WEATHERFORD, Okla. – For the first time since 1996, the SWOSU Football team will be playing a postseason game as the Bulldogs have accepted an invitation to appear in the Live United Texarkana Bowl on Saturday, December 5th in Texarkana, Arkansas.
SWOSU received the Great American Conference's automatic berth to the bowl game after defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State 31-17 on Saturday afternoon to finish the regular season 8-3. The Bulldogs shared second place in the final GAC standings with Arkansas Tech, a team they defeated on November 7th to hold the head-to-head tiebreaker and earn the bowl bid. SWOSU's opponent in the Live United Texarkana Bowl will likely come from the MIAA or the Lone Star Conference, with an official announcement coming on Wednesday morning during a press conference in Texarkana.
The Live United Texarkana Bowl – one of only three NCAA Division II sanctioned bowl games – is now in its third year of existence, with the Great American Conference having an official tie-in that assures a GAC football team will see postseason play. The GAC sends its highest-finishing team that did not advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs to Texarkana for the game, which is played at Razorback Stadium. Profits from the game benefit the United Way of Texarkana.
The game will mark just the seventh postseason game in the 107-year history of the SWOSU Football program and their first since winning the 1996 NAIA National Championship with a 33-31 victory over Montana Tech at Milam Stadium in Weatherford. The Bulldogs are 3-3 all-time in postseason play and they have appeared in two prior bowl games: the 1977 Apple Bowl in Seattle, Washington, where they lost to Abilene Christian 24-7 and the 1991 Aztec Bowl, where they fell to a team of Mexico All-Stars 35-28 in Mexico City.
Head Coach
Dan Cocannouer has led the Bulldogs to their best season since joining NCAA Division II in 1997 and the Bulldogs now have a chance for their sixth nine-win season in program history. SWOSU has already improved their win total from last season by five games, the third-best single-season turnaround in school history.
"What a great opportunity for our football team to represent Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the Live United Texarkana Bowl," Coach Cocannouer said. "This is such a big accomplishment for our program, but more importantly for the school we represent, so we're really looking forward to playing in the game."
Kickoff of the 2015 Live United Texarkana Bowl will be at noon on Saturday, December 5th. Tickets will go on sale immediately and can be purchased through the SWOSU Athletic offices or on the Bowl games website:
www.texarkanabowl.com.
SWOSU FOOTBALL POSTSEASON HISTORY:Dec. 3, 1977, NAIA Semifinals (Weatherford, Okla.): SWOSU def. Nebraska-Kearney 21-7
Dec. 10, 1977: Apple Bowl* (Seattle, Wash.): Abilene Christian def. SWOSU 24-7
*NAIA National Championship Game
Dec. 14, 1991: Aztec Bowl (Mexico City): Mexico All-Stars def. SWOSU 35-28
Nov. 21, 1992: NAIA Quarterfinals (Weatherford, Okla.): Central Arkansas def. SWOSU 14-2
Nov. 23, 1996: NAIA Semifinals (Weatherford, Okla.): SWOSU def. Northwestern Okla. 17-7
Dec. 7, 1996: NAIA National Championship Game (Weatherford, Okla.): SWOSU def. Montana Tech 33-31
LIVE UNITED TEXARKANA BOWL PREVIOUS RESULTS:Dec. 13, 2013: Harding def. Texas A&M-Commerce 44-3
Dec. 6, 2014: Central Missouri def. Southeastern Oklahoma State 48-21
