Conference USA Announces Bowl Lineup
11/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 28, 2006
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA and its bowl partners have reached agreement on the league's postseason lineup for the 2006-07 bowl season. The conference produced five schools with seven or more victories and those teams will fill the conference's agreements with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, GMAC Bowl, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, PapaJohns.com Bowl and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
"This has been an exciting season in Conference USA and these five schools will be outstanding representatives of the conference in postseason play," said C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "We are blessed to have such outstanding bowl partners and we know that our student-athletes, coaches and fans will enjoy the bowl season."
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will select the winner of Friday night's Conference USA Championship Game between Houston and Southern Miss for its 48th annual game. This year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl is scheduled for Friday, December 29 at 3:30 p.m. CST in Memphis and the C-USA Champion will face an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.
"The winner of this game will represent Conference USA very well at this year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl," said AutoZone Liberty Bowl Executive Director Steve Ehrhart. "The winner will be either a 10-3 Houston Cougars squad or a 9-4 Southern Miss Golden Eagles team. Either way, we will have an outstanding Conference USA Champion in a match-up against a team from the Southeastern Conference."
The GMAC Bowl will take the runner-up of Friday night's game for its eighth annual contest. This year's GMAC Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 7 at 7 p.m. CST in Mobile. The C-USA representative will face an opponent from the Mid-American Conference.
"We are looking forward to the C-USA Championship Game," said GMAC Bowl President Jerry Silverstein. "We know that we will be getting a quality team that we hope will be excited to come to Mobile and play a quality team from the Mid-American Conference."
West Division Champion Houston will be going to a bowl game for the third time in four years under head coach Art Briles and will be making back-to-back trips for the first time since going four years in a row from 1978-81. Southern Miss will be going bowling for the ninth time in the 10 seasons under head coach Jeff Bower.
C-USA's three other 2006 bowl partners have selected the Conference USA representative for their bowls.
Tulsa (8-4) will play in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on December 23 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Golden Hurricane will face Mountain West Conference representative Utah (7-5) in the fourth annual game (formerly the Fort Worth Bowl). Tulsa will be making back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since the 1964-65 seasons and are in postseason play for the third time in four seasons under head coach Steve Kragthorpe. The Golden Hurricane featured a balanced attack, led by junior QB Paul Smith on offense and senior LB Nick Bunting on defense.
"We're looking forward to an excellent football game between Tulsa and Utah," said Tom Starr, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Executive Director. "I've seen both teams play many times and I truly believe fans are in for an exciting match-up. Coach Kragthorpe has done a fantastic job with the Tulsa program."
East Carolina (7-5) will return to postseason action for the first time since 2001 when it plays in the inaugural PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham on December 23 at Noon CST. ECU will face an opponent from the Big East Conference at historic Legion Field. Second-year head coach Skip Holtz has led a dramatic turnaround in Greenville and the Pirates are back in postseason play thanks in part to an improved defense, along with a productive pitch-and-catch combo in senior QB James Pinkney and senior WR Aundrae Allison.
"ESPN is pleased to announce that East Carolina University has accepted our invitation to represent Conference USA in the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl," said Mark Meadows, Executive Director of the Papajohns.com Bowl. "We look forward to welcoming the Pirates football team and its supporters to Birmingham."
Under first-year head coach Todd Graham, Rice (7-5) is tied with SEC West Champion Arkansas as the most improved team in Division I-A. The Owls will make their first bowl appearance since the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 23 at 7 p.m. CST. Rice will face the champion of the Sun Belt Conference (either Troy or Middle Tennessee) in the game and will carry a six-game winning streak into the bowl. Rice is led by sophomore WR Jarett Dillard, a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award who has caught a nation-leading 20 touchdowns and has scored in 14 straight games, the second-longest streak in NCAA history.
"We're excited to have what we feel is the hottest team in the conference right now, " said Billy Ferrante, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Executive Director. "Rice's proximity to New Orleans, enthusiasm, and anticipation of its first bowl appearance in many years should translate into an electric atmosphere in New Orleans."
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl, GMAC Bowl and Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will be televised by ESPN, while the PapaJohns.com Bowl and R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl will air on ESPN 2.
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL (Memphis, Tenn.)
Friday, December 29
Championship Game winner vs. SEC Selection 3:30p
GMAC BOWL (Mobile, Ala.)
Sunday, January 7
Championship Game Runner-Up vs. Mid-American Selection 7:00p
BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL(Fort Worth, Texas)
Saturday, December 23
Tulsa vs. Utah 7:00p
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL (Birmingham, Ala.)
Saturday, December 23
East Carolina vs. Big East Selection Noon
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL (New Orleans, La.)
Friday, December 22
Rice vs. Sun Belt Champion 7:00p