SAN FRANCISCO – One-loss Nevada [12-1], which knocked Boise State out of the national championship picture, will meet an Atlantic Coast Conference representative in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl game at AT&T Park. The Wolf Pack, and its opponent to be announced tomorrow, will play Sunday, January 9, 2011 with a 6 p.m. [PST]/9:00 p.m. [EST] kickoff. ESPN will televise the game to a nationwide audience.
Bowl co-founder and Executive Director Gary Cavalli extended the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl bid today following Nevada’s road victory at Louisiana Tech, 35-17.
“Nevada’s upset of Boise State ranks as the game of the year,” Cavalli said. “Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is one of the most exciting players in the country, and coach Chris Ault is one of the most respected coaches in the game. We couldn’t be happier than to select Nevada to come to San Francisco to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
"With the No. 1 pick in the WAC, we were fortunate to have two very attractive options--Nevada and Boise State. These are two exciting, high scoring teams, both ranked in the top 15 in the country. But Nevada won it on the field, and they were clearly more excited about coming to San Francisco. We're looking forward to welcoming the Pack to San Francisco and having their fans fill the stands at AT&T Park.”
Nevada upset #4 Boise State Nov. 26 in Reno in a game Coach Ault called the biggest victory in the history of the school. The Wolf Pack scored 17 4th quarter points to tie the game at 31-31 with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, before winning it in overtime on a 34-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker
Anthony Martinez.
Ault now owns a career record of 216-96-1. He is one of five active FBS coaches with 200-plus wins, a list that includes Joe Paterno [Penn State], Frank Beamer [Virginia Tech], Jim Tressel [Ohio State] and Mack Brown [Texas].
With his three rushing touchdowns today, Kaepernick tied Eric Crouch of Nebraska for most rushing TDs by a quarterback, 59. He also became the third QB in NCAA history to eclipse 4,000 yards rushing. He has 4,090, trailing only West Virginia’s Pat White [4,480] and Missouri’s Brad Smith [4,289].
The first-ever Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is the only bowl game raising money and awareness about the issue of hunger in the United States. The bowl will celebrate the culmination of Kraft Foods’ HUDDLE TO FIGHT HUNGER program, which is the food company’s largest-ever branded initiative to fight hunger in America. The goal of the program is to donate as many as 20 million meals or more to Feeding America – the nation’s leading hunger relief organization – to help our neighbors in need.
“Everyone at Kraft Foods is thrilled to have two wonderful universities
playing in the inaugural Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl,” said Stephen Chriss, Senior Director, Corporate Scale and Marketing Partnerships at Kraft Foods North America. “The game provides us with a unique opportunity to thank millions of consumers and our retail partners for huddling with many of our iconic brands over the past several months in our ambitious fight against hunger. It’s also a big stage to shine a spotlight on this issue, which affects 50 million Americans, to get even more people engaged.”
The Kraft Foods brands leading the way behind the Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign, as well as the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl include Kraft macaroni & cheese dinners, Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers, Planters nuts, Oscar Mayer meats, Maxwell House coffee, Kool-Aid beverages, Kraft cheese, Kraft Singles, Miracle Whip and Kraft Mayo.
Since its inception in 2002, the annual college football bowl game [nee Emerald Bowl] in San Francisco has generated more than $100 million in revenue for the City and County.
Three of the previous four games have been sellouts, topped by the standing-room-only 42,268 who viewed the ’08 game between Cal and Miami.
Last year’s Boston College-USC game is the third-most-watched college bowl game in ESPN history.
About San Francisco Bowl Game Association
The not-for-profit association has been the driving force behind the Bowl game since its inception in 2002. In that time, the game, played at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, has generated over $100 million in economic impact for the City and County of San Francisco. Several of college football’s most storied programs have already participated in the contest, formerly known as the Emerald Bowl. They include onetime national champions USC, Miami and Florida State, plus California, Boston College, UCLA, Oregon State and Utah. The 2009 game between USC and Boston College was ESPN’s third-most-watched college football bowl game ever. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl marks the game’s fifth straight prime time kickoff.
About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods is taking a stand when it comes to fighting hunger and promoting healthy lifestyles. The company and the Kraft Foods Foundation have donated nearly $1 billion in cash and food to organizations since 1990. Most recently, the company reinforced its commitment by donating $180 million over a three-year period to community involvement activities around the globe.
Kraft Foods is building a global snacks powerhouse and an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. With annual revenues of approximately $48 billion, the company is the world’s second largest food company, making delicious products for billions of consumers in approximately 170 countries. The portfolio includes 11 iconic brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion – Oreo, Nabisco and LU biscuits; Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats. Approximately 70 brands generate annual revenues of more than $100 million. Kraft Foods [www.kraftfoodscompany.com; NYSE: KFT] is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average; Standard & Poor’s 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index.
About Feeding America
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
