Deal halted by sponsor's contest
By WENDELL BARNHOUSE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The Fort Worth Bowl is still seeking corporate sponsorship after an agreement with Alltel, a wireless telephone company based in Little Rock, Ark., fell apart.

Two sources said Monday that the NCAA balked at Alltel's plans to hold a contest for naming rights for the Fort Worth Bowl.

"We didn't sign a contract before, and we still haven't signed a contract," said Andy Moreau, senior vice president for corporate communications at Alltel. "Beyond that, I won't comment about the future between Alltel and the Fort Worth Bowl."

Tom Starr, executive director of the Fort Worth Bowl, declined comment on the Alltel situation.

Pete Derzis, senior vice-president for ESPN Regional, which owns the bowl game, was not available for comment. ESPN Regional negotiated with Alltel on the sponsorship deal.

In mid-July, it appeared that only contractual language was holding up an announcement concerning Alltel and the Fort Worth Bowl. The NCAA was listing "Alltel Wireless" as the corporate sponsor on its 2006 bowl schedule posted on its Web site.

An impasse was reached, however, when Alltel informed the NCAA that it planned to hold a contest in which fans could enter to win a chance to have the Fort Worth Bowl named after themselves or a person of their choosing.

Dennis Poppe of the NCAA said Monday that paperwork that would christen the game as the Armed Forces Fort Worth Bowl was in the works and could be finalized by the end of the week.

However, Starr said there were other possible corporate sponsorships in the works and nothing had been finalized.