Louisiana Tech to face SMU in inaugural DXL Frisco Bowl

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech has accepted a bid to play in the Inaugural 2017 DXL Frisco Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game will air nationally on ESPN and ESPN Radio as Louisiana Tech will face SMU with kickoff set for 7 p.m. CT.

Sunday’s announcement marks the fourth straight season Louisiana Tech will make a bowl appearance and the third time in the last four seasons the Bulldogs will play a bowl game in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“We are thrilled to announce the inaugural DXL Frisco Bowl between SMU and Louisiana Tech, two premier programs from the American Athletic Conference and Conference USA,” said DXL Frisco Bowl executive director Sean Johnson. “We are excited to welcome the teams and their incredible fan bases to Frisco, Texas. We are looking forward to an exciting week of bowl events and a fantastic game at Toyota Stadium.”

Louisiana Tech (6-6, 4-4 Conference USA) enters the bowl matchup having won its last two games to become bowl eligible for a fourth straight season. The Bulldogs will face an SMU team that posted a 7-5 overall record this season with a 4-4 mark in the American Athletic Conference.

“We are so excited about the opportunity to play a regional opponent in the inaugural Frisco Bowl,” Louisiana Tech Athletics Director Tommy McClelland said. “We have enjoyed our previous two bowl experiences in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We have a large alumni base in the area and this is a wonderful chance for Bulldog fans to support this program. I want to congratulate Skip Holtz and the entire coaching staff and team for earning an opportunity to play in a fourth straight bowl game.”

Louisiana Tech, which has won three straight bowl wins since 2014, is one of only two teams in C-USA (along with WKU) to have gone to three bowl games in a row and become bowl eligible a fourth year. The Bulldogs played in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces bowl last year where they were victorious against the Navy Midshipmen, 48-45.

“We are excited, enthusiastic and fired up about having the opportunity to go to a bowl game this year and this could not have worked out better,” LA Tech head coach Skip Holtz said. “We have been in the Dallas Metroplex area three out of the last four years and we have a huge alumni base in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We are really excited about having the opportunity to represent Conference USA and Louisiana Tech in the Frisco Bowl. We are facing a great opponent in SMU. I have great respect for their staff, players and the way they are building their program. This has an opportunity to be an incredible matchup.”

This will be the fifth ever meeting between the two schools with Louisiana Tech winning three times in the previous four contests. The Bulldogs won the most recent meeting, a 41-10 decision in Dallas in 2004.

SMU will be making its first bowl appearance since the 2012 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, a 43-10 victory over Fresno State. The Mustangs are led by All-American wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who finished the regular season with more than 1,000 receiving yards.

TICKET INFORMATION

The LA Tech Ticket Office will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tickets are priced at $55 (midfield) and $44 (sideline) and will be available and assigned by LTAC membership priority. Tickets will be available to purchase online, while fans interested in purchasing tickets can also contact the LA Tech Ticket Office at 318-257-3631. The LTAC priority deadline will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8.

Louisiana Tech students can purchase tickets beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 4 at the ticket office in the Thomas Assembly Center with the first 100 students receiving FREE tickets, courtesy of CSRA. The remaining student tickets will be available to purchase for $20. LA Tech students must have a valid Louisiana Tech student ID to purchase tickets.

Complete information on tickets, bowl events and the game can be found at Louisiana Tech’s Bowl Central at LATechSports.com/bowl while tickets can be purchased at LATechSports.com/tickets.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow Louisiana Tech on social media at @LATechFB (Twitter), /LATechFootball (Facebook) and @LATechFB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.