Dec 03, 2006

Champs Sports Bowl Slate Complete with Addition of Maryland

The University of Maryland Terrapins have been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference’s representative in the 2006 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, bowl officials announced today. The Terrapins were chosen by Florida Citrus Sports’ Bowl Selection Committee and will face Purdue on Friday, Dec. 29th. The game will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST and will be televised nationally by ESPN.

Maryland returns to bowl play after a two-year absence from the postseason. The Terrapins had three-straight 10-plus win seasons in Ralph Friedgen’s first three years as a head coach and were able to post an 8-4 record (5-3 ACC) this season, winning five-straight at one point. The Terrapins became the first team in 21 years to defeat Florida State and Miami in the same season and all four of their losses were to Top 25 competition (West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forest).

This will be Maryland’s first-ever appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl. Its last appearance in Orlando came in the 1983 Florida Citrus Bowl, a 30-23 loss to Tennessee which was one of two Terrapin showings in Orlando (the first was the 1980 Tangerine Bowl).

“The excitement level at Maryland was what set them apart from other schools,” said FCSports Executive Director Steve Hogan.  “We are very happy to have a competitive team like the Terrapins in Orlando to square off with the Purdue Boilermakers and make this year’s Champs Sports Bowl a memorable one.”

The Terrapins and Boilermakers will meet for the first time in the history of the two schools. Purdue (8-5, 5-3 Big Ten) features the nation’s sixth-ranked passing offense.

Head coaches from the two schools will be made available to the media this Wednesday, December 6th, in Orlando. Details on that press event will be sent out on Monday, December 4.

 

Sign Up
for Alerts

Keep up to date with all of the news from the Pop-Tarts Bowl including event information, presale opportunities and more.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.