Date: December 20
Time: 4:30 p.m. EST
Stadium: Tropicana Field (43,000)
Network: ESPN 2
Opponent: Big East Selection
Executive Director: Brett Dulaney
Sales Director: Carlos Padilla
Media Relations Director: TBA

Website: www.StPetersburgBowl.com

Conference USA has reached an agreement with the St. Petersburg Bowl to provide a team for its annual game beginning with the inaugural 2008 contest. The C-USA representative will play an opponent from the Big East Conference at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl will be played this December and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN 2.

"We are excited about the opportunity to develop a new bowl in Florida, " C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said. "St. Petersburg is a wonderful community and a great destination for C-USA fans. The Big East Conference will surely provide a great opponent on the other side of the ball. We also are confident that our partner, ESPN Regional Television, will make the experience positive and memorable for the student-athletes."

The NCAA certified St. Petersburg Bowl will be owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN. ERT operates five other postseason college football bowls: the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl; the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl.

"We look forward to the opportunity to host a bowl game at a great destination - St. Petersburg," said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ERT. "The St. Petersburg area has a great association with sports, it's a great venue and this is sure to be a rewarding experience for the student-athletes and their teams, as well as the fans who attend the game."

This will be the first time that C-USA has been a part of a bowl game in Florida. The St. Petersburg Bowl will be the sixth postseason game to take place in the Sunshine State.