Conference realignment, sponsor search complicate Las Vegas Bowl’s immediate future

Boise State will play Washington on Saturday, and Las Vegas' bowl game will have a new title sponsor next year.

Those are two of the few certainties regarding the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, a game caught up in the ever-evolving college landscape but one that appears well positioned to handle the changes.

"This bowl is strong," executive director Dan Hanneke said. "We're going to go forward."

The bowl's four-year contract with MAACO ends after Saturday's 12:30 p.m. game at Sam Boyd Stadium between the No. 20 Broncos (10-2) and Huskies (7-5).

Hanneke said the automotive paint company - which underwent management changes - already has said it won't renew the deal, so securing a new title sponsor will become his primary task.

"Hopefully we can find another sponsor just like they were," Hanneke said.

The bowl, which began in 1992, has one year remaining on its contracts with the Mountain West and Pac-12 conferences. It receives the first selection from the MWC and the fifth from the Pac-12.

Because UNLV owns the stadium, the bowl is virtually certain to agree to a new deal with the Mountain West.

That is, unless UNLV joins the Big East Conference, an occurrence athletic director Jim Livengood said is not likely. But with realignment moving forward at a dizzying pace, casting doubt on UNLV's future conference destination, any switch of leagues almost certainly would affect the Las Vegas bowl.

Also at issue is where the bowl eventually will play. The state legislature is expected to consider a proposal early next year for an on-campus stadium for UNLV football and other events that presumably would include the bowl.

Should the new stadium be approved, that could give the bowl considerable bargaining power, especially in future negotiations with the Pac-12 or another power conference.

"They've been great partners, the Pac-12 as well as the Mountain West," Hanneke said. "I think the relationship between those conferences and the Las Vegas bowl have been very strong. I'm sure all the conferences will have discussions with their current bowl and work out a deal and stay, but I don't know that for sure. I know we're certainly pleased having those two conferences. Hopefully, they've been pleased with us."

In the Pac-12 pecking order, the Las Vegas bowl's $1.1 million per-team payout sits one spot behind the Sun Bowl ($2 million per team) and two spots behind the Holiday Bowl ($2.1 million per team).

If Las Vegas is able to upgrade from Sam Boyd Stadium, with a capacity of 36,800, to a state-of-the-art facility that seats in the range of 60,000, the bowl probably could guarantee a higher payout and move up the Pac-12 ladder.

But thinking two years ahead - or even two weeks ahead - is difficult with the realignment scenarios in such flux.

This weekend at least, Hanneke can count on knowing which teams are playing, where they are playing, and the identity of the title sponsor. He said he expects a good crowd, even if enthusiasm on Boise State's side seems to have dampened with a third consecutive appearance here.

Hanneke wasn't ready to concede that point, saying he was happy with the energy from both sides.

"It sounds like it's pretty much even," Hanneke said. "Boise being here the last two years, they still have a great fan base. So I think you're going to see as much blue and orange (Boise State's colors) as you will purple and gold."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.