MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama football program isn’t eligible to participate in a bowl until the 2013 season, but that won’t prevent the Jaguars from a winter trip to an exotic location before then.
USA Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann announced Wednesday that the school has signed a contract to play at Hawai’i to conclude the 2012 campaign. The date of the contest, which will take place at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, is Dec. 1.
“That will be our first year playing a Sun Belt Conference schedule, we’ll also face Mississippi State and North Carolina State and now we have Hawai’i at the end of the year,” stated Jag head coach Joey Jones. “We’re not bowl eligible that year, so for us it’s like a bowl that’s been built into the schedule. Our players, as well as everyone else in the program, are very excited to play that game at their place at the end of the season.
“Most of them haven’t been there, so I think it will be exciting for us to play a quality program like Hawai’i and have a fun trip as well.”
“We are tremendously excited about this game, as it will be the last in our journey to full NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and Sun Belt Conference membership,” Erdmann explained. “We are fortunate that the trip will be financed by the University of Hawai’i, as it is a single game at their stadium and not a home-and-home series. We encourage our fans to clear their calendars and join us for this memorable trip.”
The Rainbow Warriors are the fourth opponent already lined up for the Jaguars in 2012. USA will also travel to face Mississippi State and North Carolina State, while Texas-San Antonio will visit Mobile that fall as well.
In addition to eight match-ups against Sun Belt Conference opponents in 2012, the Jaguars will be able to add a 13th contest to the schedule due to the NCAA’s bylaw allowing programs that play outside the continental United States to exclude that game from maximum number allowed.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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