Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Accepts Motor City Bowl Invitation
12/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2003
Motor City Bowl Ticket Application Form
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University Director of Athletics Mark Murphy and Motor City Bowl Executive Director Ken Hoffman have announced that the University has accepted a bid to play in the Motor City Bowl, Friday, Dec. 26 in Detroit. The Motor City Bowl is presented by Daimler Chrysler, Ford and General Motors and is played indoors at beautiful Ford Field, the new home of the Detroit Lions.
The Wildcats (6-6) will play Bowling Green (10-3), the Mid-American Conference representative, in the seventh annual event, which kicks off at 5 p.m. EST. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
"We're extremely excited about this opportunity to take our young football team to the Motor City Bowl and face an outstanding Bowling Green team," said Murphy. "Randy Walker and his staff are to be commended for their job this season and this is a worthy reward for our football program.
"This bowl will be attractive to our fans in the Chicagoland area and around the Midwest who can travel to Detroit the day after Christmas and support the Wildcats."
Northwestern gained its bowl berth when Ohio State accepted a BCS spot in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. That created a vacancy in the Motor City Bowl. The Big Ten, which has seven bowl tie-in games, is sending a league-record eight schools to postseason games this year.
Northwestern fans are urged to purchase their tickets through the Northwestern Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased beginning at noon Monday (Dec. 8). Telephone orders will not be taken, but tickets can be purchased online at NUsports.com, in person at the ticket office or by mailing in an application, which can be found on the Northwestern web site.
For the second consecutive year, the Motor City Bowl pits the Big Ten's number-seven team against the MAC's number-one or number-two team. This, however, is the first year that a Big Ten team has earned a berth to the Motor City Bowl. Last year, Boston College filled the Big Ten slot and defeated Toledo in the bowl game.
Northwestern played one of the country's most challenging schedules, facing eight bowl-eligible teams. Seven of those teams are playing in postseason games. Northwestern went 2-5 versus its bowl opponents.
This is Northwestern's fourth bowl appearance since 1995, and its fifth overall. The Wildcats last went to a postseason game in 2000, when they won a share of the Big Ten title and played Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl.
