Bronx, NY – The Pinstripe Bowl and the Big Ten Conference have announced an eight-year agreement that will place a Big Ten team in the game from 2014 and 2021.
The partnership will allow the Big Ten to have its first tie-in with a bowl played on the East Coast, with the Pinstripe held at New York's Yankee Stadium since its inception in 2010. As part of the pact, the conference will also have signage displayed along the first-base line and behind home plate during Yankee regular-season home games starting in 2014.
"Once we saw the success of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, it became obvious -- especially with the Big Ten's growing East Coast footprint -- that being in the media capital of the world at one of sports' most renowned venues was a natural pairing," said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. "By agreeing to an eight-year partnership, it increases the likelihood that most of the Big Ten schools will have the opportunity to participate in the game, while giving our coaches, student-athletes, administrators and fans the opportunity to experience the nation���s biggest metropolis and an iconic setting like Yankee Stadium."
The Big Ten will expand from 12 to 14 members beginning in 2014, when the league adds Rutgers from the former Big East and Maryland from the ACC.
The Pinstripe Bowl's four-year agreements with the Big East (now the American Athletic Conference) and the Big 12 expire after the 2013 game. Various reports have stated that the ACC is expected to replace the American Athletic as the Big Ten's opponent.
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