2008
PETROSUN INDEPENDENCE BOWL
HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED
March 24,
2008
Shreveport, La. – Nick Saban and former Miami (Ohio)
University and Indiana head football coach Terry Hoeppner, who will be inducted
posthumously, headline 2008 PetroSun Independence Bowl’s Hall of Honor
class, it was announced by the Independence Bowl Foundation on Monday.
Hoeppner, who took a leave of absence for the entire 2007 season after leading
the Hoosiers to a 5-7 record in 2006, will be represented by his widow, Jane
Hoeppner, who will be on hand for the event. Hoeppner's leave of absence
was dictated by his battle with brain cancer. Hoeppner lost that battle on
June 19 of last year.
This year’s event will be held June 19-20 and begins with the induction
ceremony on the evening of Thursday, June 19 and the golf tournament, which
will be held on Friday, June 20. The Independence Bowl Hall of Honor is comprised
of players and coaches who have exemplified positive character both on and
off the field, and who participated in the Independence Bowl at some point
in the game’s history. The first class of inductees was honored in
1996.
Saban capped his first season at Alabama with a 30-24 victory over Colorado
in the 2007 PetroSun Independence Bowl, as the Tide finished the season 7-6.
Saban also coached Michigan State in 1995 when the Spartans fell to LSU,
45-26, in the Independence Bowl. Saban, who coached LSU for five seasons
after leaving Michigan State, is 1-1 all-time in the Independence Bowl.
Saban led LSU to the 2003 national championship and that season was named
the National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and earned both the
Paul W. “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year Award and the
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association
of America. He was also chosen as SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated
Press.
The Hoosiers rallied around their head coach in 2007, despite him not being
in the sidelines, as Indiana went 7-5 and made its first bowl game in 14
years as the Hoosiers lost to Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl. Fittingly,
the last time Indiana made a bowl game prior to last year was when the Hoosiers
faced Virginia Tech in the 1993 Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl.
He spent six seasons as the head coach of Miami University, where he coached
current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and compiled
a 48-25 overall record and an 8-5 record along with an appearance in the
2004 Independence Bowl against Iowa State, in what was his final season at
the helm. His 2003 team went 13-1 and 8-0 to win the Mid-American Conference
title and then defeated Louisville in the GMAC Bowl.
Tickets to the Hall of Honor induction event are available by calling the
Bowl Office at 318.221.0712 or toll free at 888.414.BOWL (2695) or by visiting
the bowl’s official website at www.independencebowl.org. Information
regarding the golf tournament and how to register is also available. The
tournament format will consist of a four-man scramble and the cost is $150/person
or $600/team. There will be a closest to the pin competition, long drive
contest, and Hole In One contest as well. The entry fee includes greens fee,
cart fee, golf shirt, lunch, soft drinks and beer on course, and two tickets
per player for the induction event.
Information regarding tickets for the 2008 PetroSun Independence Bowl, as
well as Bowl Week event tickets, is available to the public by calling the
Bowl Office or by visiting the bowl’s official website.
PETROSUN INDEPENDENCE BOWL RENEWAL FORMS ARE IN THE MAIL
PetroSun Independence Bowl ticket renewal forms are currently in the mail.
Forms were mailed out in alphabetical order beginning on March 11. Information
on becoming a member of the Independence Bowl Foundation or a corporate sponsor
of the bowl are also available at the Bowl Office located on the ground floor
of the American Tower in downtown Shreveport at 401 Market Street, Suite
120.
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