Panthers Accept Invitation to Insight.com Bowl
12/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Panthers Accept Invitation to Insight.com Bowl
12/3/2000
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh football team, coming off its most successful season in 11 years, has accepted an invitation to play in the 2000 Insight.com Bowl Dec. 28 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, accompanied by Athletic Director Steve Pederson and Head Coach Walt Harris, accepted the invitation from Insight.com Bowl director John Junker at a press conference held this evening at the Panthers' Duratz Athletic Complex. Pittsburgh will face Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference.
"It is a pleasure to have Pittsburgh represent the Big East in our brand new bowl game in Bank One Ballpark," Junker said. "Pittsburgh under Coach Harris and Iowa State under Coach (Dan) McCarney are two of the most exciting turnaround teams in college football, and this game is sure to be a crowd favorite."
"We are thrilled to be able to compete in the first-ever Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix," said Pederson. "The Fiesta Bowl committee is one of the finest groups in all of sports and I am excited that our team will get to experience their tremendous hospitality. Coach Harris, his staff and his team have earned the right to play in a major bowl game and I'm glad that we've been invited to the Insight.com Bowl. I also know that our fans are in for a real treat when they travel to Phoenix."
This will mark the first-ever meeting between the Panthers (7-4 overall, 4-3 Big East) and Cyclones, who finished with an 8-3 record (5-3 Big 12). The game, which will be nationally televised by ESPN, will kick off at 7:15 p.m.
The Panthers last earned a postseason berth in 1997 when they advanced to the Liberty Bowl. Pittsburgh has played in 19 bowl games in its history and is 8-11 in postseason play.
The 2000 Insight.com Bowl will become the first football game ever played at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. (The game was previously played in Tucson.) The home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bank One Ballpark will be reconfigured to make it football friendly for the fans, with seats added along the playing field, bringing the special seating capacity to 50,000.
This will mark Pittsburgh's first game in the state of Arizona since Jan. 2, 1984, when it played Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Tickets for the Insight.com Bowl cost $48 and may be purchased by calling the Panthers' ticket office at (800) 643-PITT or (412) 648-PITT. Fans interested in travel packages can contact Navigant International/Forbes Travel by calling (412) 521-7300 or 521-7800. University of Pittsburgh students can call the Pitt Program Council at (412) 648-7900.