WVU, Tennessee glimpse forward to Liberty Bowl matchup
West Virginia soccer coaches and players uncovered Sunday they would be playing Tennessee in the 62nd annual Liberty Bowl at 4 p.m. Dec. 31 in Memphis, Tenn.
It will be the Mountaineers’ 3rd visual appeal in the Liberty Bowl. They missing 32-6 to Utah in 1964 and 45-37 to Texas A&M in 2014.
Tennessee is creating it’s fourth overall look in the Liberty Bowl, successful in 1971 (Arkansas), 1974 (Maryland) and 1986 (Minnesota).
West Virginia (5-4) and Tennessee (3-7) have fulfilled just when in the programs’ background. WVU defeated the Volunteers, 41-14, in 2018.
Here’s what the Liberty Bowl officers, coaches and athletic administrators for every single faculty had to say:
Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the Liberty Bowl:
“We’re really familiar with both West Virginia and Tennessee. Immediately after far more than a few many years, we’re on the lookout ahead to hosting the Tennessee Volunteers and their great enthusiasts the moment again. We’re very pleased to have West Virginia’s Neal Brown mentor his first bowl recreation with the Mountaineers in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. We have a background of head coaches building their bowl debuts in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, like Gary Patterson at TCU in 2002, City Myer at Utah in 2003 and Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2016.
“The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will have a minimal variety of fans in attendance. We want to assure all enthusiasts, equally our community supporters and the enthusiasts who will vacation with the Mountaineers and Volunteers to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, we will be following all the overall health and basic safety protocols.”
Neal Brown, West Virginia coach:
“I am fired up for our plan, specifically for our seniors. We have handled the adversity of this year well, and we are searching forward to playing in this bowl recreation. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl and the metropolis of Memphis have a extensive and storied tradition of hosting postseason online games, and this provides our enthusiasts a prospect to journey on New Year’s Eve to a bowl destination in a metropolis with excellent hospitality.”
Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee mentor:
“We search ahead to the opportunity of enjoying a bowl recreation in our house point out. Since we returned to campus this summer season, I am proud of our crew in how they have navigated by way of the difficulties presented all through this exceptional period. They get one more chance to get the discipline towards a pretty great opponent in West Virginia. We know Memphis is a unique spot for Vol followers, and we glimpse forward to observing them on New Year’s Eve.”
Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee Director of Athletics:
“I’m thrilled about our football program’s option to compete in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against a wonderful opponent like West Virginia. It is an prospect to connect with our a lot of fans during West Tennessee and increase on the prosperous historical hyperlinks amongst the Memphis place and UT. We have so considerably Tennessee relatives in and all around Memphis —especially our health care college and fantastic alumni. We all know Memphis loves the Tennessee Vols, and it is an critical stronghold for all of our athletic and tutorial packages.”
Shane Lyons, West Virginia Director of Athletics:
“I imagine the AutoZone Liberty Bowl will provide a wonderful matchup for the college or university soccer bowl period, and we have a massive problem ahead of us in participating in a custom-rich SEC system in Tennessee. I am genuinely content for our seniors and our overall method to be equipped to perform just one extra sport. We confirmed great improvement this calendar year and we are thrilled about our potential.”
Bill Hartlep is a Tribune-Critique sports activities editor. You can make contact with Monthly bill by email at [email protected] or by using Twitter .
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Athletics | WVU
