Texas Tech Accepts galleryfurniture.com Bowl Bid
December 03, 2000 | Football
Dec. 3, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - After weeks of anticipation, the Texas Tech football team learned on Sunday where it will be going bowling during the holiday season.
The Red Raiders will travel to Houston to face the East Carolina Pirates at the Astrodome in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl on Wed., Dec. 27. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The bowl payout is $750,000 per team.
Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers officially accepted the invitation to the galleryfurniture.com Bowl on Sunday.
"We're extremely excited about the opportunity to play in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl," Myers said. "The ability to play close to home and against a quality opponent presents a great reward for our football program. The players, coaches and staff have worked hard all year long and deserve this. This also gives our great fans an opportunity to watch the Red Raiders play in a postseason bowl. We would like to thank the galleryfurniture.com Bowl committee for selecting Texas Tech and giving us the opportunity to showcase Red Raider football in a postseason event."
Texas Tech first-year head coach Mike Leach expressed his excitement about playing in the inaugural game of the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in a press conference held Sunday evening at Texas Tech's athletic offices.
"We're very excited about the opportunity to play in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl against a great opponent like East Carolina," Leach said. "This football team is deserving of a bowl bid and we're extremely excited about the invitation. I'm also happy for our seniors to finish their collegiate careers in a bowl game. This is a deserving reward for all their hard work and dedication to the program.
"It also is great to play a bowl game in our home state," Leach added. "We have a tremendous following of loyal and faithful fans and an alumni base of 30,000 or more in the Houston area to draw from. We are truly excited about this opportunity."
Sunday's selection of Texas Tech and East Carolina for the galleryfurniture.com Bowl marks the sixth bowl appearance for Texas Tech since the 1993 season. The Red Raiders have been bowl eligible for the past eight seasons, but didn't participate in 1997 and 1999. Tech's trip this season also marks only the second time in school history a first-year head coach has taken a team to a postseason bowl (Jim Carlen, 1970 Sun Bowl).
Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury said that watching the bowl picture unfold on Saturday and Sunday increased his anticipation of the Red Raiders' chance to play in the postseason.
"We're excited to be playing ECU in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl," Kingsbury said. "It's going to be fun staying in Texas with the fan base we have in Houston. We've improved all season long and this is a good way to cap the season for us."
Texas Tech became bowl eligible with its 58-0 win against Oklahoma State on Oct. 28 in Lubbock. The win gave the Red Raiders the seven wins needed to compete in a postseason contest. Tech had to win seven games due to the team's 12-game schedule this season.
Tickets for the 2000 galleryfurniture.com Bowl go on sale Mon., Dec. 4. The Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office will open at 8:30 a.m. and remain open until 5 p.m. Texas Tech has a ticket allotment of 9,000.
The ticket office is providing five different avenues in which to purchase tickets:
1) By Phone - Texas Tech fans can contact the Athletic Ticket Office by phone at (888) GO-BIG-12 or (806) 742-TECH. Tickets orders also will be available through the Lubbock Red Raider Club (877) 554-3850, Dallas Red Raider Club (214) 630-8324, Houston Red Raider Club (713) 467-5100.
2) By Fax - (806) 742-1327 at the Athletic Ticket Office.
3) By Internet - Order tickets on-line at www.texastech.com.
4) By Mail - Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office, P.O. Box 43031, Lubbock, TX 79409
5) In Person - The Texas Tech Athletic Ticket Office will operate Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (CT).
Tickets for the 2000 galleryfurniture.com Bowl are $40.