South Alabama accepts invitation to 2014 Raycom Camellia Bowl
Wednesday afternoon in the John Counts Room at the Michell Center the University of South Alabama had another monumental moment in Jaguar Football History when they formally accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural Raycom Camellia Bowl on Saturday, December 20 in Montgomery, AL at 8:15pm CST.
The Jaguars will make their first-ever bowl appearance in only their sixth season of football overall and only their second season as a full FBS member with eligibility to play in a post-season game.
Additionally they earned their first bowl invitation faster than any other program in history breaking the record held by former Sun Belt member Florida Atlantic who accomplished the feat in seven seasons, third season as a FBS member.
Executive director of the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Johnny Williams, invitation was accepted by USA president Dr. Tony Waldrop with Athletic Director Dr. Joel Erdmann, head coach Joey Jones, SGA president Danielle Watson, fans, supporters and a host of Jaguar players.
“We’re extremely excited that South Alabama will play the first bowl game in school history at the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl,” Williams said. “This is a historic moment being the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl’s first game and the University of South Alabama first bowl appearance.”
“Certainly on behalf of the board of trustees, the faculty, staff and students, all of the athletic department staff, but more importantly, on behalf of the coaches and players, we enthusiastically are honored to be part of the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl,” Waldrop stated. “The importance of this bowl game is great, obviously for the football team and all the fans, but it’s also great for the student life here. What an accomplishment: after just six years of having a football program, we’re going to a bowl game.”
“I want to thank ESPN and the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl for inviting us to be in their bowl game; we are certainly excited about that,” said Jones. “I know it will be a great event for both teams — we’re looking forward to participating in it. Last year, we became bowl eligible, but didn’t quite get in. This year, we became bowl eligible and got in.
Jones cautioned attendees he may get emotional and he needed a moment to compose himself prior to stating: “I’m so proud of our players and the sacrifices they’ve made to have this moment,” he continued. “My heart goes out to them, it’s really all about the players. These guys have four or five years to play and I want to make it as special as I can for them, because these guys have made it special for me. I really appreciate what they’ve done to get us here.”
Purchase your tickets through the USA Ticket Office!
Purchasing tickets through USA will reflect how well South Alabama sells tickets and subsequently will factor into future invitations to bowl games. The more tickets we sell and the more we travel for games the more likely we are to earn invitations in the future. It could also mean larger, more prominent bowl games could consider inviting South Alabama in the future.
Tickets for the game cost $25 per person. Jaguar Athletic Fund donors and USA Season Ticket holders will have an exclusive time-frame for purchases beginning at 8am Thursday morning through the end of the day on Monday. On Tuesday sales will begin for the general public should tickets still be available. Seating locations will be determined by JAG priority points and purchashers will be notified when tickets are available for pickup.
“Being offered the opportunity to participate in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl is indescribably exciting and tremendously rewarding,” Erdmann said. “It’s an incredible reflection on the hard work and commitment of so many people involved in the process of South Alabama football, specifically head coach Joey Jones, our student-athletes, coaching and support staff who have fought hard and prepared so well in getting us to this point.
“We are all one team, we are all one family, we represent this university and our community,” he added. “The team and the coaches have a certain role; that’s to practice, to compete and to win. We, the ones not on the team, have a different role, and that’s to support them and drive that engine. We need to be able to go to Montgomery and represent ourselves to the best of our ability.
“As we anticipated this, we sat down and came up with a rallying cry. Our battle cry is ‘Mission: Montgomery.’ Mission: Montgomery has three basic goals: buy tickets, travel to Montgomery and rally around the team.”
Current students with a valid ID will be able to get tickets for the game at no cost. The University has pledged to purchase 1,000 tickets for students and promised to purchase more, if available, if needed. They also pledged to have 20 buses for student transportation to and from the game in Montgomery.
The Jags will play a team from the Mid Atlantic Conference which should be announced later this week or over the weekend. Speculation on candidates is that it could be Northern Illinois or Toledo.
Isn’t it a great time to be a JAGUAR!?!