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BY GEORGE B. EICHORN of THE DETROIT MONITOR

Thank goodness for Pizza Pizza! As the struggling Detroit Three of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors cut their marketing budgets and support for the Motor City Bowl – to the rescue came hometown owners Mike and Marian Ilitch of Little Caesars Pizza to rescue the Midwest’s only post-season college football bowl game certified by the the NCAA.

The Motor City Bowl has given way to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, an annual Christmas week tradition here since 1997. The first five games (1997–2001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome. Starting in 2002 the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown Detroit. The bowl features a bowl-eligible team from the Mid-American Conference playing a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Conference – well, sometimes. As it has happened most often, if the Big Ten does not have an eligible team, the game features a team from the Big East or another conference that meets the NCAA requirement of at least six wins.– Marshall, in the bowl that we most wanted to play in," said Jim Schaus, athletic director at Ohio University. "It’s very close to our base, with more than 120,000 Ohio alumni within a five-hour drive of Detroit. Our fans have missed this rivalry, which is why we have a six-year run of games scheduled with them beginning next year. I can’t think of a better way to kick it off than in Ford Field at the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl."–21, before 41,399 fans.

Ohio University, runners up for the Mid-American Conference championship, play Marshall University on Saturday, December 26, at 1 p.m. (ESPN national telecast). The announcement was made on December 6 by bowl executives Ken Hoffman, George Perles and Lloyd Carr. It’s not one of three teams they wanted – preferring MAC Champion Central Michigan, Big Ten contender Michigan State and major independent Notre Dame – yet it’s what bowl organizers will have to work with. CMU and MSU went to southern bowls and Notre Dame declined to send their 6-6 team anywhere.

The Bobcats of Ohio University are familiar with Ford Field, having lost the MAC championship game to Central Michigan on December 4, 20-7. This marks their first appearance in the Detroit bowl. The Thundering Herd of Marshall is making their record fifth appearance here,the first four as a member of the MAC.

"We’re excited to host the first meeting in four years between these two traditional rivals," said Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Chairman & Executive Director Hoffman. "The schools’ campuses are less than 90 minutes apart, and from what we have already heard, the teams, fans and alumni are enthusiastic about renewing their rivalry in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl."

Credit goes to Hoffman and Perles especially for marking the bowl’s thirteenth consecutive year as a Detroit holiday sporting tradition. Little Caesars Pizza is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and was a natural to pick up the majority sponsorship, what with the Ilitch family enthusiasm for sports as owners of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings and lifetime promoters of amateur sports teams in this area. Both Mike and Marian are enshrined in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and he’s also in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"We are eager to watch these talented players compete in the first Little Caesars Pizza Bowl," said David Scrivano, president of Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. "Little Caesars looks forward to enhancing the bowl game experience for the players and the fans with special events and national promotions. Pizza and football make a great combination!"

The MAC East Champion Bobcats bring a 9-4 record, the Mid-American Conference’s number three pass defense, and the conference’s top positive turnover margin, into the game. The Thundering Herd have a 6-6 record and bring Conference USA’s fourth-rated defense into the game. The Herd played seven bowl-eligible football teams in 2009, including the nationally-ranked Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The Bobcats played six bowl-bound football teams in 2009, including narrow fourth-quarter losses to traditional SEC power Tennessee and Connecticut, from the Big East.

"We’re could not be more ecstatic about coming back to Detroit, and getting to play a longtime rival

The Bobcats are led by wide receiver Taylor Price, the university’s all-time leader in career catches; LaVon Brazill, the MAC’s top punt returner; and running back Chris Garrett, who led the MAC in kickoff return yardage. Ohio is coached by former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich. The Bobcats will have their hands full against Marshall on Dec. 26.

"We’re excited to play in a bowl that we participated in many times, during its years at the Pontiac Silverdome," said Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick. "Our team and our fans have had a great experience in the past. And this year, getting to compete against one of our traditional rivals in Ford Field, one of the premier sports facilities in the country on national TV; it is a great Christmas gift for our program."

The Thundering Herd is led by tight end and Mackey Award finalist Cody Slate and running back Darius Marshall, Conference USA’s number two player in all-purpose yardage. Marshall will be coached by interim head coach Rick Minter, who led Cincinnati against Marshall in the 2000 bowl. Last year, Florida Atlantic beat Central Michigan 24

The $500 million Ford Field complex is a beautiful setting for the bowl. Home of the Detroit Lions and opened in 2002, Ford Field has hosted an impressive array of signature sporting events including the NFL’s Super Bowl XL in 2006 and the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four which set an NCAA record for total Final Four and Championship game attendance. In April of 2010, Ford Field will host the NCAA Frozen Four. Other sporting events hosted at Ford Field include the 2003 AAU Junior Olympic Games and the 2003 "Basketbowl" game between Kentucky and Michigan State University that drew a single-game record crowd of 78,129.

The adjacent Comerica Park, home of Mike Ilitch’s Detroit Tigers, will be part of this year’s big game."We will have the largest Pizza-Party next door with all kinds of entertainment and reduced prices on refreshments," said Scrivano. Both Marshall and Ohio marching bands will be performing at Comerica.

Bowl gates will open at 11:30 a.m. on game day. Pre-game festivities start at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale at TicketMaster outlets by calling (800) 745-3000 and at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also on sale at the Ford Field Box Office and at the Ohio and Marshall University athletic ticket offices. In addition to ESPN cable, the game is broadcast nationally by MSU broadcaster Will Tieman on the Pizza Bowl radio network.

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