GMAC Bowl

Dec 19th, 2001

11/14/01
By JOHN CAMERON
Assistant Managing Editor Sports
Mobile Register

It looks like the Marshall Thundering Herd, champion of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference, will be leading the parade of bowl participants to Mobile next month that includes Mike Ditka, Bobby Bowden and Dale Brown.


The week-long festival of sporting events was made official Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at which "Bowldog," the new mascot of the GMAC Bowl, was introduced to the public for the first time.

"Bowldog will be used nationally to advertise the game and locally to represent the game at events throughout the community," said bowl president Jerry Silverstein.

Marshall (8-1) is expected to be extended a bid to the third annual bowl on Dec. 19 following the Herd's game Saturday against Ohio University. Marshall, ranked No. 24, has not lost since the opener against No. 3 Florida.

The opposition in the Mobile bowl will be the loser of the East Carolina-Louisville game Thursday night as the GMAC Bowl gets the second pick out of Conference USA to go against the first pick out of the MAC. Louisville, ranked 19th, is 9-1 and fresh from a 34-10 win over Houston and East Carolina is 6-3 and is unbeaten in C-USA after a 28-26 win over Cincinnati.

Marshall, which won its fifth consecutive division title Saturday with a 27-21 win over Miami (Ohio), has been the darling of the bowls since moving from Division I-AA to Division I-A in 1997 with tremendous fan following for its postseason games.

MAC commissioner Rick Chryst, who was at Tuesday's press conference, would not go on record as predicting how many fans would follow the Herd from Huntington, W.Va., to the Alabama Gulf Coast. "However, my best guess is that the minimum they would bring to Mobile would be from 10,000 to 15,000," he said.

Silverstein predicts the young postseason game will enjoy its second consecutive sellout. More than 40,000 fans and a record ESPN2 national audience watched Southern Miss edge TCU, 28-21, last December.

The Saturn Blimp will make its first-ever appearance at the GMAC Bowl and a large Jumbotron will again be set up at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Mike Gottfried, ESPN college football analyst and bowl founder, announced Tuesday that very few tickets remain for some bowl events, including the ALLTEL Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast on Dec. 17 that features Bobby Bowden, the famed Florida State football coach.

"Bowden, of course, will eventually break Bear Bryant's record for most college wins," Gottfried said.

Another event that is expected to create more demand for tickets than the supply available is the Dec. 18 GMAC Bowl Mayor's Luncheon which will feature Mike Ditka, Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end and former coach of the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints. Ditka, of course, coached the 1985 Bears to a Super Bowl championship.