Team Selection
In the 1995 college football season, teams were selected for the Sugar Bowl under the new Bowl Alliance system. The Bowl Alliance matched up the conference champions of the Big East, Southeastern Conference, Big 12 Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, and two at-large teams in games to determine an official national champion. Prior to the introduction of the Bowl Alliance and its predecessor, the Bowl Coalition, national champions were determined by various college football polls that sometimes named different teams as champion.
Under the Alliance system, the two highest-ranked members of Alliance conferences were matched up in a national championship game. The lower-ranked conference champions and two-at large teams would play each other in other bowl games. In 1995, one of these at-large spots was reserved for the champion of the Southwest Conference, which had been a member of the Bowl Coalition but was scheduled to dissolve after the 1995 season. Its members joined different conferences in an attempt to increase their revenue.
The Fiesta Bowl hosted the national championship game for the 1995 season, and thus had the first and second pick of eligible Bowl Alliance teams. The Orange Bowl had the third and fifth selections, while the Sugar Bowl had the fourth and sixth picks. The three Bowl Alliance games each were assigned a different date: December 31, January 1, or January 2. The dates rotated among the three games, along with which game would host the national championship. The Sugar Bowl was assigned the December 31 date, marking the first time it had been held on that date instead of its traditional January 1 date. It also was the first time two Sugar Bowls had been held in the same calendar year.
Read more about this topic: 1995 Sugar Bowl (December)
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