The first bowl game of the year will be… not the New Orleans Bowl. Instead the bowl, which lost its title sponsor after moving the game to Lafayette last season, will be played on Friday, December 22nd. The GMAC Bowl will now be the first bowl game of the year (December 20th).

“It was nice being the first bowl, but it’s more important to grow the event in New Orleans,” said bowl executive director Billy Ferrante, who worked out the new date with ESPN, which will televise the game. “This benefits the hospitality community because people are more inclined to travel toward the end of the week.”

The New Orleans Bowl will likely escape NCAA death knell because moving the game following last season’s hurricane may have impacted attendance. Bowl games must maintain a 25,000 paid attendance average or face re-certification.

New Orleans Bowl officials are also hopeful that the new dates will help the game find a new title sponsor.

“We have a financial model in place that allows us to operate without one,” he said. “But having a sponsor allows us to put some finer touches on the game and eventually take it to a different level.”