Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Signs Agreement With GMAC Bowl
April 20, 2001 | Football
April 20, 2001
Cleveland, Ohio - The GMAC Bowl (previously Mobile Alabama Bowl), has signed an agreement with the Mid-American Conference to provide the top selection from the MAC this year to face the No. 2 choice from Conference USA in the annual NCAA post-season holiday bowl game.
This marks the first time in MAC history that the conference has developed two bowl agreements (Motor City Bowl since 1997). In an effort to assist the MAC obtain a much-deserved second bowl tie-in, the Motor City Bowl has agreed to allow the GMAC Bowl to make the first selection from the MAC in 2001.
This year,s game will be played on Wednesday, December 19, at 7:00 p.m. in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
During its first two years, the bowl--then known as the Mobile Alabama Bowl~paired a Western Athletic Conference selection to play the C-USA representative. The bowl has been sold-out (40,000) in its first two years. Last year,s game between the University of Southern Mississippi and Texas Christian University was the highest-rated game of the season on ESPN2 and 4th highest in the history of ESPN2.
"We are very pleased to partner with the Mid-American Conference," said Jerry Silverstein, President of the bowl. "The MAC has a great history and tradition. The 13 member institutions will bring a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm to the partnership and to the City of Mobile."
"The MAC has demonstrated a true enthusiasm to be a partner in this bowl as well as an active part of our city. We now have the ability to market Mobile and GMAC in two conferences that encompass 22 football-playing institutions. That should allow us to continue to improve the strong economic impact the bowl has had in our city," Silverstein added.
"We are very excited to enter into an agreement with the GMAC Bowl," said MAC Commissioner Rick Chryst. "This is an historical day in the annals of our conference. It is especially gratifying that the MAC,s second bowl affiliation be with a city like Mobile, where the civic leaders have accomplished so much in just two short years in the bowl business. We look forward to the opportunity for our institutions and our teams to showcase themselves to the great football state of Alabama, as well as to the rest of the nation. We are confident that our conference can add to an exciting and entertaining match-up for college football fans in the region," Chryst added.
Twice in just the last four years, the MAC has provided a 10-1 team that did not receive an invitation to a post-season bowl game. Miami ('97) and Toledo ('00) notched victories over non-conference opponents North Carolina and Penn State, respectively, during their 10-win campaigns.
"We welcome the Mid-American Conference to the GMAC Bowl," said Dave Brown, Director, Brand Management, ESPN Programming. "The MAC has enjoyed significant football success, particularly in recent years. We look forward to another strong regional match-up."
(Courtesy of the Mid-American Conference)
