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, featuring teams from the Big East and Big 12 Conferences. In future years, the Bowl will also feature teams from Conference USA and, potentially, Texas Christian University. The first game was shown live on the NFL Network.