2026 Kinder's Texas Bowl Set For New Year's Eve
HOUSTON – The 2026 Kinder’s Texas Bowl will be played at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 31, at Reliant Stadium, as announced today by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment and ESPN Events. The 21st edition of the bowl will be televised nationally on ESPN with national radio coverage on Bowl Season Radio. This season marks the 12th game between the Big 12 and SEC in the Texas Bowl. The Big 12 leads the series, 7-4, since the bowl moved to this format.
In the 2025 Kinder’s Texas Bowl, the University of Houston claimed a 38-35 victory over LSU with Houston QB Conner Weigman earning MVP honors after completing 27-of-36 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns. The game welcomed 63,867 fans to NRG Stadium and reached a total live audience of 2.9 million viewers.
Entering its 21st year, the bowl continues to attract top teams from the SEC and Big 12 while delivering a world-class experience for student-athletes, fans and the Houston community. Since 2014, the Kinder’s Texas Bowl has been the most attended college football bowl game, excluding College Football Playoff games. This success continued in 2025 as the bowl was the most attended bowl game (63,867) of the 35 non-College Football Playoff bowl games that season. In addition, the bowl has raised more than $3 million in financial support for DePelchin Children’s Center, the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary and the oldest children’s charity organization in Houston.
The Kinder’s Texas Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, and managed locally by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans.
For more information about the game, priority access to tickets and bowl week experiences, fans can visit www.kinderstexasbowl.com or follow along on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
ABOUT ESPN EVENTS
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In the 2025-26 academic year, the 35-event schedule included three early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, two college volleyball events, the premier regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events accounted for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ABOUT LONE STAR SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is Houston's premier sports and entertainment promoter and a sister company to the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding in 2003, LSSE has produced some of the country's biggest events, from annual college football games such as the Kinder's Texas Bowl and Texas Kickoff to major concerts, festivals and international soccer matches. This includes a U.S.-record eight editions of the Concacaf Gold Cup, including the 2025 Final, Copa America Centenario in 2016, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, United States and Mexican National Team friendlies, the 2023 Soccer Champions Tour featuring Real Madrid vs. Manchester United, numerous major European and Mexican club team friendlies, the Copa de Lone Star and CONMEBOL Copa América 2024. For more information on our experience and expertise in event production, event management and consulting, visit www.lsse.net.