For six years the Syracuse Football team has sat at home for the holidays, but now the Orange is taking over the Big Apple heading to its first bowl game since 2004, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross made the announcement Thursday, where he was happy to reward the Orange with a trip to New York City for the Dec. 30 bowl [10].
“We are very proud of head coach Doug Marrone and his team as they have the program headed in a championship direction,” Gross said. “We are elated he can go home to the Bronx to lead his team in the first bowl game as head coach and continue the history of Syracuse football playing at Yankee Stadium [11].”
Marrone has plenty of personal history with Yankee Stadium. He grew up in the Bronx and his father was an usher at the old ballpark for many years, so it is a bit of a homecoming for the second year coach. However, the bowl game is just as important to the program as it is to the head coach.
“The opportunity to play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in my hometown is part of the whole dream,” Marrone said. “New York State is our foundation. This is another step in our return to prominence.”
On Friday, Syracuse found out its opponent for the bowl game is certainly a familiar one. The Pinstripe Bowl Committee announced Kansas State [14]will fill the other slot in the game. Syracuse and Kansas State have matched up twice in bowl games recently. In 1997 the Wildcats topped the Orange 35-18 in the Fiesta Bowl. However, more recently SU beat Kansas State in the Insight.com Bowl in 2001.
Syracuse is 5-1 all-time at Yankee Stadium. The Orange will have a chance to improve that record on Dec. 30 when the game kicks off at 3:30 on ESPN.
