When Jerry Jones built his new stadium it was used to entice the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic to move from the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park to the new stadium in Arlington. With the move to greener pastures for more money, more amenities, more everything including the possibility of getting into the BCS Bowl mix, it looked like the newly renovated 92,000 seat Cotton Bowl would sit empty in post-season bowl events.

In steps Tom Starr with a proposal to keep a post-season college game in the Cotton Bowl. Starr owns a consulting company and is extremely familiar with post season bowls. In 2003,he helped launch the high successful Bell Helicopter Bowl played at Amon Carter Stadium on the TCU campus. His career included being the Executive Director of the Sun Bowl in El Paso and the Freedom Bowl played in Anaheim, California as well as the senior Associate Executive Director of the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA.

He is working to get a new bowl started for the Cotton Bowl which would pit a Big Ten team against a Big12 or Conference-USA team in alternating years.

Paperwork which was submitted to the NCAA before the April 1st deadline appears to be in order with all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed. There is the contract with ESPN to televise the game, most likely on ESPNU, the $2 million line of credit,contractual agreements with the conferences, qualified management and support from the community.

If the bowl is approved the Dallas Football Classic could start in Jan 1, 2011. The certification paperwork will be reviewed by the NCAA certification committee April 21-22,2010 which looks like it will be approved. Normally at this point in the application process, if there was any problem with the paperwork, sponsorship, money, television, conference agreements etc problems it would have surfaced.

The bowl would give D/FW area three bowls in about eight days after the end of this upcoming football season.On Dec. 21, the Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl at TCU in Fort Worth.The new Dallas Football Classic on Jan 7th at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and the AT&T Cotton Bowl at the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington on Jan 7th.   Of course Cowboy Stadium will host the SuperBowl on Feb. 6th.

With a population base of 6.5 million people in North Texas, a big alumni base of the Big Ten Conference and the Big 12 in the area along with a strong Conference-USA presence it has been projected there will be 30,000-90,000 attending the game. Preliminary reports are tickets for the game will be $50 and $75.

Starr is working on a contingency plans with other conferences.

While the new bowl appears to be on its way to reality there is some opposition against it. With 34 bowls already in place and trouble getting qualified bowl teams to play in them another bowl would seem to make matter worse. Starr has been quoted as saying as many as five of the present bowls may face trouble getting approval.

The Cotton Bowl football venue this year includes the Texas-Oklahoma game and Grambling-Prairie View during the State Fair, Texas A&M-Commerce taking on Abilene Christian Sept12th and Arkansas-Pine Bluff against Texas Southern on Nov 26th.