INDIANAPOLIS-The NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee this week has recertified 28 bowl games for the 2004-05 season, and it met with groups interested in submitting applications for three additional bowl games to be played in 2005-06.

The bowls that have been recertified for 2004 include: AutoZone Liberty, Capital One, Chick-Fil-A Peach, Continental Tire, Emerald, EV1.net Houston, Fed Ex Orange, Gaylord Hotels Music City, GMAC, Independence, Insight, Las Vegas, MasterCard Alamo, MPC Computers, Motor City, Nokia Sugar, Outback, Pacific Life Holiday, PlainsCapital Fort Worth, Rose, SBC Cotton, Sheraton Hawaii, Silicon Valley, Tangerine, Tostitos Fiesta, Toyota Gator, Vitalis Sun and Wyndam New Orleans.

Of the 28 bowls recertified, all but two have retained their official bowl names from a year ago. The Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl has changed its name to the Emerald Bowl and the Humanitarian Bowl has been retitled as the MPC Computers Bowl.

The 2003-04 bowl season was the first time that new certification criteria had been applied by the NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee. One of the certification criteria requires bowls to maintain an average attendance of 25,000, or 70 percent of stadium capacity over a three-year period. As a result, four bowls-Las Vegas, New Orleans, Emerald and Silicon Valley-were certified with concern expressed by the subcommittee regarding the required attendance criteria.

In addition, the EV1.net Houston Bowl and the Silicon Valley Football Classic were certified with conditions that will require both to submit their required letters of credit by September 1. This action was taken due to the failure of both bowls to submit their letters of credit by the established deadline for the 2003-04 bowl season.

Mike Alden, director of athletics at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and chair of the NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee said, "The subcommittee thoroughly reviewed the new certification criteria to ensure that the bowls were in compliance. The committee believes the new criteria will ensure the long term viability of the postseason bowl system and provide the type of postseason experience that the student-athletes and institutions deserve. The subcommittee's overall evaluation is that the football bowl games provide a positive athletic experience for student-athletes, coaches and fans."

The Football Certification Subcommittee also heard presentations from representatives of Seattle, Denver and South Florida. Any bowls submitting applications for play in 2005-06 will receive notification for possible certification at next year's meeting of the subcommittee.

In reviewing the 2003-04 bowl season, the subcommittee said that approximately $182 million in bowl revenue was distributed to participating teams and conferences, and about 1.35 million fans attended the bowl games. The subcommittee said that approximately 5,300 student-athletes were involved in the postseason football bowl games.

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