91³Ô¹ÏÍø

There will be a campuswide celebration of 91³Ô¹ÏÍø’s milestone move into the BIG EAST conference at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 19, in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons.

Joining the BIG EAST is a significant accomplishment for all of us, building on 91³Ô¹ÏÍø’s national rise in athletic competition and as a leading institution in academic instruction and research.

Our unbridled momentum reflects the re-emergence of our successful football program under the leadership of Athletics Director Steve Orsini, June Jones and other coaches, our student-athletes and our loyal fans and supporters. After a 25-year drought, Coach Jones has led the Mustangs to three consecutive bowl games, beginning with the Hawaii Bowl, last year’s Armed Forces Bowl and now the BBVA Compass Bowl against Pitt on January 7 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ticket information for the BBVA Compass Bowl, including travel packages and event information, is available at . The game is also notable as a rematch of the 1983 Cotton Bowl, when the Mustangs defeated Dan Marino’s Panthers and sealed 91³Ô¹ÏÍø’s No. 2 national ranking for the season.

The announcement that 91³Ô¹ÏÍø will move into an automatic qualifying BCS conference in 2013 is also good for our community. As Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings wrote this fall in The Dallas Morning News, “ 91³Ô¹ÏÍø’s goal is important for Dallas and the region — even for those who don’t consider themselves football fans. For people like me who love football, this is a no-brainer. For others, the idea that we will become a smarter, richer and more fun city should be your motivation.”

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