Texas Bowl

The United States Naval Academy has accepted a bid to play in the 2009 Texas Bowl following the Midshipmen’s 23-21 victory over No. 19 Notre Dame.  Navy is the first team in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision to accept a bowl invitation.

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 second-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo, Navy is 7-3 on the season, which is the best record among FBS Independent teams.  The Midshipmen have three games remaining this season, concluding with the annual matchup against Army on December 12 in Philadelphia.

“We are very proud to host the Midshipmen at the Texas Bowl this year, and we want to congratulate Coach Niumatalolo and the entire Navy program on the tremendous victory today,” said Texas Bowl manager Heather Houston.  “Navy has had a great season thus far and will provide a great match-up for the Big 12 opponent.  Our fans will be in for quite a game.”

The Midshipmen entered today’s game ranked third in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 279.8 rushing yards per game out of their option attack.  Four players have rushed for more than 250 yards this season, led by junior fullback Vince Murray with 796.

Defensively, the Midshipmen are led by senior linebackers Ross Pospisil and Tony Haberer.  Pospisil, who hails from Temple, and Haberer, who is from Liberty Hill, are two of 27 Texans on the roster.  Eight players grew up in the Greater Houston area, including starting offensive linemen Osei Asante and Curtis Bass.

Navy will play a team from the Big 12 Conference which will be announced on Sunday, December 6.

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.