The 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is now set. It is the first of two bowl games featuring a Pac-12 team against a Big Ten team, joining the Rose Bowl. The UCLA Bruins will battle the Illinois Fighting Illini in a game that takes on a unique profile as it features two teams that fired their head coaches after the regular season. Here is all the relevant information you need to know about the New Year's Eve bowl game.
Teams: UCLA Bruins (6-7), Illinois Fighting Illini (6-6)
Coaches: Mike Johnson, UCLA (offensive coordinator, replacing Rick Neuheisel on an interim basis); Vic Koenning (defensive coordinator, replacing Ron Zook)
Date: December 31, 2011
Time: 12:30 p.m. PST
Location: AT&T Park (home of the San Francisco Giants), San Francisco, California
TV: ESPN (and ESPN3 online), with Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard and Shelley Smith on the call
Radio: Touchdown Radio Productions will handle the national broadcast; locally, the UCLA broadcast team of Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook on KLAC 570 AM
Payouts: UCLA gets $925,000; Illinois gets $750,000
The Cause: The sponsor, Kraft Foods, seeks to donate 25 million meals to Americans in need. See their Facebook page for more information and to donate.
Bowl Website: www.kraftbowl.org
Bowl History: This is the 10th iteration of the game, which was previously known as the Emerald Bowl and the San Francisco Bowl. Here are the previous bowl results:
- 2010: Nevada 20, Boston College 13 (bowl played on January 9, 2011)
- 2009: USC 24, Boston College 13
- 2008: California 24, Miami (FL) 17
- 2007: Oregon State 21, Maryland 14
- 2006: Florida State 44, UCLA 27
- 2005: Utah 38, Georgia Tech 10
- 2004: Navy 34, New Mexico 19
- 2003: Boston College 35, Colorado State 21
- 2002: Virginia Tech 20, Air Force 13
The 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will be played at 12:30 p.m. PST on December 31, 2011, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and be televised by ESPN. For more news and information on Illinois football, be sure to read Hail to the Orange. To keep up with UCLA football, be sure to read Bruins Nation.