VALERO ALAMO BOWL SELECTION RIGHTS EXTENDED

Valero Alamo Bowl Selection Rights Extended for 2026 season

—Game to again feature selections Big 12, Pac-12/Legacy Pac-12 pools—

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The Valero Alamo Bowl will continue its current selection format for the 2026 season, again matching the first available team from two 12-member pools following the announcement of the College Football Playoff (CFP) field.

The selection pools are:

• Big 12 Conference Pool – Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
• Pac-12/Legacy Pac-12 Pool – Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State.

These are the same two pools utilized over the past two seasons, a format that has produced compelling matchups and record-setting performances.

In 2024, a capacity crowd and a Valero Alamo Bowl-record 8 million viewers watched BYU face Colorado. This past season, TCU defeated USC on the second-longest game-ending overtime touchdown in NCAA history before 54,751 fans (the second-highest attendance among non-CFP bowl games) and a national television audience of 4.9 million viewers (the Bowl’s second highest viewership in the last six years).

“This continued collaboration with the Big 12 and Pac-12 along with the ACC and Big Ten to provide access to legacy Pac-12 members has produced compelling matchups and memorable games,” said Derrick Fox, President and CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl. “With the future College Football Playoff format still being finalized for 2027 and beyond, maintaining this successful structure for 2026 provides stability and momentum. We look forward to continuing discussions with all autonomy conferences as the CFP direction is determined.”

As in 2024 and 2025, Oregon State and Washington State, along with former Pac-12 members Cal and Stanford now competing in the ACC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC in the Big Ten, and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah in the Big 12, will remain aligned within the Pac-12 bowl structure for the 2026 season.

The game date for the 2026 Valero Alamo Bowl is expected to be announced in early June when tickets go on sale. Fans may join the priority ticket list by visiting www.alamobowl.com/game-tickets.

About the Valero Alamo Bowl

Founded in 1993, the Valero Alamo Bowl was created to generate positive economic impact, national exposure, and memorable experiences for San Antonio and participating universities.

In 33 bowl games, the organization has generated more than $1.2 billion in total economic impact, delivered 177.7 million viewers on ESPN, welcomed 1.93 million fans to the Alamodome, and contributed more than $185 million to higher education through team payouts ($172 million) and local scholarships ($13.3 million).

Last season, the Valero Alamo Bowl selected 183 students representing every San Antonio area high school and university to split a Valero Alamo Bowl record $1.28 million in scholarship awards. This total is number one in local giving among all 40+ bowl games.

For more information, visit www.alamobowl.com.

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