DALLAS — Following the cancellation of the Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl, UTSA has accepted an invitation to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26, against an opponent to be announced in the coming days. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.
The invitation to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl comes after SMU was unable to play the Roadrunners in the Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl on Dec. 19 due to COVID-19 protocols now in effect within its program.
"We are very grateful to ESPN Events, the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl and Conference USA for coordinating another bowl game opportunity for us on short notice," UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos said. "We're very excited that Coach Traylor, his staff and our student-athletes will get to represent our wonderful university and city on national television. I also want to thank the Frisco Bowl staff for all of their hard work in planning for that game in a very short timeframe. We hope we will get to experience one of their bowl games in the future."
This will mark UTSA's first bowl appearance since the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 17, 2016, in Albuquerque. The Roadrunners, who matched an NCAA modern startup program record by playing in a bowl game in just their sixth season, dropped a 23-20 decision to New Mexico in their inaugural bowl appearance four years ago.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Traylor, the Roadrunners have posted a 7-4 overall record in 2020. UTSA finished second in Conference USA's West Division with a 5-2 mark (.714), percentage points behind UAB, which beat Rice 21-16 on Dec. 12 to close out a 3-1 (.750) league ledger. The Roadrunners' five conference wins are the most by any C-USA team this fall and their seven overall victories are tied for the most in the league along with East Division champion Marshall (7-1).
"What an awesome opportunity this will be for our program to play on network TV in the First Responder Bowl," Traylor said. "I said this two days ago and I will say it again: I'm just so thrilled for our players, coaches and staff to be playing in a bowl game. We can't wait to get up to the Metroplex and showcase the #210TriangleOfToughness brand on a national stage."
UTSA has posted its most wins and best conference record since the 2013 team went 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the league. The Roadrunners are riding a three-game winning streak, including a 49-17 home triumph over North Texas in their last outing on Nov. 28, and they are one victory shy of matching the program standard for wins set by the 2012 squad that went 8-4.
Please visit https://www.firstresponderbowl.com/ticket for the latest ticket information for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.
Tickets purchased for the Frisco Bowl will be refunded automatically. Refunds will be processed immediately, but could take up to five business days to receive, depending on banking institution.
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