Big Ten adds Kraft Fight Hunger and Holiday bowls
On Monday, the Big Ten officially announced its partnership with two bowl games, beginning in 2014 - the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and the Holiday Bowl. The Pac 12 will provide opponents for both postseason contests.
The league announced earlier this month it would also send a team to the Pinstripe Bowl, beginning in 2014, reportedly opposite an ACC foe.
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The conference is set to continue its partnerships with the Rose, Capital One, Outback, Gator and Heart of Dallas bowls and is expected to add the Music City Bowl to its lineup, though that has not been announced officially yet.
The Capital One, Outback and Gator bowls have pitted the Big Ten against teams from the Southeastern Conference while the Heart of Dallas Bowl will include a Big 12 team. The Music City Bowl is expected to be an ACC rival. The Rose Bowl is traditionally a Pac 12 matchup.
By count, there are three opponents from the Pac 12 and SEC, two from the ACC, and one from the Big 12.
Michigan has appeared in the Holiday Bowl twice before, losing 24-17 to No. 1 BYU during the 1984 season and beating No. 10 Colorado State 24-14 in the 1994 campaign.
U-M has never appeared in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, which existed as the San Francisco Bowl in 2002-03, the Emerald Bowl from 2004-09 and has had its current title since the 2010 season. Illinois is the lone Big Ten team to appear in the bowl, beating UCLA 20-14 in 2011.
Big Ten teams are 8-4-1 in the Holiday Bowl, though four of those games (2-2 record) include Penn State and Nebraska before they joined the conference.
U-M is 8-12 in 20 Rose Bowl appearances, 3-1 in the Citrus/Capital One Bowl, 3-2 in the Hall of Fame/Outback Bowl, and 1-1 in the Gator Bowl. The Wolverines have never played in the Music City (1998-present), Heart of Dallas (2010-present) and Pinstripe bowls (2010-present).