Arthur Ashe Courage Award Winner Dewey Bozella will be the 2013 Kickoff Luncheon Speaker
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 2, 2013) – Dewey Bozella, the 2011 Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner and boxer will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Kickoff Luncheon on Sunday, Dec. 22 at Noon at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. The Luncheon takes place the day prior to the kickoff of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg featuring an American Athletic Conference team against a representative from Conference USA at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., onMonday, Dec. 23, at 2:00 p.m.
Bozella, who joined an impressive group of past Arthur Ashe Courage Award winners including Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King, spent 26 years of wrongful imprisonment in a 1983 murder case where he maintained his innocence the entire time and exhausted every appeal. He was even offered more than four separate chances for an early release but he refused to admit a guilty. He was proven innocent and released from jail in October 2009 when new evidence was uncovered that exonerated him.
While in jail Bozella earned his GED, bachelors and masters degrees, working as a counselor for other prisoners. He also found strength and purpose through boxing, becoming the light heavyweight champion of Sing Sing Prison. Bozella always had dreams to have just one professional fight and his wish was granted on October 15, 2011 when he fought and beat opponent, Larry Hopkins, 30, of Houston, in his first and only professional boxing match.
“The keynote speaker at our Kickoff Luncheon is an important component of the bowl week experience we provide for our teams” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “We are honored to have Dewey as our featured speaker at this year’s Kickoff Luncheon. Dewey’s story is truly inspirational and I’m sure everyone at the luncheon will be moved by his tragic story of injustice and the perseverance, courage and faith.”
A limited number of tables are still available for the Kickoff Luncheon. For more information on availability, please contact the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg office at 727.290.9865.
Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg game are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster atwww.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800.745.3000.
Fans can enjoy the pregame pageantry in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where you can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage any fan would want. For tickets in the Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727.290.9865 for more information.
The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Extends Relationship with The American
During the new six-year term that begins with the 2014 college football season, The American representative will be paired up against a team from either the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) or Conference USA. Earlier this summer the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and the ACC reached an agreement where the ACC will be a primary selection for the bowl in 2014 and 2016 and then will be a backup in the remaining seasons over the six-year agreement. Conference USA, which has also been a partner of the bowl since its inception, will provide a team for the bowl three times over the six-year period.
“We’re happy to be able to continue to have a relationship with The American,” said Brett Dulaney, executive director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “We look forward to continuing to work with the exceptional leadership of The American and its school administrators and football coaches to make sure they have a great home in St. Petersburg every December.”
“The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl has been a terrific partner for us and has quickly become one of the most attractive bowl destinations in the postseason landscape” said Mike Aresco, commissioner, the American Athletic Conference. “The city of St. Petersburg and the entire Tampa Bay area have embraced this event to make it a special experience for our student-athletes and fans.”
The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN.
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