HOUSTON – The University of Texas and the University of Arkansas have accepted bids to play in the 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, the bowl organizing committee announced today. The Longhorns will represent the Big 12 Conference, while the Razorbacks will represent the SEC Conference. The 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl will be played on Monday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. CST and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
"We are thrilled to welcome the Texas Longhorns and the Arkansas Razorbacks to the 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl for our first-ever Big 12 vs. SEC game," said Texas Bowl president Jamey Rootes. "This is a tremendous matchup between two storied programs with large and loyal fan bases. Our community is looking forward to hosting the teams and their fans for a festive bowl week of activities across Houston and the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl game on Monday, December 29 at NRG Stadium."
Texas and Arkansas have met a total of 77 times with the most recent game being in September 2008, a 52-10 victory for Texas. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 56-21 and have now won the last two matchups (2004, 2008). Old Southwest Conference rivals, Texas and Arkansas met for the first time in 1894 with the Longhorns winning 54-0.
Ticket prices range from $35-200 and may be purchased online at http://advocaretexasbowl.com or http://www.ticketmaster.com, on the phone at 832-667-2390 or in person at the NRG Stadium box office inside Budweiser Plaza. The Bowl has already sold more than 60,000 tickets through renewals, Bowl Backer packages, pre-sales and team allotments. For information on luxury suites call 832-667-2160.
The Longhorns finished the regular season with a 6-6 record (5-4 in the Big 12) and qualified for a bowl game in the first season under head coach Charlie Strong. The team finished 8-5 in 2013, which was Mack Brown's final season as head coach, and Strong joined the program on January 5, 2014.
Texas started the 2014 season off slowly and were just 2-4 after their first six games. However, the Longhorns won three straight games to become bowl eligible before losing to TCU in their final regular season game on Thanksgiving. Defensively, the Longhorns are only giving up 23.3 points per game, which is 33rd in the NCAA.
"We're excited to be playing in the Advocare Texas Bowl and against an old SWC rival in Arkansas," Coach Strong said. "It will be a tremendous opportunity for our team to play in front of so many of our fans and especially for our seniors who will be doing it for the last time as Longhorns. We've been back at work and getting prepared for the bowl game and know Arkansas presents an unbelievable challenge. They are a really good, physical team that has played their best ball in the second half of the season. We look forward to getting to Houston and being a part of this great bowl."
Currently, Texas ranks second in college football history in bowl appearances with 52 (27-23-2) and holds a 189–93–10 all-time record against the SEC. This season, the Longhorns have been led by their running game. Senior running back Malcom Brown has rushed for 683 yards and six touchdowns while junior Johnathan Gray has run for 627 yards and seven touchdowns.
This will also be Arkansas' first trip to the Texas Bowl, which was founded in 2006. The Razorbacks finished the regular season with a 6-6 record (2-6 in the SEC) and qualified for their first bowl game under second-year head coach Brett Bielema, who was just 3-9 (0-8 in the SEC) in 2013. The Razorbacks, like Texas, were a terrific defensive team this season. While playing in the loaded SEC West, Arkansas managed to only give up 20.3 points per game, which is 15th best in the country, and the team played eight Top 25 teams (2-6), including four in a row to end the season.
"We are very excited to play in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl against a former Southwest Conference rival," Coach Bielema said. "We are looking forward to honoring the tradition of Razorbacks before us and putting on a great show in an outstanding venue against a prominent opponent."
The Razorbacks running game ranks 28th in the country at 220.3 yards per game. Junior Jonathan Williams has carried the ball 188 times for 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns while sophomore Alex Collins has 1,024 yards and 12 touchdowns on 187 attempts. The Razorbacks are also led by junior quarterback Brandon Allen, who has 2,125 passing yards this season to go along with 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
This will be the Razorbacks' 40th bowl appearance in school history, which is the 14th most in college football history, and they are 13-23-3 in their previous 39 appearances. The Razorbacks also defeated Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl and are 9-15 under Bielema.
About the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, and managed locally by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. The bowl will showcase teams from the Big 12 and the SEC, two of the country's premier conferences, for the next six years. The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success both on and off the field over its first eight years. The bowl has generated an average of $30 million per year for the Houston economy and has donated over $700,000 and over $13 million in promotional support and publicity to DePelchin Children's Center, the bowl's official charitable beneficiary.
ESPN Events
ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes two Labor Day weekend college football games; 11 college bowl games and eight college basketball events, which accounts for approximately 200 hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over a half a million attendees each year. With satellite offices in Boca Raton, Boise, Birmingham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.
ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.
Collegiate Football
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Orlando, Fla.) and Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Collegiate Basketball
Armed Forces Classic (U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, PR); DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men's & Women's Basketball Classics Presented by Corona (New York City & Notre Dame, Ind.); Orlando Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan, PR) and State Farm Champions Classic (Indianapolis)
