Bahamas Bowl Media Guide (PDF)
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2017 MEDIA GUIDE UAB (8-4) VS. OHIO (8-4) Week 1: Aug. 29 - Sept. 4 2017 Bahamas Bowl December 22, 2017; 12:30pm ET 2017 BAHAMAS BOWL -- UAB VS. OHIO 2017 BAHAMAS BOWL: The 2017 Bahamas Bowl features UAB (8-4) from Conference USA and Ohio (8-4) from the Mid-American Conference. The game will be played Friday, December 22 (12:30 p.m. ET) in Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (15,000). The game will be televised on ESPN (Steve Levy - play by play; analyst Desmond Howard; sideline reporter Laura Rutledge) and carried on the Bahamas Bowl Radio Network (Kyle Wiggs - play by play; color analyst Rob Best). TICKETS: Tickets to the Bahamas Bowl are $50 through the ticket departments of the two participating institutions. Local tickets for the Bahamas Bowl are available through the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium box offi ce. 2017 BAHAMAS BOWL QUICK FACTS/DIRECTORY 2017 Matchup: ....................................................................................UAB (Conference USA; visitor) vs. Ohio (Mid-American Conference; home) 2017 Date, Kickoff, Television: ...............................................................................................Friday, December 22, 2017, 12:30 p.m. EST, ESPN Stadium (Capacity, Surface): .........................................................Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (15,000, Celebration Bermudagrass) Executive Director: ....................................................................................................................... Richard Giannini ([email protected]) Director of Sales & Marketing: ..........................................................................................Lea Miller Tooley ([email protected]) Director of Communications: .......................................................................Chris Pika (678-908-4853 - US cell, [email protected]) Bahamas Bowl Communications Offi ce/Phone: ....................................................Atlantis Convention Center (Minos/Neptune)/242-445-1724 Director of Game Operations: ............................................................................................................................Tom Snyder ([email protected]) Events Coordinator: ................................................................................................................................Max Berglass ([email protected]) Events Assistant: ...................................................................................................................... Mitch Newell ([email protected]) Address, City, State: ........................................................................................................................ 11001 Rushmore Drive; Charlotte, NC 28277 Telephone: .......................................................................................................................................................................................704-973-5050 Web Site: ................................................................................................................................................................................. BahamasBowl.com 2016 Bahamas Bowl Result: ...........................................................Old Dominion 24, Eastern Michigan 20 (Dec. 23, 2017; Attendance: 13,422) 2015 Offensive Player of the Game: .......................................................................................................................... Old Dominion RB Ray Lawry 2015 Defensive Player of the Game: ...............................................................................................................................Old Dominion LB TJ Ricks INSTITUTION COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS: UAB Associate AD/Communications: ..........................................................Ted Feeley (O: 205-934-0730; C: 205-704-4147; [email protected]) Ohio Assistant AD/Media Relations: ...........................................Anthony Reynolds (O: 740-593-1298; C: 870-530-4499; [email protected]) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1: ...................................... Table of Contents/Directory/Quick Facts Pages 28-29: ...............................Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium Page 2: .....................................................2017 Bahamas Bowl Storylines Page 30: .............................................................TARNS Stadium Campus Page 3: ...................................................................................ESPN Events Page 31: ....................Giving Back to the Bahamas/Game Entertainment Page 4: ................................................................................. The Bahamas Pages 32-33: ..................................................................ESPN Announcers Page 5:..................................................................Nassau/Paradise Island Page 34: .....................................................................2017 Game Preview Pages 6-8: ....................................................................Media Information Page 35: ..............................................................Bahamas Bowl Overview Page 9: ..............................................................................Media Schedule Page 36: .............................................................. UAB/Ohio Depth Charts Page 10: ..............................................Bahamas Bowl Schedule of Events Page 37: .......................UAB Administration/Coaching Staff/Key Players Page 11: ............................................................Helpul Hints for the Media Page 38: .................... UAB Numerical Roster/Prounciations/Quick Facts Page 12: ......................................................................... Driving Directions Pages 39-45: ............................................................. UAB 2017 Statistics Page 13: ................................................................2017-18 Bowl Schedule Page 46: ......................Ohio Administration/Coaching Staff/Key Players Page 14: ................................................................Prime Minister’s Trophy Page 47: ..................Ohio Numerical Roster/Pronunciations/Quick Facts Pages 15-23: .......................................................Record Book/Bowl Firsts Pages 48-54: .............................................................Ohio 2017 Statistics Page 24: .................................................Bowl Miscellaneous Information Pages 55-60: ..........................................Conference USA Bowl Notebook Pages 25-27: ....................................................2014-16 Game Summaries Pages 61-63: ..............................................................MAC Bowl Notebook BahamasBowl.com @TheBahamasBowl Page 2 BAHAMAS BOWL STORYLINES 2017 MATCHUP that span. Head coach Frank Solich, who is in his 13th season at Ohio For the fourth consecutive year, the Bahamas Bowl features a Con- and his 19th as a college head coach overall, has taken Ohio to nine ference USA vs. Mid-American matchup as the UAB Blazers (8-4, 6-2 bowl games. Solich, who also served as the head coach at Nebraska C-USA) takes on the Ohio Bobcats (8-4, 5-3 MAC). C-USA leads the from 1998-2003, is the third-longest tenured coach at his current Bahamas Bowl series 2-1, as WKU (C-USA) won the 2014 title with a school (with two others) in the FBS ranks. thrilling 49-48 victory over Central Michigan, Western Michigan (MAC) captured the 2015 bowl with a 45-31 victory over Middle Tennessee BOBCATS TANDEM LOVES TO RUN and Old Dominion held off Eastern Michigan 24-20 in the 2016 game. The Ohio tandem of RB A.J. Ouellette and QB Nathan Rourke have This is the fi rst time that UAB and Ohio have met in football. combined for 1,682 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Rourke leads the FBS in touchdown runs by a QB (second overall) with a MOST COMBINED VICTORIES (AGAIN) school-record 21, while Ouellette leads the Bobcats in rushing yards The 16 combined victories by UAB (eight) and Ohio (eight) ties for the with 980, and needs 20 yards to become Ohio’s fi rst 1,000-yard rush- most going into the game in Bahamas Bowl history. The bowl had a er since 2012. The Bobcats had a 100-yard rusher in eight of last fi nal combined 16 victories in 2016 - Eastern MIchigan (seven) and Old Do- nine games. minion (nine). The bowl had a combined 14 wins each in the 2014 and 2015 games. Every team that has participated in the Bahamas Bowl NEW STATES OF PLAY has had at least seven victories coming into the game. After three years of teams from the state of Michigan (Central Michi- gan, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan), the Bahamas Bowl BOTH TEAMS LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD MAC representative comes from the state of Ohio in 2017. UAB (Ala- UAB has scored 30 or more points six times in 2017, while Ohio scored bama) represents the fourth state from C-USA, joining WKU (Ken- 40 or more in six games on the way to setting a school record with tucky), Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion (Virginia). 467 points scored. In the fi rst three years of the Bahamas Bowl, there have been 217 points scored, tied for fi fth-most (with the Famous THE PRIME MINISTER’S TROPHY Idaho Potato Bowl) among all bowl games played from 2014-16. The Bahamas Bowl renamed its championship trophy to the Prime Minister’s Trophy in 2016, in honor of the highest elected offi ce in #THERETURN the Bahamas. A new championship trophy makes its debut in 2017. UAB is one of the most inspirational stories of the 2017 college foot- Designed