Texas Bowl

The head coaches for the University of Missouri and the United States Naval Academy will conduct a joint news conference to discuss the 2009 Texas Bowl on Wednesday, December 16 at 1:30 p.m. CT at Reliant Stadium.Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel and Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo will address the Houston-area media in the Texans Media Workroom at Reliant Stadium.  It will be the coaches’ first joint appearance since the matchup was set on December 6.

Following the news conference, each head coach will speak with media from Missouri and Maryland via conference call at 2:00 p.m. CST.  Individuals interested in joining the conference call should call 866-206-0240.  The PIN is 598109#.

The 2009 Texas Bowl will pit Missouri against Navy 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.

Missouri ended the season at 8-4 while Navy finished 9-4 after last Saturday’s 17-3 win over Army.  The Tigers are seeking their third consecutive nine-win season while a win in the Texas Bowl would give the Midshipmen 10 wins for just the third time in school history.

The 2009 Texas Bowl will showcase two teams with contrasting styles.  Missouri WR Danario Alexander led the country with 1,644 receiving yards and the Tigers passing attack ranked 13th nationally.  On the other sideline, Navy QB Ricky Dobbs set the NCAA single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 24 this year and led a rushing attack that ranked fourth nationally with an average of 272.5 yards per game.