First EagleBank Bowl set for Dec. 20 at RFK
It’s a crowded party and Washington has arrived late. But the District will finally host a college football bowl game.
The inaugural EagleBank Bowl will kick off the college football bowl season, Saturday, Dec. 20 at RFK Stadium. Navy and the ninth-place team from the Atlantic Coast Conference will play, provided they qualify by winning six regular-season games. If they don’t, two other teams — likely from low-level conferences — will receive invitations.
Wednesday at the Navy Memorial (8th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.), D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty led the cheers for Washington’s latest sports venture.
“The District of Columbia has been turning the corner for a long time,” said Fenty. “This most recent announcement is one more indication that [D.C.] is headed in the right direction and headed there fast.”
With the addition of the Eagle Bank and St. Petersburg bowls, the NCAA is reaching critical mass with 34 bowl games. Filling the 68 slots are 120 NCAA Division I teams.
Bowl organizers want to link the EagleBank Bowl to the military. Army has signed on for the 2009 game. Navy has agreed to return in 2011. All the agreements are contingent upon the teams winning at least half of their regular season games.
“The Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy are America’s teams,” said Army athletic director Kevin Anderson. “The opportunity to play in America’s capital, what better situation to put yourself in?”
With tickets priced between $45 and $135, organizers hope the committed teams qualify.
