The NCAA awarded a new bowl game to Houston on June 27, 2006. The game was an attempt to keep a bowl in Houston after the Houston Bowl had struggled to survive. Spearheaded by Houston Texans owner, Bob McNair, the Board of Directors of the Texas Bowl viewed Houston as a potentially great bowl city. The inaugural Texas Bowl was played in Reliant Stadium on 2006 and was shown live in the early years on the NFL Network.