Papa's Got a Brand New... Bowl?

The Louisvilee Courier-Journal is reporting that Papa John's Pizza has purchased the naming rights to the formerly unaffiliated Birmingham Bowl. The postseason matchup will now be known as the PapaJohns.com Bowl. Papa John's officials are hopeful that this agreement will improve the branding of their new online pizza ordering service (I'm not kidding!). The LCJ reports that the contract is in place for two years, with an option for a third. The newly minted PapaJohns.com Bowl, which gained bowl certification in April, will hold its inauguaral matchup on December 23rd at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. It will feature a team from Conference USA versus a Big East team. The MAC is contracted to provide an alternate if CUSA or the BE are unable to provide a participant. This will be the first postseason game held at Legion Field since the All-American Bowl folded following the 1990 season.