TEAMS ARRIVE FOR THIRD ANNUAL CAMELLIA BOWL

Bowl week officially began today as Appalachian State and Toledo arrived in Montgomery for the third annual Camellia Bowl.

Appalachian State arrived shortly after 5 p.m. at the Embassy Suites downtown. Toledo arrived at the Renaissance Hotel around 5:30 p.m. Both teams were slightly delayed due to weather issues.

Appalachian State sophomore defensive back John Thomas, who played locally at Montgomery Academy, said the Mountaineers have had good preparation for Saturday’s game.

“I feel like it’s been good preparation,’ Thomas said upon arrival. “We have fun those first couple of practices just getting back in the groove; then we focus on our opponent. It’s just like another regular game week. Preparation has been good so far.”

Toledo head coach Jason Candle said the Rockets are having a normal week of practice as the team arrived in Montgomery.

“We had our Tuesday practice today before we came down and tomorrow goes right into a normal Wednesday,” Candle said. “We’re in game week so we’re full speed ahead. Guys are flying around, running around, doing well.”

Toledo and Appalachian State will meet on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. CT at the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. The game will be televised by ESPN. The Camellia Bowl will be the third of four bowl games to air on ESPN networks on the opening day of the college football bowl season.

Tickets to the third annual Camellia Bowl are on sale via the internet www.espnevents.com/camellia-bowl/tickets/. Tickets are $30 for reserved seats and $20 for general admission seating.

BOWL HISTORY

Appalachian State is playing in just the second bowl game in school history and both appearances have come at the Camellia Bowl. The Mountaineers defeated Ohio 31-29 in last year’s Camellia Bowl on Zach Matics’ 23-yard field goal as time expired.

Toledo is playing in its 16^th bowl game. The Rockets are 10-5 in their previous 15 bowl appearances. Toledo is playing in its fifth bowl game in the last seven years, including three straight bowl trips. Toledo defeated No. 24 Temple 32-17 in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl, which was Candle’s first game as the Rockets head coach. Toledo made its bowl with 56-33 win over Davidson in the 1969 Tangerine Bowl.

WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE

Appalachian State and Toledo will both tour the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Plant on Wednesday morning. It is Hyundai’s first assembly and manufacturing plant in the United States. The $1.7 billion automotive plant is one of the most advanced assembly plants in North America.

Toledo will practice at Huntingdon College from 1:15 until 3:45 p.m.

Appalachian State will practice at Alabama State University from 2 p.m. until 3:45 p.m.

On Wednesday evening, Toledo will have team dinner sponsored by the Montgomery CVB at the Union Station Train Shed. Appalachian State will have a team dinner at the Alley Station.

ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; FCS opening-weekend game; 13 college bowl games, 11 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Albuquerque, Birmingham, Boca Raton, Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Montgomery and St. Petersburg, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football

AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Camping World Kickoff (Orlando, Fla.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge (Baton Rouge, La.); Montgomery Kickoff Classic (Montgomery, Ala.); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); St. PetersburgBowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl(Dallas-Fort Worth)