Bowl season now has the most on-the-nose sponsor you could think of: Yes, it’s Xbox, folks. This December, the first iteration of the Xbox Bowl will be played at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. If you don’t know what that is, it’s claim to fame is that it’s the Dallas Cowboys’ practice court. And by that merit this event is turning a pretty standard Group of Five post-season slot into something that looks more like a sleek crossover event.
When is the Xbox Bowl?
On December 18, 2025, Missouri and Arkansas State will line up under the lights, while Xbox branding will cover every visible surface.
Culturally, this is exactly where college football and gaming are colliding. College Football 26 was already one of the most downloaded PlayStation Store games in August of this year, and it can’t be denied, the younger demographic of fans are most likely already living in both worlds at once.
Actually, slapping Xbox on a bowl logo doesn’t create that overlap as much as it simply finally, and very openly admits it exists. We don’t have to tell you that the monetization will probably be phenomenal. Now let’s talk about what the Xbox Bowl actually is and why exactly Microsoft is doing it.
Headed to the Xbox Bowl in Frisco‼️🎮
— Missouri State Football (@MoStateFootball) December 4, 2025
🗓️ Thursday, Dec. 18 | 8:00 p.m. CT
🆚 Arkansas State
📍 Ford Center at the Star | Frisco, Texas
📺 ESPN2#OutHitOutHustle | #ProveIt pic.twitter.com/YnzPgrBQsS
What is the Xbox Bowl?
In a nutshell, the Xbox Bowl is a brand-new FBS postseason bowl game owned by ESPN Events, played at the Ford Center at The Star at the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco. It officially joins the lineup in December 2025 and slots into the old Bahamas Bowl spot on the schedule – so much for the official side of things.
But instead of palm trees and a track around the field, interested players get a climate-controlled dome, giant video boards, and the Cowboys’ “we built a lifestyle centre”.
The Ford Center already hosts high school games, the Frisco Bowl, the East-West Shrine Bowl and various events; the Xbox Bowl just nudges it further into full-time football content factory territory.
This first edition features Missouri State Bears vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves. For Missouri State, it’s a milestone: first bowl appearance in their debut FBS season. The conferences locked in are Conference USA and the Sun Belt, which tells you what tier we’re dealing with here; not playoff teams, but online fanbases who will absolutely screenshot the ever living bejesus out of the custom logo.
How to Watch the College Football Xbox Bowl
ESPN2 shows everything at 9 p.m. E.T. The event will therefore replace the Bahamas Bowl, which is how you know we’re deep into 2025: Tropical stadium out, a football game named after a boxy console in a billionaire training complex in Texas.
The Xbox Bowl Blurs the Line Between Sports and Gaming
Agreed, we don’t have to pretend this is just a random sports sponsorship – Xbox knows exactly what they’re doing, and game marrying gamers seems like a logical next step. The corporate phraseology isn’t lost on us either, but to be fair – most college kids and footballs fans do have a console at home, or at least might want one.
College bowl games have always been walking brand deals anyways, be it soda companies to car insurances or even snacks. Let’s take the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl for example, that has been around for years. So players routinely walk away from events with headphones, gaming consoles and other sponsor swag, which might or might not end up in a drawer somewhere.
At the end of the day, the Xbox Bowl really just leans into that logic more directly and arguably more straightforward, which is to be appreciated, if nothing else. Long story short, if you’re a gamer in 2025, turning up to a bowl that hands you games and gaming hardware isn’t exactly far fetched.
You can roll your eyes at the branding, absolutely. But if you care about how games and sport keep colliding, this little December bowl in a 12,000-seat Texas arena is a small but very clear sign of where things are heading next, and honestly, we’re excited for it as well.
