Melbourne Bowl 2016: Australia Set to Host Matchup Between Pac-12 and MWC
College football has broadened its horizons in recent years by expanding bowl games across the United States and into Canada, but the NCAA's latest venture is its most ambitious one yet.
According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences have agreed to take part in a bowl game in Melbourne, Australia, starting in 2016:
Per Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a bowl game Down Under has been in the works for quite some time:
According to Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com, MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson revealed that some details were still being hammered out as of Wednesday.
"We have to get down to who's going to give up what," Thompson said. "You can't on this one say, 'What if we don't have enough (bowl-eligible teams),' and then on Dec. 5 you can't send someone to Australia. You're talking about 1,000 passports, 1,200 passports."
There is no question that the logistics of holding a bowl in Australia are challenging, but the thought of holding a high-profile game there is exciting.
It is unclear if the NCAA has any long-term plans beyond 2016, but if the Melbourne bowl is considered a success, then that could open the door for further bowl expansion across the globe.
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