Football accepts invitation to Liberty Bowl

The University of Arkansas football team has accepted an invitation to play Conference USA Champion East Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2010, in Memphis. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Arkansas will be making its 37th bowl appearance and first under head coach Bobby Petrino. The Razorbacks will be making their fourth appearance in the Liberty Bowl (1971, 1984 and 1987). The bowl appearance will be the ninth in the last 12 years for the Razorbacks and it will also be the 24th January bowl appearance in school history. For the fourth time in school history, and the first time since 1987, Arkansas will conclude its season at the Liberty Bowl. UA faced Tennessee in the 1971 Liberty Bowl followed by Auburn in 1984 and Georgia in 1987. The Razorbacks will enter the bowl game with a 7-5 overall record having won four of the last five games. The Arkansas offense goes into the bowl season as one of the hottest in the nation. Currently, Arkansas leads the SEC in scoring offense (37.3), passing offense (303.3), passing touchdowns (31) and red zone offense (96 pct.). The Razorbacks have never finished a season leading the SEC in scoring or passing offense. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Mallett is directing the unit and is doing more than averaging a record every time he sets foot on the field. In 12 games as a Razorback, Mallett has set or matched 16 different school records. He leads the SEC and ranks 15th nationally in total offense (282.2). He also leads the league and ranks eighth nationally in passing yards per game (285.2) and he is first in the SEC and sixth nationally in pass efficiency (157.8) To order tickets, fans can go online to ArkansasRazorbacks.com and click on the tickets link. Tickets are $50 and in addition a $10 processing fee will be applied to each order. Visa and Mastercard are accepted online. All Razorback fans are eligible to order bowl tickets. Seating location will be determined by priority status in the Razorback Foundation. Razorback Foundation members have through Tuesday, Dec. 8 to order tickets maintaining their seating priority. For those season ticket holders that have pre-ordered bowl tickets, all requested quantities will be honored. Fans with further questions may contact the Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-HOGS (4647). Student ticket sales will be on Wednesday, Dec. 9. University of Arkansas student may purchase tickets for the student section at UA ticket office from 9 a.m. — 5 p.m. with a valid student ID.

Quotes on UA’s appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Steve EhrhartExecutive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl“We’d like to make an official invitation to the University of Arkansas. We’ve been watching the University over the last couple of years with the leadership of Jeff Long as he’s really brought the program forward. We’ve had great respect for Bobby Petrino the head coach over the years. It’s with a lot of pride we’d like to extend an official invitation to the whole Razorback family to play in our game.”Bobby PetrinoUniversity of Arkansas football head coach“We are very excited to be going to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. There is not a person I know that has more passion and more pride in his bowl game than Steve Ehrhart. I’ve been able to coach in it and had a great experience. With Steve’s passion and pride our players and coaching staff will have a great experience, but also our fans will have a tremendous experience. We’re looking forward to everyone coming down and filling up the stadium. I’m excited about the preparation for the game and our team learning how to prepare for a big bowl game. We’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for East Carolina and we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Ryan MallettRedshirt Sophomore Quarterback “We’re excited to be going to the Liberty Bowl to play East Carolina and I know our fans will be there to support us. Our goal now is to take the next few weeks to focus on preparing for this game and then go to Memphis to win it. When I was kid, I watched Arkansas play in big bowl games and I’m excited to be a part of that tradition.”Adrian DavisSeniorDefensive Tackle“As a captain and a senior, I feel good about accomplishing our goal of getting to a bowl game. Speaking for the team, we’re excited about the challenge of playing East Carolina. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go to the Liberty Bowl and to end my college career on a good note with the program heading in the right direction.”