The Iowa Hawkeyes will be making their third bowl trip to San Antonio as they have been selected as the Big Ten representative for this year’s SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl. Legendary Iowa Head Coach Hayden Fry led the Hawkeyes to the inaugural Builders Square Alamo Bowl in 1993 (a 37-3 loss to California) as well as to the 1996 game when they shutout Texas Tech 27-0 in front of 55,677 fans.
This year’s game will mark Iowa’s 15th bowl appearance in the last 21 years and its first under third-year Head Coach Kirk Ferentz.
“We are looking for the Hawkeyes to bring their high-powered offense and stingy defense along with their devoted fans and outstanding football tradition to this year’s SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl,” said Derrick Fox, Executive Director of the SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl.
Fox will be available at the Alamodome today until 4: 30p.m. for phone or in-person interviews. Please call (210) 226-2695 to schedule a convenient time.
Iowa (6-5) led the Big Ten Conference in scoring offense as they averaged 33.8 points a game. The Hawkeyes offense is led by three seniors: running back Ladell Betts, wide receiver/kick return specialist Kahlil Hill and quarterback Kyle McCann.
Betts averaged 4.8 yards a carry on his way to 1,056 yards rushing on the season, while Hill caught 53 passes for 792 yards and eight touchdowns. McCann led with the Big Ten in pass efficiency as he completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,867 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The Iowa defense held opponents to 22 points a game and ranked second in the conference in total and rush defense and third in pass defense. Sophomore defensive back Bob Sanders, junior linebacker Fred Barr and senior end Aaron Kampman paced the defense with 111, 109 and 91 tackles, respectively.
The Hawkeyes six wins were against Penn State, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, Miami (Ohio) and Kent, while their losses were to Michigan, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Iowa State. All five losses were by single digits.
Iowa’s Big 12 opponent is yet to be determined. The SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl will pick its Big 12 team after the BCS, the SBC Cotton Bowl and the Culligan Holiday Bowl. The 2001 SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl will be played on Saturday, December 29 at 2:30 p.m. CST in San Antonio’s 65,000-seat Alamodome and televised on ESPN.
This year’s game will be the bowl’s first afternoon start in its eight-year history. Tickets are available through TicketMaster via the website at ticketmaster.com or by phone at (210) 224-9600. For more information, please call Rick Hill at the SYLVANIA Alamo Bowl at (210) 704-6388 or visit the bowl’s website at alamobowl.com