CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Connecticut accepted a bid Tuesday to
play in the Meineke Bowl on Dec. 29 against an Atlantic Coast
Conference team.
The Huskies were selected over Cincinnati as the Big East's
representative for the game, which will be played at Bank of
America Stadium.
The ACC team is not expected to be named until after Saturday's
conference championship game. Wake Forest and Maryland are the
leading contenders.
The Huskies are coming off their best season since moving up to
the highest level of college football six years ago. UConn (9-3,
5-2 Big East) was in the hunt to win the conference title and
capture the league's Bowl Championship Series berth until
Saturday's 66-21 loss at West Virginia in its regular-season
finale.
"I'm glad that they looked at our total body of work and not
just one half of one game," UConn coach Randy Edsall said.
It will be Connecticut's second bowl appearance. The Huskies
beat Toledo 39-10 in the 2004 Motor City Bowl.
"We were almost picked to play in Charlotte in 2004 and 2005
and I am excited that we will have this opportunity in 2007,"
Edsall said. "This game will be an ideal way to cap off an
exciting season of firsts here at UConn."
UConn beat out Cincinnati for the berth despite the Bearcats'
27-3 win on Nov. 10, one of two losses in its final three games for
Connecticut.
"We were able to secure the second-place team in the Big East
Conference, which is a great achievement for UConn and for the
bowl," said Will Webb, the bowl's executive director. "The Huskies' fans also have a proven history of supporting their
athletic teams.''
The Meineke Bowl, played at the Carolina Panthers' 73,000-seat
stadium, is in its sixth year. It has included a Big East team
every year until last season, when it cut a one-year deal to select
Navy.
The ACC's Boston College beat the Midshipmen 25-24 on Steve
Aponavicius' 37-yard field goal on the final play.
In previous years, the bowl, run by Raycom Sports, has tried to
secure a team with a local following, making Wake Forest an
attractive option to be UConn's opponent. North Carolina and North
Carolina State have played in the game in the past.