Texas Bowl

The University of Missouri accepted a bid to play in the 2009 Texas Bowl, the Texas Bowl Committee announced today.  The Tigers will take on the United States Naval Academy, which accepted a bid on November 7.

The 2009 Texas Bowl will be played on Thursday, December 31 at 2:30 p.m. CST at Reliant Stadium.  The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.  Tickets are available at all TicketMaster outlets, online at TicketMaster.com and by phone at 832-667-2390.

Under eighth-year head coach Gary Pinkel, Missouri posted an 8-4 record and a second-place finish in the Big 12 North.  The Tigers are making their fifth consecutive appearance in a postseason bowl and their sixth in eight years under Pinkel.  Including the Texas Bowl, Missouri has finished each of the last four seasons in the state of Texas.  The Tigers played in the 2008 Alamo Bowl, the 2008 Cotton Bowl and the 2006 Sun Bowl.

“We are thrilled to have Missouri in the 2009 Texas Bowl,” said John Huff, Chairman of the Texas Bowl Board of Directors.  “The Tigers are an exciting team with one of the most explosive offenses in the country.  The contrast in styles between Missouri and Navy’s option attack will create one of the most compelling and entertaining bowl match-ups in the country.”

The Tigers are led by a trio of first-team All-Big 12 selections in senior wide receiver Danario Alexander, senior linebacker Sean Witherspoon and sophomore kicker Grant Ressel.  Alexander leads the nation in receiving yards per game, averaging 137.0 per contest.  Freshman defensive end Aldon Smith was named the Big 12 defensive freshman of the year after registering 11 sacks on the season.

The Texas Bowl moves to ESPN after airing on NFL Network for its first three years.  It will be a part of ESPN’s popular Capital One Bowl Week, which will feature 23 bowl games from December 19 to January 2.

The Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success both on and off the field over its first three years.  The bowl has generated an average of $25 million per year for the Houston economy.  The bowl boasts over 25,000 season ticket holders and sold over 50,000 tickets before its teams were announced last year.

Over its three-year history, the Texas Bowl has donated over $200,000 and over $5 million in promotional support and publicity to DePelchin Children’s Center, the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary.

Last year, a partisan crowd of 58,880 fans saw Rice capture the school’s first win in a bowl game since 1954, defeating Western Michigan 38-14.  QB Chase Clement garnered MVP honors after passing for 307 yards and three touchdowns, rushing for 72 yards and a score, and catching a 13-yard touchdown pass.

TCU defeated the University of Houston, 20-13, in the 2007 Texas Bowl before a crowd of 62,097.  The audience was the third-largest crowd ever to see a college bowl game in Houston.  The 2007 Texas Bowl attracted the eighth-largest crowd among non-BCS bowls last year. 

The inaugural Texas Bowl was played on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at Reliant Stadium.  Rutgers defeated Kansas State, 37-10, before a crowd of 52,210, the largest crowd to witness a bowl game in Houston not involving a Texas team since 1972.