The American Athletic Conference will become a participant in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl beginning in 2015.

Formerly known as the Big East, the American Athletic will send a representative to the bowl in 2015, ’17 and ’19 under terms of the agreement. It will alternate with Conference USA, which will send a team in 2014, ’16 and ’18.

The Mountain West Conference is expected to provide the opposition. The bowl’s contract with the MWC expires after the 2013 game but negotiations toward a renewal have been under way.

With an MWC tie-in, Hawaii would likely represent the conference in years in which the Rainbow Warriors are bowl eligible.

"We are pleased to welcome the American Athletic Conference to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl," said David Matlin, the game’s executive director.

C-USA has been represented in all but one of the 11 games.

"The time seemed right to expand our footprint and the American Athletic Conference with 12 teams across 10 states in 2015 is a perfect fit," Matlin said.

In 2015, the American will include Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa.

"We know that our student-athletes, coaches and fans will enjoy following their teams to Honolulu for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and that they will enjoy one of the nation’s great destinations," said American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco. "This bowl will be an exciting experience for one of our deserving teams. Our fans and television viewers will enjoy an extremely competitive game."

This year’s game, matching teams from the MWC and C-USA, is scheduled for 3 p.m. Dec. 24.