MEDIA GUIDE 2018: FIU (8-4) VS. TOLEDO (7-5) Week 1: Aug. 29 - Sept. 4 2018 MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL - DECEMBER 21, 2018 - 12:30PM ET - 2018 MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL -- FIU VS. TOLEDO 2018 MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL: The 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl features FIU (8-4) from Conference USA and Toledo (7-5) from the Mid-American Conference. The game will be played Friday, Dec. 21 (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 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Radio Network (Kyle Wiggs - play by play; color analyst Rob Best). TICKETS: Tickets to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl are $50 through the ticket departments of the two participating institutions. Local tickets for the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl are available through the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium box offi ce. 2018 MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL QUICK FACTS/DIRECTORY 2018 Matchup: .................................................................................FIU (Conference USA; visitor) vs. Toledo (Mid-American Conference; home) 2017 Date, Kickoff, Television: ........................................................................................................ Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, 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]) Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Communications Offi ce: .............................................................Atlantis Convention Center (Minos/Neptune) 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: .........................................................................................................................................................MakersWantedBahamasBowl.com 2017 Bahamas Bowl Result: .................................................................................................Ohio 41, UAB 6 (Dec. 22, 2017; Attendance: 13,585) 2017 Offensive Player of the Game: ....................................................................................................................................Ohio RB Dorian Brown 2017 Defensive Player of the Game: ........................................................................................................................................Ohio S Javon Hagan INSTITUTION COMMUNICATIONS CONTACTS: FIU Sports Information Director: ..................................................Tyson Rodgers (O: 305-348-3164; C: 662-418-2982; tyson.rodgers@fi u.edu) Toledo Associate AD for Communications: ................................Paul Helgren (O: 419-530-4918; C: 419-262-3861; [email protected]) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1: ...................................... Table of Contents/Directory/Quick Facts Page 32: ..................................................................................... Honor Roll Page 2:...........................2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Storylines Pages 33-34: ...............................Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium Page 3: ...................................................................................ESPN Events Page 35: ..............................................................TARNS Stadium Campus Pages 4-7: ............................................Makers Wanted/Elk Grove Village Page 36: ........................................................Giving Back to the Bahamas Page 8: ................................................................................. The Bahamas Pages 37-38: ..................................................................ESPN Announcers Page 9: .................................................................Nassau/Paradise Island Page 39:................................... Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Overview Pages 10-12: .................................................................Media Information Page 40: .............................................................FIU/Toledo Depth Charts Page 13: .............................................................................Media Schedule Page 41: .........................FIU Administration/Coaching Staff/Key Players Page 14: ...................Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl Schedule of Events Page 42: ......................FIU Numerical Roster/Prounciations/Quick Facts Page 15: ..........................................................Helpful Hints for the Media Pages 43-49: ...............................................................FIU 2018 Statistics Page 16: ......................................................................... Driving Directions Page 50: ...................Toledo Administration/Coaching Staff/Key Players Page 17: ................................................................2018-19 Bowl Schedule Page 51: ............... Toledo Numerical Roster/Pronunciations/Quick Facts Page 18: ................................Game Entertainment/Honorary Ambassaor Pages 52-58: ..........................................................Toledo 2017 Statistics Pages 19-26 ............................................................................Record Book Pages 59-63: ..........................................Conference USA Bowl Notebook Page 27: ..................................................Bowl Miscellaneous Information Pages 64-68: .............................................................MAC Bowl Notebook Pages 28-31: ....................................................2014-17 Game Summaries MakersWantedBahamasBowl.com @BahamasBowl @TheBahamasBowl Page 2 MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL STORYLINES 2018 MATCHUP was electric in the punt return game after averaging a league-best 13.6 yards For the fi fth consecutive year, the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl features a per return. FIU also earned an individual award as junior quarterback James Conference USA vs. Mid-American matchup as the FIU Panthers (8-4, 6-2 C- Morgan was the league’s Newcomer of the Year. USA) takes on the Toledo Rockets (7-5, 5-3 MAC). The Makers Wanted Baha- mas Bowl series is tied 2-2, as WKU (C-USA) won the 2014 title with a thrill- Toledo earned 10 All-MAC selections, including three fi rst-team nods, two ing 49-48 victory over Central Michigan, Western Michigan (MAC) captured second-team honors and four third-team selections. Rockets junior wide re- the 2015 bowl with a 45-31 victory over Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion ceiver Diontae Johnson was one of eight to earn all-conference honors and, held off Eastern Michigan 24-20 in the 2016 game and Ohio beat UAB 41-6 for the second straight season, he did so at three different positions: wide last year. This is the third time that FIU and Toledo have met, and the second receiver (fi rst-team), punt returner (fi rst-team), and kickoff returner (second- time in a bowl game. FIU leads the all-time series 2-1, with the last meeting team). Senior wide receiver Cody Thompson was also named a fi rst-team coming in the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit, a game FIU won 34- selection. Toledo also earned an individual award as Johnson was the MAC 32 in the Panthers’ fi rst-ever bowl appearance. Special Teams Player of the Year. NEW TITLE SPONSOR - MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS STATE OF MIND Elk Grove Village, Illinois, using its business slogan – Makers Wanted – FIU is the fi rst team from the state of Florida to play in the Makers Wanted was announced July 31 as the title sponsor of the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bahamas Bowl. FIU (Florida) represents the fi fth state from C-USA joining Bowl. The tagline Makers Wanted is Elk Grove Village’s slogan and serves UAB (Alabama), WKU (Kentucky), Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion (Vir- a call-to-action for a thriving community and the thousands of businesses ginia). For the MAC, Toledo is the second-straight team from Ohio to partici- based there. It is home to the largest contiguous industrial park in the United pate in the bowl (Ohio, 2017). In the fi rst three years, teams from the state States, featuring six square miles and 62 million square feet of inventory. of Michigan (Central Michigan, Western Michigan