Three new bowls have received certification and 25 others have been renewed for the 2002-03 season by the NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee.

The San Francisco Bowl, Hawaii Bowl and Queen City Bowl are new for 2002. Universities representing the Mountain West and Big East Conferences are scheduled to compete in the December 31 game at Pacific Bell Park. In the Hawaii Bowl, representatives of Conference USA and the Western Athletic Conference will compete December 25 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The Queen City Bowl will be played on a date to be determined at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, between representatives of the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conferences.

The Division I Board of Directors recently lifted a two-year moratorium on the maximum number of postseason bowls in Division I-A. The moratorium had established a temporary limit of 26 bowl games.

"We had several new bowl organizations that came to us very well-prepared with conference and television commitments, as well as good facilities and support from their communities," said Tim Curley, athletics director at Pennsylvania State University and chair of the Football Certification Subcommittee. "We believe they will sponsor events that will be good experiences for student-athletes."

Curley also said the subcommittee reviewed encouraging reports regarding the current postseason bowl structure. Specifically, about $155 million was distributed to participating teams and conferences, and 1.3 million fans attended bowl games last year.

The 25 bowls recertified for 2002 are listed in the accompanying chart.

In addition to bowl certifications, the subcommittee approved eight preseason certified football games. The eight preseason events the committee certified are the NACDA Kickoff Classic, the NACDA Pigskin Classic, the Eddie Robinson Classic, the BCA Classic, the BCA Bowl, the Hispanic College Fund Classic, the Jim Thorpe Classic and the John Thompson Classic.

Exemptions for preseason events will not continue after the 2002 season because of legislation adopted in 1999 that expanded the regular-season schedule to 12 games in some years. (There is one exception for 2003 and 2004. The Black Coaches Association was granted a waiver for those two years for its BCA Classic because of a pre-existing television contract. All other events after the 2002 season must be conducted during the regular playing season and must be included in maximum contest limits.)

NCAA member institutions may not participate in postseason football competitions that are not certified. The certification process ensures that bowls meet specific standards for such items as officiating, insurance and distribution of funds.