Saturday, November 1 , 2008            
                                         

NAVY STORMS BACK TO EDGE TEMPLE IN OVERTIME
Win qualifies Navy for Inaugural EagleBank Bowl

(ANNAPOLIS, MD) – The U.S. Naval Academy football team picked up its sixth win of the season Saturday when they defeated Temple 33-27 in overtime, and in the process became eligible to participate in the inaugural 2008 EagleBank Bowl which takes place Saturday, December 20th, at RFK Stadium.

Navy QB Ricky Dobbs went in from the one-yard line to give the Midshipmen the 33-27 victory, which capped off the best fourth quarter comeback in Navy history.  The Midshipmen trailed 27-7 with less than eight minutes remaining before storming back and tying things up at 27-27. Clint Sovie completed the comeback when he scooped up a Temple fumble and raced 42 yards for the score.

“We are thrilled to officially invite the U.S. Naval Academy to the inaugural 2008 Eaglebank Bowl,” said Marie Rudolph, Founder of the EagleBank Bowl. “Traditionally Navy brings 20-25,000 people to their bowl games and Navy’s goal is to bring 30,000 people to this year’s bowl.”

In overtime the Navy defense came up big on Temple’s first possession. They stopped the Owls on the goal line twice. On third down Navy stopped Kee-ay Griffin on a run and on fourth down the secondary broke up a Temple pass attempt.

While Navy’s comeback came late in the game neither the team nor its fans had given up hope. When the Midshipmen scored the winning touchdown Navy fans stormed the field to help make Senior Day a very special and memorable occasion.

“We are looking forward to hosting Navy in the EagleBank Bowl and having football back in historic RFK Stadium”, said Erik A. Moses, Chief Executive Officer of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission. “This is great for the city of Washington, DC and we’re confident fans will have a great time during bowl week.”

Navy is off next weekend but will take on Notre Dame on Saturday, November 15th at M & T Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on the CBS College Sports Network.

“This was one of the best team efforts I have seen in a long time,” said Sean Metcalf, Founder of the EagleBank Bowl. “The heart and character of this Navy team certainly reaffirms what an exciting and special event we will be able to offer the Washington, D.C. region.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) should provide the opponent for the 2008 EagleBank Bowl and this past weekend some teams certainly made their cases for heading to D.C. in December.

Miami’s victory over Virginia allowed them to join Maryland and UNC as having qualified for the EagleBank Bowl. Georgia Tech’s win also made them eligible while Clemson and Wake Forest picked up some momentum with victories this weekend over Boston College and Duke respectively.

The EagleBank Bowl, Washington, D.C.’s first intercollegiate Division 1A bowl game and the first game of the 2008 lineup of post season games will be broadcast live on ESPN, with kickoff at 11:00 a.m. 
           
Tickets, available through Ticketmaster at (202) 397- SEAT or www.ticketmaster.com, range in price from $45 to $135.  Tickets break down in price as follows:

Spectator:                    $45
Premium:                     $75
VIP:                             $100
Mezzanine:                  $110
Suite/Club/Box              $135

The EagleBank Bowl recently entered into a partnership deal with Marriott. Part of the deal is for a special rate for all EagleBank Bowl fans. For hotel information or reservations, please visit http://www.dcmarriotthotels.com/EagleBankBowl/ or call the hotel directly at (202) 393-2000 or (800) 228-9290 and ask for the EagleBank Bowl special rate of $149.

If you would like to make reservations for 10 or more guest rooms, please contact Brian Chisolm at (301) 238-5246.

If you are interested in becoming a corporate sponsor for the game, please contact Bob Treseler at (301) 407-0444.

For tickets or additional information, please visit www.EagleBankBowl.org.

EAGLEBANK BOWL
The DC Bowl Committee, Inc. was formed as a community and charitable organization to host the first-ever NCAA-sanctioned, post-season bowl game in Washington, DC. On September 10, 2008 the dream became a reality when the EagleBank Bowl officially became a part of the D.C. sports and entertainment landscape. While the DC Bowl Committee brought the game to the region there are two other entities that are valued contributors in making this game a marquee event. The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission has been a valued partner from the very beginning. When EagleBank signed on as a title sponsor it gave the game instant credibility particularly in the business community. The game kicks off the 2008 bowl season on Saturday, December 20, at RFK Stadium live on ESPN.  The goals for bringing the game to Washington include boosting the regional economy, putting the nation’s capital on the map as a college football destination and to raise money for several local charities.

Brotman ● Winter ● Fried Communications
Shaun May
TEL:  703-534-4600 ext 213
CEL:  240-676-4607
EMAIL: smay@bwfcom.com
111 Park Place
Falls Church, VA 22046

DC Bowl Committee, Inc.
Sean Metcalf, Founder EagleBank Bowl
TEL: 202.527-7702 (direct)
EMAIL: smetcalf@eaglebankbowl.org
1629 K Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20006