Freedom Bowl, Pac-10 Conference Finalize a Two-Year Agreement

As expected, the Freedom Bowl and the Pacific 10 announced an agreement Wednesday that would give the conference’s third-place finisher an automatic berth in the Anaheim Stadium game, bowl director Don Andersen said.

The two-year agreement, which begins with the 1992 game, was unanimously approved by school presidents late Tuesday night and formalized Wednesday.

“We think this is important from a local credibility standpoint to the progress of the Freedom Bowl,” Andersen said.

Pac-10 teams have played in five of the eight Freedom Bowl games and have drawn the two largest crowds in the game’s history.

UCLA’s 31-10 victory over Brigham Young drew a Freedom Bowl-record crowd of 51,422 to the 1986 game, and 41,450 watched Colorado State defeat Oregon, 32-31, in 1990.

In other Freedom Bowl news, Andersen said the 1992 game has been set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29.

“There’s really a glut of games on New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve, and we decided to leave our game on one of the other nights,” he said.

He also said the Freedom Bowl is hoping to increase its payout to participating teams from $650,000 to $700,000, but he is awaiting a report from the NCAA before any action is taken.