November 29, 2006
The Texas A&M football team has accepted an invitation from the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl to play the California Golden Bears in the 29th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. The game will be played on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. central at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, and will be televised by ESPN.
"This season has been all about the young men who play for Texas A&M and the players are very excited about the opportunity to play in the Holiday Bowl," Aggie Head Football Coach Dennis Franchione said. "The majority of our guys have never been to California so they are thrilled. I know the California Golden Bears will be a great challenge and we look forward to the hospitality of the good folks in San Diego. Having coached in the WAC, I know that area is terrific and I have always wanted to coach in the Holiday Bowl."
Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne has been a part of the Holiday Bowl tradition once before.
"Texas A&M University is very excited about playing in the Holiday Bowl," Byrne said. "I have been a part of the Holiday Bowl experience before and the Red Coats do a great job. This is a great reward for the players who have worked so hard. I know the 12th Man will be in the stands at Qualcomm Stadium."
Texas A&M has finished the regular season with a 9-3 overall mark and posted a 5-3 record in the Big 12 Conference. Texas A&M, currently ranked #22 in the Associated Press poll and #24 in the USA Today poll, defeated Texas last week in Austin by a 12-to-7 margin.
In addition to this being the 29th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, it will mark the 29th bowl game for Texas A&M. A&M is 13-15 overall in bowl games. This marks the 16th bowl game for the Aggies since the 1985 season.
This will mark the Aggies' second appearance in the Holiday Bowl as A&M set a bowl record with a 65-14 victory over BYU in 1990.
The two schools have met twice before with each squad winning on the foe's home turf in close hard-fought games. Texas A&M beat California in Berkeley, 29-28, in 1981 and the Golden Bears edged the Aggies, 19-17, to open the 1983 season at Kyle Field. Making that last matchup even more memorable was the contest marked the debut of the 12th Man Kickoff team for Texas A&M.
Aggie fans can get ticket information from Texas A&M by going to AggieAthletics.com or 12thmanfoundation.com. More information will be released as it becomes available.