Big Ten’s Runner-Up Will Play in Either Holiday or Citrus Bowl

The Big Ten Conference runner-up has an automatic postseason bid for the next four years to play in either the Holiday Bowl or Citrus Bowl.

Under the agreement announced Saturday by the Big Ten and the two bowls, the conference’s second-place finisher will play the Western Athletic Conference champion in this year’s Holiday Bowl and then play in the Citrus Bowl in 1992, 1993 and 1994.

The agreement also calls for the Big Ten’s third-place team to play in the Holiday Bowl for three years beginning in 1992.

The agreement does not affect the Rose Bowl, which matches the Big Ten champion against the Pacific 10 winner.

No Big Ten team will play in any of the four bowls involved in a new consortium--the Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Fiesta bowls.

“It was a creative move to stabilize those four bowls,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said Saturday.

“This is a win-win situation,” said Bob Moore, president of Florida Citrus Sports. “The Big Ten has a certain home for its runner-up, and the bowl is assured a team from the most recognized conference in the country.”