Dec. 31, 2008

SAN ANTONIO -- The national television broadcast of Missouri's 30-23 overtime win against Northwestern in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl earned a 4.6 rating making it the No. 10 most-watched college bowl game in ESPN history.

The 4.6 rating translates into 4,479,466 households and 7.2 million viewers when considering a 1.6 viewers-per-household factor.

The mark is the third highest in Alamo Bowl history behind the 8.8 viewers who watched the 2006 Alamo Bowl between Texas and Iowa and the 7.8 million viewers who watched the 2005 game between Nebraska and Michigan. The 2006 and 2005 games are the #1 and #4 most-watched bowl games in ESPN history, respectively, giving the Alamo Bowl three of the Top 10 slots.

"A back-and-forth overtime game between two Top 25 teams in Missouri and Northwestern coupled with a clear television window in the traditional Monday Night Football slot allowed this year's game to exceed our average viewership by over one million viewers," said Derrick Fox, President/CEO of the Valero Alamo Bowl.

"ESPN's four-hour broadcast provided tremendous exposure for the City of San Antonio, our title sponsor Valero and our two conference partners. It's gratifying that fans across the nation again tuned into the Valero Alamo Bowl in such high numbers."

ESPN/ESPN2 COLLEGE BOWL GAMES--RANKING BY MOST-WATCHED (RATINGS -- HOUSEHOLDS)

1. 12/30/2006 ALAMO BOWL TEXAS vs. IOWA (6.0--5,521,220)
2. 12/27/2008 CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL FLORIDA ST. vs. WISCONSIN (6.0--5,521,220)
3. 12/31/2007 PEACH BOWL AUBURN VS. CLEMSON (5.1--4,919,331)
4. 12/28/2005 ALAMO BOWL NEBRASKA vs. MICHIGAN (5.4--4,875,543)
5. 12/30/2005 PEACH BOWL LSU VS. MIAMI (5.2--4,706,275)
6. 12/30/1998 HOLIDAY BOWL NEBRASKA vs. ARIZONA (6.0--4,556,937)
7. 12/29/2005 HOLIDAY BOWL OREGON vs. OKLAHOMA (5.1--4,555,583)
8. 12/28/2001 HOLIDAY BOWL TEXAS vs. WASHINGTON (5.3--4,525,337)
9. 12/29/2005 PEACH BOWL MIAMI vs. FLORIDA (5.0--4,480,250)
10. 12/29/2008 VALERO ALAMO BOWL MISSOURI vs. NORTHWESTERN (4.6--4,479,466)