Dec. 7, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
The University of Missouri football team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl, as announced today by Mizzou and Alamo Bowl officials.
The Tigers (9-4 overall and 5-3 in Big 12 play and North Division champions) will play in the 16th annual edition of the game, set for Dec. 29th in San Antonio, Texas, against the 22nd-ranked Northwestern Wildcats (9-3, 5-3 [4th]). The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. (central) from the Alamo Dome and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
The game will mark MU's fourth-consecutive bowl game, and fifth bowl appearance in the last six seasons overall under Pinkel, after Mizzou had gone to only two bowl games in a span of 19 seasons dating from 1984-2002. The only other time in school history that MU played in four consecutive bowl games was when the Tigers had four straight appearances from 1978-81 under Warren Powers. The Alamo Bowl appearance will be Mizzou's 26th bowl game, with MU holding an 11-14 mark in its previous 25 outings.
"We are excited to be playing in such a quality game as the Alamo Bowl," said MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel. "Going to a great city like San Antonio is a good reward for our team, which has worked very hard and done some great things this season. This game is extremely important for us and we look forward to playing our very best against a very good Northwestern team," he said.
"The Alamo Bowl and the city of San Antonio are outstanding in what they do," said MU Director of Athletics Mike Alden. "As someone who serves as a member of the Football Bowl Licensing Committee, I can say without hesitation that President/CEO Derrick Fox and his staff are among the very best at running a first-class event. From a football standpoint, this game is a great opportunity for Missouri to have a prime-time national broadcast and to bring our program once again to an area that is very important for us in recruiting," he said.
Mizzou and Northwestern have played eight times previously, with the series split evenly at four wins apiece. The last meeting was a 28-3 Tiger win in Columbia in 1987, which was preceded by a Wildcat 27-23 win in Columbia in 1985. Prior to that, the schools met randomly six times between 1895 and 1967.
The schools have played one common opponent in 2008, and they both claimed victories over Illinois. Mizzou opened its season with a 52-42 win over then-20th-ranked Illinois on Aug. 30th, while the Wildcats ended their regular season on Nov. 22nd with a 27-10 home win over the Illini.
The Mizzou Athletic Ticket Office will begin taking orders for the Valero Alamo Bowl beginning Monday, Dec. 8th, at 9 a.m. online at www.mutigers.com. Fans may also order over the phone by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Columbia), but are strongly encouraged to order on-line to ensure prompt service.
A seating section will be created exclusively for University of Missouri students. Student tickets will be sold in-person only, at the Mizzou Ticket Office at Mizzou Arena, with student sales beginning Wednesday, December 10th at 8 a.m. All student tickets are in the lower level and are priced at $70 apiece.
Fans who are interested in travel packages to the bowl game location through the Mizzou Alumni Association are encouraged to visit MizzouSportsTravel.com or call 888-MIZZOU-1, and to also stay tuned to MUTigers.com.
For more information about the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl, and the city of San Antonio, please visit the official site of the Valero Alamo Bowl, at www.valeroalamobowl.com.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE VALERO ALAMO BOWL
- This year's game will be the 16th installment of the Alamo Bowl. Since 1995, the game has matched the Big Ten and the Big 12 Conferences. This combination has produced eight of the Top 25 most-watched games in ESPN bowl history and has averaged a 4.5 rating. In 2007, Penn State defeated Texas A&M, 24-17 before a capacity crowd of 66,166 (official capacity is listed as 65,000)...
- Northwestern will be making its second Alamo Bowl appearance, with Mizzou making its first. The Wildcats lost their only other appearance, dropping a 66-17 game against Nebraska in 2000. Mizzou has played one game in the Alamo Dome, dropping the 2007 Big 12 Championship Game to Oklahoma, 38-17...
- MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel is 3-2 in bowl games as a Head Coach, including 2-2 at Mizzou. Mizzou cruised to a 38-7 win against 25th-ranked Arkansas in the 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. Prior to that, the Tigers dropped a last-second heartbreaker in the 2006 Brut Sun Bowl to Oregon State (39-38), after gaining MU's first bowl win since 1998 with a 38-31 win over South Carolina in the 2005 Independence Bowl. Prior to that, Pinkel's Tigers were defeated by Arkansas (27-14) in the 2003 MainStay Independence Bowl, and Pinkel's Toledo Rockets won a 40-37 overtime game against Nevada in the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl...
- The bowl game will be the 17th of Pinkel's coaching career overall, including his assistant coaching days with Don James at Washington. Pinkel's teams have won 11-of-16 bowl games, including going 8-3 at Washington, 1-0 at Toledo, and 2-2 at Mizzou...
