture.com Bowl (2000–01)
}}
The '''Houston Bowl''' was an [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]-sanctioned [[Division I-A]] [[college football]] bowl game that was played annually in [[Houston, Texas]], from 2000 to 2005.  For its first two years, the game was known as the '''galleryfurniture.com Bowl''', named for the website of the sponsor, a Houston furniture chain operated by [[Jim McIngvale]], better known as "Mattress Mack". In 2002, the Houston Bowl was born and later named the '''EV1.net Houston Bowl''', after sponsor [[Everyones Internet|EV1.net]], for the remainder of the game's existence.

==History==
The Houston Bowl marked the return of bowl games to Houston for the first time since the final [[Bluebonnet Bowl]] in 1987. The bowl played in two locations during its tenure. For the 2000 and 2001 games, Houston's [[Astrodome]] was the venue.  In 2002, the game moved to [[Reliant Stadium]], the home of the [[NFL]]'s [[Houston Texans]].

The bowl initially had tie-ins with the [[Big 12 Conference]] and [[Conference USA]].<ref name=hartford /> The Big 12 extended their commitment in 2002<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=1516934 |title=Big 12 Signs Contracts with Six Bowls |date=April 4, 2002 |website=big12sports.com |access-date=May 20, 2017}}</ref> and again in 2005.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=1520894 |title=EV1.Net Houston Bowl Extends Alliance With The Big 12 Conference And Adds The Big East Conference And Notre Dame To Its 2006-2009 Matchup |date=November 15, 2005 |website=big12sports.com |access-date=May 20, 2017}}</ref> Big 12 teams played in each of the six bowls, compiling a 4–2 record.

After the 2005 game, the bowl failed to return [[Everyones Internet|EV1.net]] as a sponsor.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://blogs.chron.com/big12/archives/2006/04/houston_bowl_in_jeopardy.html |title=Houston Bowl in jeopardy |first=Joseph |last=Duarte |newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]] |date=18 April 2006 |access-date=29 December 2015 |archive-date=6 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306161836/http://blogs.chron.com/big12/archives/2006/04/houston_bowl_in_jeopardy.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Game management was turned over to the Texans,<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-1/Texas-Bowl-Board-of-Directors-announced/41F7C8F7-D69B-4BC7-A368-4902607308FB |title=Texas Bowl Board of Directors announced |first=Ana |last=Chavez |date=29 August 2006 |website=houstontexans.com |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040033/http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-1/Texas-Bowl-Board-of-Directors-announced/41F7C8F7-D69B-4BC7-A368-4902607308FB |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the NFL Network changed the game's name to the [[Texas Bowl]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9563385 |title=NFL Network gets bowl game in Houston |website=NFL.com |date=20 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823012236/http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9563385 |archive-date=23 August 2006}}</ref> While the 2006 playing of the Texas Bowl maintained continuity of having a Houston-based bowl game, NCAA records treat the Texas Bowl and Houston Bowl as separate games.<ref>http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2016/Bowls.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

==Game results==
{| class="wikitable"
! Date !! colspan="2" | Winner !! colspan="2" | Loser !! Notes
|-
| December 27, 2000 || '''[[2000 East Carolina Pirates football team|East Carolina]]''' || '''40''' || [[2000 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]] || 27 || [[2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl|notes]]
|-
| December 28, 2001 || '''[[2001 Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]]''' || '''28''' || [[2001 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]] || 9 || [[2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl|notes]]
|-
| December 27, 2002 || '''[[2002 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State]]''' || '''33''' || [[2002 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team|Southern Miss]] || 23 || [[2002 Houston Bowl|notes]]
|-
| December 30, 2003 || '''[[2003 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]]''' || '''38''' || [[2003 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]] || 14 || [[2003 Houston Bowl|notes]]
|-
| December 29, 2004 || '''[[2004 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado]]''' || '''33''' || [[2004 UTEP Miners football team|UTEP]] || 28 || [[2004 Houston Bowl|notes]]
|-
|December 31, 2005 || '''No. 14 [[2005 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]''' || '''27''' || [[2005 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]] || 24  || [[2005 Houston Bowl|notes]]
|}

==MVPs==
{|class="wikitable"
!|Date played
!|MVPs
!|Team
!|Position
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 27, 2000 || [[David Garrard]] || [[2000 East Carolina Pirates football team|East Carolina]] || QB
|-
|[[Bernard Williams (defensive lineman)|Bernard Williams]] || East Carolina || DT
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 28, 2001 || [[Byron Jones (defensive back)|Byron Jones]] || [[2001 Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]] || DB
|-
|[[Joe Weber (American football)|Joe Weber]] || Texas A&M || RB
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 27, 2002 || [[Rashaun Woods]] || [[2002 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team|Oklahoma State]] || WR
|-
|[[Kevin Williams (defensive tackle)|Kevin Williams]] || Oklahoma State || DT
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 30, 2003 || [[B. J. Symons]] || [[2003 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech]] || QB
|-
|[[Adell Duckett]] || Texas Tech || DL
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 29, 2004 || [[Joel Klatt]] || [[2004 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado]] || QB
|-
|[[Tom Hubbard (American football)|Tom Hubbard]] || Colorado || S
|-
|rowspan = "2" | December 31, 2005 || [[Jeff Ballard (American football)|Jeff Ballard]] || [[2005 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]] || QB
|-
|[[Jason Berryman]] || [[2005 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]] || DL
|}

== Appearances by team ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Rank
!Team
!Appearances
!Record
!Win %
|-
|T1
| style={{NCAA color cell|TCU Horned Frogs}}|[[TCU Horned Frogs football|{{color|#FFFFFF|TCU]]}}
|2
|1–1
|.500
|-
|T1
| style={{NCAA color cell|Texas Tech Red Raiders}}|[[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Texas Tech]]}}
|2
|1–1
|.500
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Colorado Buffaloes}}|[[Colorado Buffaloes football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Colorado]]}}
|1
|1–0
|1.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|East Carolina Pirates}}|[[East Carolina Pirates football|{{color|#FFFFFF|East Carolina]]}}
|1
|1–0
|1.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Oklahoma State Cowboys}}|[[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Oklahoma State]]}}
|1
|1–0
|1.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Texas A&M Aggies}}|[[Texas A&M Aggies football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Texas A&M]]}}
|1
|1–0
|1.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Iowa State Cyclones}}|[[Iowa State Cyclones football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Iowa State]]}}
|1
|0–1
|.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Navy Midshipmen}}|[[Navy Midshipmen football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Navy]]}}
|1
|0–1
|.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|Southern Miss Golden Eagles}}|[[Southern Miss Golden Eagles football|{{color|#FFFFFF|Southern Miss]]}}
|1
|0–1
|.000
|-
|T2
| style={{NCAA color cell|UTEP Miners}}|[[UTEP Miners football|{{color|#FFFFFF|UTEP]]}}
|1
|0–1
|.000
|}

==Appearances by conference==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Rank
! Conference
!Appearances
! Record
! Win %
!# of Teams
!Teams
|-
|1
|[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
|6|| 4–2 || .667
|5
|[[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|Texas Tech]] (1–1)
[[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado]] (1–0)<br />
[[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State]] (1–0)<br />
[[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M]] (1–0)<br />
[[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State]] (0–1)
|-
|2
|[[Conference USA|C-USA]]
|3|| 1–2 || .333
|
|[[East Carolina Pirates football|East Carolina]] (1–0)
[[Southern Miss Golden Eagles football|Southern Miss]] (0–1)<br />
[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]] (0–1)
|-
|T3
|[[Mountain West Conference|MWC]]
|1|| 1–0 || 1.000
|
|[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]] (1–0)
|-
|T3
|[[NCAA Division I FBS independent schools|Independent]]
|1|| 0–1 || .000
|
|[[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]] (0–1)
|-
|T3
|[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]
|1|| 0–1 || .000
|
|[[UTEP Miners football|UTEP]] (0–1)
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061205230209/http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/ History of the Houston Bowl]

{{Houston Bowl navbox}}
{{Bowl game navbox}}

[[Category:Houston Bowl| ]]
[[Category:Defunct college football bowls]]