MARSHALL
UNIVERSITY TO FACE OHIO UNIVERSITY
IN 2009 LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL
Bowl Marks
the First Meeting of Traditional Rivals Since 2004
DETROIT
-- Little Caesars Pizza Bowl officials announced today that the
Marshall University Thundering Herd will play the MAC East Champion Ohio
University Bobcats in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Saturday, December
26 (1:00 p.m., ESPN) in Detroit. Bowl officials extended the bid to both
teams on Sunday.
The MAC East Champion Bobcats will be making their first appearance in
the Detroit bowl, after having played at Ford Field in their conference
championship game on Friday evening. The Thundering Herd will be making
their fifth appearance in the Detroit bowl, the first four as members
of the Mid-American Conference.
“We’re excited to host the first meeting in four years between
these two traditional rivals,” said Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Chairman
& Executive Director Ken Hoffman. “The schools’ campuses
are less than 90 minutes apart, and from what we have already heard, the
teams, fans and alumni are enthusiastic about renewing their rivalry in
the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.”
2009 marks the bowl’s thirteenth consecutive year as a Detroit holiday
sporting tradition. Little Caesars Pizza®,the international pizza
chain celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is in its first year
as title sponsor for the bowl. For its first 12 years, the game was called
the Motor City Bowl.
“We are eager to watch these talented players compete in the first
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl,” said David Scrivano, president of Little
Caesar Enterprises, Inc. “Little Caesars looks forward to enhancing
the bowl game experience for the players and the fans with special events
and national promotions. Pizza and football make a great combination!”
The MAC East Champion Bobcats bring a 9 - 4 record, the Mid-American Conference’s
number three pass defense, and the conference’s top positive turnover
margin, into the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Thundering Herd brings
a
6 - 6 record and Conference USA’s fourth-rated defense into the
game.
The Herd played seven bowl-eligible football teams in 2009, including
the nationally-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, and West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Bobcats played six bowl-bound football teams in 2009, including narrow
fourth-quarter losses to traditional SEC power Tennessee and the University
of Connecticut, from the Big East.
“We’re couldn’t be more ecstatic about coming back to
Detroit, and getting to play a longtime rival – Marshall, in the
bowl that we most wanted to play in. It’s very close to our base,
with more than 120,000 Ohio alumni within a five-hour drive of Detroit,”
said Ohio University Director of Athletics Jim Schaus. “Our fans
have missed this rivalry, which is why we have a six-year run of games
scheduled with them beginning next year. I can’t think of a better
way to kick it off than in Ford Field at the Little Caesar’s Pizza
Bowl.”
The MAC East Champion Bobcats are led by wide receiver Taylor Price, the
university’s all-time leader in career catches; LaVon Brazill, the
MAC’s top punt returner; and running back Chris Garrett, who led
the MAC in kickoff return yardage. Ohio is coached by former Nebraska
Head Coach Frank Solich.
“We’re excited to play in a bowl that we participated in many
times, during its years at the Pontiac Silverdome,” said Marshall
Athletic Director Mike Hamrick. “Our team and our fans have had
a great experience in the past. And this year, getting to compete against
one of our traditional rivals in Ford Field, one of the premier sports
facilities in the country on national TV . . . it is a great Christmas
gift for our program.”
The Thundering Herd is led by tight end and Mackey Award finalist Cody
Slate and running back Darius Marshall, Conference USA’s number
two player in all-purpose yardage. Marshall will be coached by Interim
Head Coach Rick Minter, who led Cincinnati against Marshall in the 2000
bowl.
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl will be played before a national television
audience on ESPN. The game will be in downtown Detroit’s Ford Field
for the eighth consecutive season, after five years at the Pontiac Silverdome.
Last year, Florida Atlantic beat Central Michigan 24 – 21, before
41,399 fans.
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is the only major college football bowl
game in the Midwest region of the United States. Gates will open at 11:30a.m.
on game day. Pre-game festivities will begin at 12:30p.m.
