Texas Tech to play in inaugural TicketCity Bowl
Dallas, Texas – Texas Tech and Northwestern have been selected as the teams to re-establish post-season college football in legendary Cotton Bowl Stadium.
The Red Raiders and Wildcats will be the participating teams in the first-ever TicketCity Bowl, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (cst), January 1, 2011.
“Little did we imagine in our wildest dreams that we would have the privilege of having such prestigious teams in our inaugural TicketCity Bowl,” said President Tom Starr. “I have had the good fortune of having been to the home campuses of both institutions over the past few weeks and I can genuinely say that there is an excitement among the fans about playing in our New Year’s Day game.”
The game will be the first football game to be played in 2011. It brings a bowl game back to the stadium that has conducted the second-most bowl games in history, just behind the famed Rose Bowl.
“We are extremely pleased about coming to Dallas to participate in
the TicketCity Bowl on New Year’s Day,” said Northwestern Athletic Director Jim Phillips. “Our fans are excited about coming to Dallas, and we know that Texas Tech will be a great opponent.”
“We are thrilled to be part of the inaugural TicketCity bowl, and we are looking forward to a great match-up against Northwestern,” state Texas Tech Director of Athletics Gerald Myers. “Dallas is home to many Red Raider fans and alumni and we are happy to play our final game of the season in Cotton Bowl Stadium.”
Northwestern is bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive year and for the fifth time in the past six years. Posting a 7-5 record this year despite losing starting quarterback Dan Persa, Coach Pat Fitzgerald has built the Wildcats into a perennial winner in the rugged Big Ten Conference. Fitzgerald was a standout player for the Cats in the 1990’s, leading Northwestern to back-to-back Big Ten titles. He has compiled a winning record of 34-28 in his tenure as head mentor of the Evanston school.
Texas Tech’s appearance in the TicketCity Bowl will mark its 18th consecutive post-season trip, the longest in Big 12 Conference history. Veteran Coach Tommy Tuberville is in his first year at the Red Raider helm, but he is no stranger to winning football. His coaching laurels include 2004 National Coach of the Year accolades. This year’s edition of the Red Raiders posted a 7-5 record this year, including a signature win over Missouri, co-champion of the Big 12 North Division.
