As we have known for a few months now, the Houston Bowl, is in financial trouble and may not survive to produce a game in 2006.  The (oddly enough) Houston-based bowl game, played in Reliant Stadium, began play following the 2000 season as the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, before becoming the EV1.net Houston Bowl in 2002.  It has traditionally featured a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team versus an upper tier Mountain West or Conference USA team, including last season, when TCU defeated Iowa State, 27-24.

Unfortunately for the bowl and its 2005 participants, EV1.net’s affiliation with the matchup expired at the end of 2005 and the non-profit Houston Bowl Foundation, operators of the bowl game, was unable to find the funds to fully pay its two participating programs.  As of right now, TCU and Iowa State are still owed $600,000.  The NCAA has given the Houston Bowl until the end of June to find sponsorships and a television agreement.

Today, David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports that Lone Star Entertainment, an affiliate of the Houston Texans, is interested in creating a new bowl game to replace the Houston Bowl.  The Big 12, MWC, and CUSA have joined Lone Star Entertainment.  The proposal is expected to be presented to NCAA soon, in hopes that it can gain certification and play its first game in December.