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MWC locks up new bowl
with C-USA's support
� The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO � Holiday Bowl
officials got the go-ahead Wednesday from the NCAA to stage a second
bowl game in the city.
The game, expected to be
called the Poinsettia Bowl, will be played Dec. 22 at Qualcomm Stadium.
It will be run by the same officials who will stage the Holiday Bowl on
Dec. 29.
Bowl officials will
release more details next week, including the name of the title sponsor.
The bowl, expected to have a 7 p.m. PST kickoff, will be shown on ESPN2.
``We're excited about the
opportunity, and this is just going to add value to what our goal is
with the Holiday Bowl, which is to generate an economic impact on the
community,'' Holiday Bowl executive director Bruce Binkowski said by
phone from Phoenix, where he helped make the presentation to the NCAA on
Tuesday.
``This is going to enhance
the economy, especially since this is going to be during the week before
Christmas, which is the toughest week of the year for our hotel
industry,'' Binkowski said.
The game will pit a
Mountain West Conference team against an at-large team. Binkowski said
he's received letters of support from the Western Athletic Conference �
which used to send its champion to the Holiday Bowl � Conference USA and
the Naval Academy.
Having a tie-in with the
Mountain West Conference gives San Diego State a chance to play in a
hometown bowl game, although the Aztecs haven't been eligible for
postseason play since going to the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl.
The new bowl will pay each
team close to the old bowl minimum of $750,000.
Given the right matchup,
the game could draw 40,000 fans, Binkowski said.
The Holiday Bowl has
matched teams from the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences since 1998. In
1999, San Diego State and seven other teams left the expanded WAC to
form the Mountain West Conference.
Page updated:
02/23/07 10:42 AM
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights rights reserved.
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