* HOUSTON –*Bob McNair, owner of the NFL's Houston Texans and Chairman of the Texas Bowl Board of Directors, announced the members of the board at a press conference Tuesday morning.
The 11 members appointed to the board represent a cross-section of the Houston business and athletic communities. Four members of the board represent Lone Star Sports & Entertainment (LSSE), four represent the bowl's conference partners, and three members were selected to represent the greater Houston community.
The board will oversee LSSE and the Texas Bowl Organizing Committee's preparation for the game. Board members will meet regularly to discuss strategic issues related to the Texas Bowl and guide LSSE in the execution of the bowl's plan, timeline and budget. They will provide strategic direction and guidance to LSSE and the organizing committee, and they will be ambassadors for the Bowl game in the community.
The first-annual Texas Bowl will kick off at Reliant Stadium on Thursday, December 28, at 7:00 p.m. CT. The game will be televised nationally on NFL Network. The network also has the exclusive right to sell presenting sponsorship for the game.
The bowl will feature a match-up of teams from the Big 12 and Big East conferences. The participating teams will be selected by members of the Texas Bowl organizing committee in cooperation with the conferences. Teams will be announced in early December.
Announcements regarding presenting sponsorhip, bowl week activities, and group and individual ticket sale information will be forthcoming at later dates.
**TEXAS BOWL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Robert C. McNair** will serve as the Chairman of the Texas Bowl Board of Directors. McNair is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the Houston Texans. He is perhaps best known in the business community as the founder of Cogen Technologies, which was sold in 1999. McNair also serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The McNair Group, headquartered in Houston, Texas, where he oversees an investment portfolio that includes interests in two cogeneration plants in the eastern United States. Mr. McNair owns Palmetto Partners, Ltd. and RCM Financial Services, L.P., private investment entities that manage the McNairs' public and private equity investments, and is Chairman of the McNair Foundation and the Houston Texans Foundation.
Denis Braham is a shareholder and Chair of the Sports Business and Public Venues Practice in the Houston office of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C. Braham is a transactional lawyer with a client list that includes the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers. Braham has been honored with multiple listings in Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in Texas and Best Lawyers in Houston.
Billy Burge currently serves as Chairman of the Harris County/Houston Sports Authority. He also serves as Chairman of the Grand Parkway Association, as well as Chairman of the Harris County Housing Finance Corporation. Billy is a member of the Board of Directors of both Wallis State Bank and Whitney National Bank, and also serves as a Board Member of the West Houston Association, which he formerly chaired.
Philip Burguières, one of Houston's most innovative leaders, serves as Vice Chairman of the Houston Texans. Burguières also serves as Chairman and CEO of EMC Holdings, an investment management company specializing in oil services and exploration and production industries. Additionally, he serves as Chairman Emeritus of Weatherford International, an international energy company. Burguières is the current Chairman of the Menninger Clinic and serves on the Executive Committee of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Chris Del Conte was named the 14th director of athletics at Rice University on June 22, 2006. Del Conte came to Rice from the University of Arizona, where he served as a senior associate athletics director and implemented a capital campaign known as "Campaign Arizona for the Student-Athlete," which has raised more than $120 million. DelConte has a master's degree in education administration from Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., where he served as assistant athletics director for external operations.
Jon Heidtke is Senior Vice President and General Manager of FSN Houston. Widely recognized as one of the leading sports executives in Texas, he was elevated to Senior Vice President/General Manager in November 1996 when FOX combined the nation's top regional sports networks under one banner and created FSN. Heidtke also works closely with the Big 12 Conference on FSN's national television rights for football and Olympic sports. In 2002 the 12 th Man Magazine named Heidtke "The Most Influential Aggie in Sports."
John Huff is the Director at BJ Services Company, who specializes in Basic Materials/Oil & Gas Equipment & Services. Mr. Huff is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, Inc., an oilfield services corporation. He has been President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Oceaneering since 1986 and Chairman of the Board since 1990. Mr. Huff is also a director of Suncor Energy Inc.
Dave Maggardis one of the most respected leaders in intercollegiate athletics and is the standard bearer for the University of Houston Athletics program. He serves on the NCAA Academic, Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet and is chair of the Committee on Agents and Amateurism. Maggard chaired six different Pac-10 Conference Committees, including the long-term planning and bowl committees and was a member of the Big East Football's Executive and Bowl Committees.
Robert K. Mosescurrently serves on the Board of Weatherford International where he served as Chairman from 1989-1992. In addition to serving on numerous Boards of other companies listed on the NYSE, and with the Methodist Hospital System, Moses is also very involved in Texas education having served on the Board of the Kinkaid School and Georgetown University. Moses' heart however lies with the University of Texas where he had an illustrious football career, winning awards such as All American honors in 1961 and MVP of the 1962 Cotton Bowl. Moses was also named "Lineman of the Week" in 1961 by Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press. Moses was inducted in the University's of Texas' Hall of Fame in 2002.
Don A. Sandersis the Founder & Chairman of Sanders Morris Harris, the largest investment bank in the Southwest. A native of Mexia, Texas, Don graduated from Mexia High School, received his BBA degree from San Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and his MBA degree from the University of Texas in Austin. Don joined one of the nation's largest securities firms, E.F. Hutton & Co., in 1959. In 1987, he resigned to form Sanders Morris Harris, which today is one of the nation's leading investment firms. SMH Don is a leader of a variety of civic, corporate and financial enterprises. He was an owner of the Houston Astros Baseball Club before founding the Round Rock Express with Nolan and Reid Ryan. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Nolan Ryan Foundation, the Governor's Business Council, the DePelchin Children's Center and was Houston Interfaith Charities' 2001 "Sportsman of the Year." His art collection is recognized as one of the finest in the country.
Jack Sweeney is the publisher and president of the Houston Chronicle and also serves as chairman
of the Partnership's Investor Development Committee. He is a director of the Texas
Daily Newspaper Association and was the recipient of the association's 2000 Texas
Newspaper Leader of the Year Award. He also has served as a trustee on the executive
committee of the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast and was campaign chair for
the 2002-2003 annual drive.
