FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2013
LSU, IOWA TO SQUARE-OFF IN OUTBACK BOWL
Tampa, FL— The LSU Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes will square-off in the Outback Bowl on January 1st in Tampa, bowl officials announced today. The Tigers are 9-3 and ranked No. 14 in the AP and USA Today Polls while the Hawkeyes are 8-4. It will be only the second time these teams have played in 120 seasons of their football history, and the first time in the past twenty-five years LSU has played in the Outback Bowl.
“We are thrilled to extend an invitation to LSU and the University of Iowa to play in this year’s Outback Bowl,” said Outback Bowl Chairman Ken Hoverman. “We feel these two teams will continue our reputation of putting on an exciting show on New Year’s Day. We look forward to hosting the Tigers and Hawkeyes teams and their fans, and ensure them they will have a fabulous experience in the Tampa Bay area.”
“We are looking forward to playing in the Outback Bowl, one of the premier bowl games in college football each year,” said LSU Head Coach Les Miles. “The Outback Bowl has a rich history and it’s played in a great city in a tremendous venue and I know that our players and fans will be excited about the opportunity to play on New Year’s Day against a very successful Big Ten program like Iowa. I have great respect for Kirk Ferentz and the program that he’s built at Iowa. They have enjoyed a lot of success in the Big Ten for over an extended period of time and we are excited about the chance to play them.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring the LSU football program and our tremendous fan base to Tampa for the Outback Bowl,” adds LSU Vice-Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva. “By winning nine games and being ranked No. 14 in the nation, Coach Miles and his team deserve the chance to be able to play in this prestigious New Year’s Day bowl. We are looking forward to bringing the great LSU fans to Tampa for a week to enjoy the Outback Bowl experience.”
“Our entire football program is excited for this opportunity to compete against LSU in the 2014 Outback Bowl,” noted Hawkeye Head Coach Kirk Ferentz. “This is one of the great bowl events of the postseason, we are extremely pleased to travel to Tampa to represent the University of Iowa and the Big Ten Conference.”
“We are honored and proud to accept the invitation to participate in the 2014 Outback Bowl against LSU,” added Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta. “Kirk, his staff, and his team have worked extremely hard since the end of last season, and have been playing great football all year…especially down the stretch. Our team looks forward to returning to the Tampa area, and I know Hawkeye fans are excited to follow our team and get back to the Outback Bowl.”
This will be only the second time LSU has played in this bowl, their last appearance being in the 1989 game when it was called the Hall of Fame Bowl. Iowa last played in the Outback Bowl in 2008 and will be enjoying their fourth appearance in Tampa.
The Outback Bowl will be played on January 1st at 1:00 PM at Raymond James Stadium. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844 or 1-800-745-3000 and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet in the state of Florida.
For information on limited priority seating through an Outback Bowl Membership package call the Outback Bowl office directly at (813) 874-BOWL or go to the bowl web site at www.outbackbowl.com for details.
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