Atlantic Coast Conference to Play in the 2009 GMAC Bowl
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – GMAC Bowl president, Jerry Silverstein announced today that the 2009 GMAC Bowl game will feature a new conference participant, the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 11th Annual GMAC Bowl Game will be held on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. C.S.T. and will feature an ACC team and the first selection from the Mid-American Conference. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN.
“We are very pleased to have the ACC as part of the GMAC Bowl.” said Jerry Silverstein. “We’ve all been working very hard to make this happen and feel it will be a tremendous boost for the bowl game and the city.”
Since 2005 when they became a 12-team conference, the ACC has sent more teams to bowl games than any other conference. Of those 12 teams last year, 10 were bowl eligible. Virginia Tech beat Boston College 30-12 in the 2008 Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game then went on to defeat Cincinnati 20-7 in the January 2009 Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
The 12 ACC teams include Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
“We are very excited that the GMAC Bowl is joining our line-up of post-season bowl partnerships,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “Jerry Silverstein and his staff, in conjunction with the entire City of Mobile, have done a great job of putting on a first-class bowl for many years and we look forward to this opportunity.”
“We’re so pleased that the ACC – an automatic-qualifying BCS conference — thought highly enough of the GMAC Bowl to add it to its football bowl schedule,” said Jim Fleck, GMAC’s director of Global Marketing. “We’re excited about the addition of the ACC since they have so many great schools up and down the coast, from Boston College to the University of Miami. Adding the ACC to the lineup will definitely elevate the Bowl’s stature, as well as viewership. We’re proud to welcome them on board. We look forward to another great game this January.”
“Mid-American Conference student-athletes and our fans have enjoyed a long relationship with the GMAC Bowl and the city of Mobile” said MAC Commissioner, Jon Steinbrecher. “The city and organizing committee provide a first-class environment and the ancillary events make it a festive week in a historic setting.
“This match up marks the first time in history that a MAC school will play a team from the ACC in a bowl game and makes all three of our contracted bowls with a member from the BCS’ automatic qualifying conferences. The opportunity will give our schools another chance to prove themselves against the best competition possible.”
“We appreciate all that everyone associated with the GMAC Bowl has done for the MAC. The MAC is a proud partner with the GMAC Bowl and look forward to this continuing relationship,” said Steinbrecher.
“We have enjoyed a great eight-year relationship during our ten-year agreement with GMAC, and are looking forward to the future. The GMAC Bowl is proud to have earned the reputation of being one of the best post-season bowl games. We are very happy to have received the positive feedback from past bowl teams and the desire of those teams to come back to Mobile. That’s a huge compliment to us and the City of Mobile. We welcome the ACC and the MAC and are looking forward to showing them a great time in Mobile.” says Silverstein.
The MAC has played in eight GMAC Bowls and boasts an impressive 5-3 record (.625), including #14 Miami’s 49-28 victory in 2003 over Louisville in Ben Roethlisberger’s last game quarterbacking the RedHawks. Over the eight-year relationship the MAC has sent six (6) different schools to Mobile – Marshall (2001-02), Bowling Green (2004-08), #12 Ball State (2009), #14 Miami (2003), Ohio (2007), and Toledo (2005). The MAC now faces the ACC, Big Ten (Motor City Bowl) and Big East (International Bowl) in its three contracted bowl appearances.
Ticket prices and availability for the 2009 GMAC Bowl Game will be announced at a later date. For more information, please call the GMAC Bowl at 251-635-0011.
About GMAC Financial Services
GMAC Financial Services is a global, diversified financial services company that operates in approximately 40 countries in automotive finance, real estate finance, insurance and commercial finance businesses. GMAC was established in 1919 and employs approximately 26,700 people worldwide. For more information, go to www.gmacfs.com.
