News

After three straight Saturday games, the Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard is moving to a new day and time as ESPN announced that the 2003 Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard will be played on Monday, December 29 at 8 p.m. CST. The time slot, usually held by Monday Night Football, opened when ABC opted to televise the NFL?s season opener on Thursday, September 4 rather than the last regular season game. As a result, ESPN will televise the Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard unopposed from any other college football bowl game. ?The chance to play during the Monday Night Football window is a great opportunity for the Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard to reach the widest audience,? said Derrick Fox, Alamo Bowl Executive Director. ?The Monday kickoff should also work well for people traveling to the game since Christmas falls on a Thursday this year and they can spend the weekend in San Antonio.? ?After earning ESPN?s top college football rating last year, we are pleased to be televising the Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard in a Monday night time slot,? said Dave Brown, ESPN Director of Programming and Acquisitions. ?The Alamo Bowl consistently puts together a great match-up between Big Ten and Big 12 teams that also is popular with our viewers.? While the 2003 Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard will be the first Monday game in bowl history, this is the fourth time the game will be played on December 29 along with 1996, 1998 and 2001 contests. In the 2001 game, a soldout out crowd of 65,232 watched Iowa kick a last minute field goal to beat Texas Tech 19-16. The 2002 Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard was played on Saturday, December 28 when Wisconsin beat Colorado 31-28 in overtime. The game earned a 4.4 rating, ESPN?s highest college football rating of 2002 and was their seventh highest most-watched bowl game in history. ?Last year?s exciting overtime game was a great way to cap off the Alamo Bowl?s Tenth Anniversary,? said Pat Frost, 2003 Chairman of the Alamo Bowl. ?With a great game date, we are looking forward to the 2003 Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard kicking off another great decade of memorable moments for our ticket buyers, sponsors and the participating team?s fans as well as delivering a positive impact to the city of San Antonio.? The 2003 game will be the second year of MasterCard?s four-year presenting sponsorship of the Alamo Bowl. “We were thrilled with the results from the inaugural Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard, and we’re very excited that ESPN has selected the 2003 game for the prime ‘Monday Night’ slot,? said John Stuart, Senior Vice President, Global Sponsorships and Events, MasterCard. ?We’re looking forward to another great college football match-up in San Antonio.? Ticket applications for the 2003 Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard are now available by calling the bowl office at (210) 226-2695. Ticket prices range from $23 to $73. For more information, please call Rick Hill at the Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard at (210) 704-6388 or visit the bowl?s website at alamobowl.com courtesy of SBC. The official Alamo Bowl presented by MasterCard logo can be downloaded at https://www.alamobowl.com/logoreq2.asp.