While representatives of the Alamo Bowl have discussed the possibility of selecting the Kansas University football team during Sunday’s selection show, most of their attention is currently focused on fellow Big 12 schools Oklahoma State and Missouri, according to a bowl official.
“We had a meeting last Monday, and we talked about Kansas,” Rick Hill, vice president of marketing and communications for the Alamo Bowl, said Wednesday. “Right now, our focus was that we’re focusing on Oklahoma State and Missouri, barring anything wacky like coaches leaving, players getting hurt.”
The Alamo Bowl, held Dec. 29 in San Antonio, annually pits a Big 12 team against a team from the Big Ten, with a combined payout of $4.45 million in 2008. After the BCS bowls have been filled, the Alamo Bowl has either the third or fourth pick among Big 12 teams, depending on whether the Gator Bowl selects a team from the Big 12.
Currently, the Gator Bowl is required to pick a Big 12 team twice over a four-year period. In years it does so, the bowl is one spot ahead of the Alamo Bowl in the conference pecking order.
If the Alamo Bowl is not interested, the Insight Bowl, played Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz., will be KU’s likely bowl destination.
The Insight Bowl has the sixth pick in the Big 12 and has been following Kansas actively throughout the second half of the season.
And Tuesday’s comments from Hill don’t do anything to suggest the Jayhawks won’t be spending their New Year’s Eve in the desert.
“I think Kansas will probably be brought up Sunday,” Hill said. “But they’re not really on the board.”