News
Bowl assignment expected this weekend
Senior quarterback Drew Willy leads the bowl-bound UB Bulls. Photo: PAUL HOKANSON
-
Print -
Comments
-
“It is particularly fitting that it occurs on the 50th anniversary of one of the proudest moments in UB athletics, the 1958 football team having a tremendous season and then displaying even greater courage by turning down the bowl bid under the circumstances.”
The UB Bulls are headed to their first post-season bowl game, but the campus and the rest of the world are not expected to know until this weekend whether the team will be packing its bags for Toronto, Detroit or Mobile, Ala.
Three teams from the Mid-American Conference are slated to make bowl appearances—the Bulls by virtue of being champions in the MAC’s East Division.
The Bulls will play in the Marathon MAC Championship Game at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Their opponent—Ball State University, ranked 12th in the nation and the West Division titleholder—also is guaranteed a bowl appearance. The third slot likely will be filled by either Western Michigan or Central Michigan, both from the MAC’s West Division.
The MAC, which will choose the bowl assignments, plans to make them public this weekend in conjunction with the announcement of other bowl matchups.
The options are:
• Motor City Bowl, 8 p.m. Dec. 26 in Ford Field, Detroit, to be broadcast on ESPN2. The opponent would be from the Big Ten.
• International Bowl, noon Jan. 3 in Rogers Centre, Toronto, also to be broadcast on ESPN2. The opponent would be from the Big East.
• GMAC Bowl, 8 p.m. Jan. 6 in Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, to be broadcast on ESPN. The opponent would be from Conference USA.
Once the MAC has made the announcement, information about the designated bowl game, tickets and travel packages will be available on the Division of Athletics' Web site.
With UB responsible for selling 10,000 tickets regardless of the bowl game, many on campus and in town are hoping the Bulls will be playing in the International Bowl in Toronto. That placement would put the Bulls’ historic bowl game within a short drive of Buffalo and could draw thousands of Bulls and football fans from Western New York.
Adding to the appeal will be tickets projected to cost in the $30-$45 range and the fact that the Buffalo Bills this Sunday will take on the Miami Dolphins in the same venue in the team’s first regular-season game in Toronto. A large turnout of Bulls fans also would help boost the visibility of the International Bowl, which will be played only for the third time in January.
Adding to the lure of the Bulls’ first bowl appearance is the fact that 50 years ago this football season, the UB Bulls were offered their first post-season bowl bid, which the team of 1958 declined after winning the Lambert Cup as the top-rated small school in the East. Team members declined the only bowl bid in UB's history after being told they couldn't bring two African-American players because it would violate a rule of the host Orlando, Fla., school district prohibiting blacks and whites from playing on the same field.
“We are delighted to be in the position of playing in a bowl game and bringing that experience to UB fans, alumni and the Western New York community,” said Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. “It is particularly fitting that it occurs on the 50th anniversary of one of the proudest moments in UB athletics, the 1958 football team having a tremendous season and then displaying even greater courage by turning down the bowl bid under the circumstances.”
The 1958 team and its decision were the focus of a story on Nov. 23 on ESPN’s "Outside the Lines," an issues-oriented program on ESPN that included interviews with members of the team. To view a video of the program, “All or Nothing,” click here.
To read more about the team and its fateful decision, click here.
Reader Comments