Southern Miss Accepts Conference USA spot in 2010 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. November 30, 2010; – Southern Mississippi will bring its high-powered offense into the 2010 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg as the Conference USA representative after accepting a bid today. The Golden Eagles will face a still-to-be determined opponent from the BIG EASTat Tropicana Field Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will feature teams from the BIG EAST Conference and Conference USA for the third straight season.
“Fans are going to see a tradition-rich Southern Miss program that can stack up the yards and light up the scoreboard,” said Executive Director Brett Dulaney. “Coach Larry Fedora and his staff have their team on a roll with at least 40 points in seven of their final eight games. Regardless of who the Golden Eagles face from the BIG EAST, the matchup promises to have fans on the edge of their seats.”
Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini shared, “Our Southern Miss football program is elated for the opportunity to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg. It is a tremendous destination for our fans and our football players are excited about playing a Big East opponent. We understand from other Conference USA teams that have played in this game that the bowl treats you tremendously and it is a wonderful experience for the student-athletes and fans.”
Larry Fedora, the head coach of the Golden Eagles added, “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to play in St. Petersburg in Florida. It is a great area with great weather and we have the opportunity to play a quality opponent from the Big East. We are thrilled about being able to play another game.”
Southern Miss (8-4, 5-3) presently ranks 15th in the nation in total offense with 458 yards per game, and the Golden Eagles average 37.6 points. In addition to scoring at least 40 in seven of the final eight games, Southern Miss put at least 50 points on the board in each of its final two games.
Tickets for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone (1-800-745-3000) for just $47.75. Enjoy the pregame pageantry in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Bud Light Lounge, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. For just $175, 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 that food and beverage any fan would want. For tickets in the Bud Light Lounge, fans can contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for information.
In last season’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, the Rutgers, of the BIG EAST, defeated UCF, of Conference USA, 45-24 in front of a crowd of 28,000. In the inaugural game in 2008, USF, representing the BIG EAST, defeated C-USA representative Memphis 41-14 at Tropicana Field.
Media Contacts: John Gerdes at 813-909-3152 or [email protected] Rachel Margolis at 860-766-2798 or [email protected].