The term 'January bowl' takes another hit

As far as prestige goes, this is probably a good thing for the Big Ten.

The Alamo Bowl announced Monday that it will now kick off on January 2. This year's game will begin at 8 p.m. on ESPN, in a clear and open TV slot with no competition from any other college bowl games or the NFL.

"This year's calendar has provided us an excellent prime time Saturday time slot that will allow the Valero Alamo Bowl to reach a wide audience,” said Valero Alamo Bowl President/CEO Derrick Fox said in a release. “The January 2 date should also work well for people traveling to the game as they can celebrate Christmas at home and then spend a long weekend ringing in the New Year in San Antonio.”

The Alamo Bowl, which how has 17 games under its belt since Iowa-California kicked it off in 1993, has taken place between Dec. 28-31. The game has evolved into a night-time kick because it's found a nice ratings niche, with last season's Northwestern-Missouri game being the 10th most-watched game in ESPN's history.

The prestige for the Big Ten comes in the fact that the Alamo now gives the conference four January bowl slots -- Rose, Capital One, Outback and Alamo. That's more than any other BCS conference.

This lifts the number of bowl games in January to at least a dozen, diminishing what it means to make a "January bowl." The Alamo now takes its place among grandaddies the International Bowl and the GMAC.

The Hawkeyes have played in four Alamo Bowls and have a 2-2 record -- wins over Texas Tech (1996, 2001) and losses to Cal (1993) and Texas (2006).