After three years as the plain old Independence Bowl, the postseason game has landed a sponsor with roots in northwest Louisiana.From this year through 2008, PetroSun Inc. of Phoenix, which provides services and products to suppliers of oil and gas, will sponsor the bowl.

“We had looked at it for awhile,” said Rayfield Wright, a former Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer who serves as PetroSun’s president. “The people at the Independence Bowl have done such a great job through the years. This bowl is ranked really high among the bowls. We want to help them take that next step forward.”

The newly christened PetroSun Independence Bowl also announced an extension of its television contract with ESPN. That contract will run through 2009.

The bowl had been looking for a title sponsor since MainStay, a division of New York Life Investment Management, declined to pick up its option on the 2004 Independence Bowl game.

The bowl had been looking for sponsors willing to sign a three-year deal estimated at $1 million annually.

“We feel like this is a tribute to the hard work of so many people over the past 30-plus year and we couldn’t be happier and more excited about the future of the PetroSun Independence Bowl,” I-Bowl executive director Missy Setters said.

PetroSun, which has a field office and supply yard in nearby Oil City, was founded by CEO and chairman Gordon LeBlanc Jr., who majored in petroleum geology at Centenary College.

The PetroSun Independence Bowl will be Dec. 28 at 3:30 p.m. at Independence Stadium. The bowl has conference tie-ins with the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference. The teams receive $1.2 million each from the bowl.

PetroSun is the fourth sponsor for the bowl, which has been played since 1976.

Poulan-Weed Eater sponsored it from 1990-1997, Sanford from 1998-2000, and Mainstay from 2001-2003.