Seattle loses bowl, Fort Worth gains one

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INDIANAPOLIS, May 1 (UPI) -- The NCAA announced the certified bowl games for the 2003-04 season Thursday and nearly half of all Division I-A teams will play in one.

Twenty-seven bowl games were recertified by the NCAA, including the Sugar Bowl, which will host the national championship game on Jan. 4, 2004.

The Seattle Bowl was not recertified as the NCAA football certfication committe cited financial issues and failure to adhere to administrative requirements. At the 2002 Seattle Bowl, which was just the second one, only 38,241 showed up at the 67,000-seat Seahawk Stadium.

The committee certified one new game, the Fort Worth Bowl, which will be played on Dec. 23. The game will feature a team from Conference USA against one from the Big 12 Conference.

"The Fort Worth Bowl organization came to us very well prepared with conference and television commitments as well as good facilities and support from its community," said Tim Curley, Penn State athletic director and chair of the football certification committee. "We believe they will sponsor an event that will be good experiences for student-athletes."

A team needs at least six wins over Division I-A opponents to be eligible for a bowl game. There are 117 schools competing in Division I-A football.