By Derrick Fox
Anniversaries are a good time to reflect on how far you have come, thank those that helped you get there and look to the future.
For the 25th Anniversary of the Valero Alamo Bowl, our story starts with the desire to turn the slowest week of tourism into one of the most vibrant.
When I was hired as the Bowl’s Executive Director in 1992, I was surprised to learn the annual river draining occurred between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Luckily, City leadership agreed to slide the draining back to early January so the universities and fans playing in the inaugural Alamo Bowl could enjoy the River Walk.
San Antonio was an unknown commodity to many of our first bowl participants, but the positive feedback from the universities, their fans and ESPN was immediate.
By delivering exciting games, capacity crowds and top ESPN ratings, the Valero Alamo Bowl did not stay as a lower tier bowl game for long.
Thanks to widespread community support and corporate underwriting highlighted by Valero’s title sponsorship the Bowl has been able to greatly improve its team selection rights and fuel its growth.
After paying the first bowl teams $1.4 million to come to San Antonio in 1993, the Valero Alamo Bowl will pay $8.25 million to the participating conferences and universities to deliver what we hope is our fourth straight Top 15 match-up and our eighth capacity crowd in the last 12 years.
Higher ranked teams translate into a larger tourism gains as evidenced by last year’s $50.1 million total economic impact for San Antonio.
The Valero Alamo Bowl’s position as the #1 college bowl game outside of the six College Football Playoff games was solidified last summer when we extended agreements with the Big 12, Pac-12 and ESPN through 2025. With the security of those long-term deals matched only by the Orange, Sugar and Rose Bowls, the Valero Alamo Bowl has been able to increase our community outreach.
Our scholarship program is now #1 among all 40 bowl games as 140 students representing every participating area high school and university are sharing over $1 million in awards this fall.
The Valero Alamo Bowl also committed $6 million to the Alamodome’s $60 renovation budget to enhance the facility for all attendees as well as make it more competitive as we bid for future events like last year’s Army vs. Notre Dame Game.
I hope you are in attendance at the 25th Anniversary of the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday, December 28 to see these improvements that include four new HD video walls, a 360-degree LED ribbon board and expanded concourses with improved concessions options as well as upgraded sound, lighting and Wi-Fi systems.
While we are not sure what unforgettable moment this year will bring, past history tells us something amazing will. Join us so we can celebrate together.
Derrick Fox is President/CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl
