Miami to Take on West Virginia in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami football team announced Sunday that it has accepted a bid to the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl and will take on West Virginia. The game is set for Dec. 28 and will be aired live at 5:30 p.m. EST on ESPN inside Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Miami’s appearance in the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl will mark the 40th time in school history the Hurricanes have competed in a bowl game. The Hurricanes own a 19-20 overall record in 39 previous bowl games. Miami’s appearance in the Russell Athletic Bowl marks the fourth consecutive season in which Miami has competed in the postseason.
Miami’s matchup with the Mountaineers in the Russell Athletic Bowl will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the former conference rivals and the first matchup in a bowl game. Miami leads the all-time series 16-3. Both schools played every year from 1991 to 2003 while members of the BIG EAST Conference.
“I could not be more excited for our program to represent the ACC at the Russell Athletic Bowl,” said Miami Athletics Director Blake James. “The staff at the Russell Athletic Bowl is truly committed to putting on a first-class event. The city of Orlando is a familiar bowl destination for our program and I know it is a location that our student-athletes, coaches, fans, alumni and donors will thoroughly enjoy.”
The Hurricanes will make their third bowl appearance in Orlando since 2009. Miami’s first trip to Orlando for a bowl came in 2009 when it took on Wisconsin. The Hurricanes’ last visit to Orlando came in 2013 where they took on Louisville.
“The Russell Athletic Bowl will be an outstanding opportunity for our team,” said Miami head coach Mark Richt. “Orlando is a fantastic city, has a great stadium and will provide a tremendous challenge to compete against a quality opponent like West Virigina. It’s also a great spot for our fans to enjoy their bowl experience. We are looking forward to our week in Orlando.”
The Hurricanes accepted the bowl invitation after winning their final four games en route to an 8-4 regular season finish. Miami will be searching for its first bowl win since its 21-20 victory over Nevada in the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Season ticket holders and Hurricane Club members can order Russell Athletic Bowl tickets online or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.
Hurricane Club members are encouraged to pre-order as many tickets as they would like. Pre-ordered accounts will be allocated by giving level in priority point order. Tickets requested beyond priority limits will only be assigned after all remaining pre-order tickets have been seated using the priority structure. Hurricane Club members and season ticket holders will receive seating preference for all bowl orders placed by the priority ticket deadline.
The deadline for pre-orders to be included in priority seating is Monday, December 5.
General public can order Russell Athletic Bowl tickets beginning Monday, December 5 at 5 p.m. online or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.
