BATON ROUGE — The LSU Tigers football team was officially extended an invitation to play in the 2003 SBC Cotton Bowl against the University of Texas of the Big 12 conference.
Fin Ewing, III, Chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, extended the invitation Sunday afternoon to LSU head coach Nick Saban and Texas head coach Mack Brown.
“The SBC Cotton Bowl is thrilled to bring two of the nation’s most prominent football programs to Dallas to play in one of the most storied bowls in America,” Ewing said. “With LSU, Texas and their passionate fans, we expect the 67th SBC Cotton Bowl will be a Classic to remember.”
The SBC Cotton Bowl will kick off at 10 a.m. CST from Dallas, Texas, and will be televised nationally by Fox Sports.
For all the Cotton Bowl information from LSU, fans are asked to check out the LSU web site, www.LSUsports.net and go to Cotton Bowl Central.
“I think our fans travel so well and the match-up is so good,” said LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman Sunday at a press conference at the LSU Athletic Department. “It’s the 40th anniversary since we played Texas in that spot. I think some other things just jelled right. It’s been 37 years since we’ve been to two New Year’s Day bowl games consecutively. I think the Cotton Bowl has a tremendous amount of prestige. I think we are very deserving. I’m proud of our football team and the coaching staff. I think we are very, very deserving.”
The last time LSU went to two consecutive New Year’s Day bowls was the 1965 Sugar Bowl and the 1966 Cotton Bowl. LSU appeared in the 2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl before receiving this year’s bid to the SBC Cotton Bowl.
“We are certainly excited about coming,” said LSU’s Saban. “We know this is a great bowl game from the stand point of our fans being excited, our players being excited, and our staff being excited. I think I speak for everyone in that it is a real privilege and an honor to play Mack (Brown) and the University of Texas. They have a great program and had a great season this year. We are really excited about a great bowl game and a great football game that we have the opportunity to play in.”
LSU, tri-champions of the Southeastern Conference Western Division, comes to Dallas with an 8-4 overall record and 5-3 conference mark. The Tigers, ranked 25th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, are 2-0-1 in the three previous Classic appearances. LSU has not competed in the SBC Cotton Bowl since shocking unbeaten Arkansas, 14-7, on New Year’s Day, 1966.
In the 1963 Classic, LSU Coach Charles McClendon upset another unbeaten, as the Tigers knocked off Texas, 13-0. Four decades later, the teams will meet again in a series that dates back to 1896. Texas holds an 8-7-1 series advantage.
Texas enters the game with a 10-2 record overall and a 6-2 mark in Big 12 play. The Longhorns are ranked ninth in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and the Associated Press polls. The Longhorns will be making their 22nd appearance in the Classic, an SBC Cotton Bowl record. Texas has a 10-10-1 record at the Cotton Bowl, last appearing on Jan. 1, 2000.
Coach Saban touched on the passion of fans at the two schools. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for the tradition and passion the state of Texas has for football at all levels. The high school programs are fantastic. They have some great college programs, including the University of Texas. But I have never been or coached at a place that has better passion and more excitement that is ever created in a stadium that what we have here in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. We are really proud of the tradition we have.”
Tickets to the 2003 SBC Cotton Bowl game go on sale Monday at 8 a.m. at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office and through the Internet at LSUsports.net. LSU has presold approximately 12,000 tickets to the bowl and will look to sell an approximate total of 19,700. Also on sale will be highly recommended parking passes at $15 each. Tickets may be purchased with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or cash. Checks are not an acceptable method of payment.
The phone numbers to the LSU Ticket Office are 225-578-2184 or 800-960-TKTS.
“I think we get opportunities like (this bowl) because of the fan support we have,” Saban said. “I think our fans need to know the importance of how well they support our team. We have sold almost every away game ticket that we have had over the last two years. I appreciate the support. I think the fact that we sole every ticket to the Peach Bowl (in 2000), every ticket to the (2001) SEC Championship Game and 45,000 ticket requests for the (2002) Sugar Bowl, enhances our chances of getting great opportunities in bowl games for our players. I want to thank our fans for that because I really feel good about the opportunity our team has this year.”
The Tigers are in the midst of final exams this coming week and the coaches will use the week as a recruiting week. The team is expected to begin preparations for the bowl on Monday, Dec. 16, practicing through Dec. 21. The team will then meet again Dec. 26 in Dallas.
COTTON BOWL ANNOUNCEMENT CONFERENCE CALL
HEAD COACH NICK SABAN
Opening Statement
“We are certainly excited about coming. We know this a great bowl game from the standpoint of our fans being excited, our players being excited, and our staff being excited. I think I speak for everyone in that it is a real privilege and an honor to play Mack (Brown) and the University of Texas. They have a great program and had a great season this year. We are really excited about a great bowl game and a great football game that we have the opportunity to play in.”
…On his team’s upcoming schedule
“We used this past week as a recruiting week, and we are going to use this coming week as a recruiting week. We will probably start our preparations for the game on Monday, December 16 and practice through Saturday, the 21. We will then give our players off and come to Dallas on December 26.
…On the exposure and influence the game will have on recruiting
“Mack has done a good job recruiting in his backyard. It has been a difficult task in the past couple of years. Both states have outstanding high school teams and players. I think because we recruit both states, the exposure that we will have in the Cotton Bowl should certainly be a positivefor both schools.”
…On the passion for football in Texas and Louisiana
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for the tradition and passion the state of Texas has for football at all levels. The high school programs are fantastic. They have some great college programs, including the University of Texas. But I have never been or coached at a place that has better passion and more excitement that is ever created in a stadium than what we have here in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. We are really proud of the tradition we have.”
…On the talent Texas possesses
“We haven’t had an opportunity yet to look at much film on Texas. We just found out a few hours ago that this was going to officially be the matchup we had as a bowl game. We were very hopeful that this was going to be the matchup. We knew the Cotton Bowl had a lot of interest in us. I know Texas has outstanding football players. I know they have a great quarterback that is highly rated in the NFL Draft. I know they have several good running backs and receivers and an offensive line that looks NFL caliber. They are obviously a 10-win team, and you don’t win 10 football games if you don’t have a lot of good players. This is going to be a really challenging team for us to play. At the same time, I think it’s what our players wanted to do, to go to the Cotton Bowl and play a team the caliber of Texas.”
…On the chance to redeem themselves
“I think our players are very disappointed with the way our season ended based on the expectations in what was lost in the last few minutes of the game at Arkansas. The thing we like to emphasize to our players is that this is a great opportunity to play a great program. Most of the players have had success in bowl games, and we would like continue playing that way and having that success. I think it is an opportunity for our players to redeem themselves, since we didn’t finish the last game we played. I think when you play a game like that it can make you a little more hungry in terms of how you would like to approach the next game, regardless of who you are playing. I think the Cotton Bowl is a great opportunity for us and our fans. I am sure our fans will support us and travel well to this game.”
…On the importance of fan support
“I think we get opportunities like this because of the fan support we have. I think our fans need to know the importance of how well they support our team. We have sold almost every away game ticket that we have had over the last two years. I appreciate the support. I think the fact that we sold every ticket to the Peach Bowl and every ticket to the SEC Championship Game and 45,000 ticket requests for the Sugar Bowl, enhances our chances of getting great opportunities in bowl games for our players. I want to thank our fans for that because I really feel good about the opportunity our team has this year.”