Here's What to Know About the Bowl Games so You Can Plan Your Life Around It

The Gist:

• Every year, the Bowl season begins mid-December and ends in early January.
• The games in 2023 begin on Dec. 16, and run up until Monday, Jan, 8, 2024.
• This year, there will be 43 bowl games, which includes the College Football Playoff National Championship and the semifinal games.

Every year, football fans look forward to the upcoming season. They want to keep up with their favorite teams and support them however they can. But if the NFL teams aren't the only ones you follow, the Bowl Games could be for you. Here, the focus is on college football teams that compete in different games across the U.S.

For more than 100 years, the Bowl Games have been annual series of matches between the different college football teams, and it's got tons of fans. But when do the 2023 games start? Luckily, they usually start around the same time each year. Read on for all the details!

Every year, the Bowl season begins mid-December and ends in early January. The games in 2023 begin on Dec. 16, and run up until Monday, Jan, 8, 2024. Fans can expect the bowl schedule to be released on Dec. 3 at 12 pm ET. This year, there will be 43 bowl games, which includes the College Football Playoff National Championship and the semifinal games, per ESPN.

The first Bowl game kicks off kicks off at 11 am EST on Dec. 16 at Books Stadium in Conway, S.C.

The 2023 schedule of Bowl games is packed. Starting on Dec. 16, fans can watch a different game almost every day until the end of the season. The final game is the College Football Playoff National Championship in Houston. You can see the schedule for all the games on the Bowl Games' website.

Plus, there are multiple days where more than one game takes place. It won't be possible to watch every single game in person, but you can keep up with them all on ESPN. You can watch every game on the network exclusively. And you can watch them live so you don't have to miss out on all the action.

The Bowl games are generally announced sometime around May or June. For instance, sources like FanNation began sharing details on the 2023/2024 Bowl games back in June. However, ESPN says fans will have to wait until the beginning of December (this year it's Dec. 3) for additional details such as selected participants.

According to the Bowl Season's FAQ, it's about way more than just giving fans more football to watch. It is "an advocating body for all 44 bowl games [43 in 2023/2024] that serve as the postseason for all FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision] college football teams." There are 43 different bowls overall and some of them are established for different reasons.

For one, the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl was founded to help fight against breast cancer. There was a Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl (which has since been replaced with the L.A. Bowl Hosted by Gronk) and a Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. Although some of them were founded for more serious reasons, others began to share the spirit of the season or to share the love a certain area has for football.

The Auto Zone Liberty Bowl states that aside from sharing a love of football with others, its mission is to help raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and to economically support the surrounding community. The Bowl says it does so by inviting different universities and their teams to events that it creates and sponsors.