San Diego group seeks Notre Dame-Navy game
SAN DIEGO — The group that puts on the Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls wants Navy to return to San Diego, this time with Notre Dame as its opponent.
The San Diego Bowl Game Association is in preliminary talks with Navy to move its home game against Notre Dame to Qualcomm Stadium in either 2016 or 2018.
Organizers feel it makes sense, considering the huge Navy presence in San Diego.
“It aligns with our mission of generating tourism for San Diego and exposure,” Mark Neville, the executive director of the bowl game association, said Tuesday. “Of course Navy-Notre Dame would be a pretty attractive, high-profile event for our region. It certainly doesn’t hurt to talk with them about it.”
Neville said Navy had a positive response to the idea.
“Navy has a great fan base in San Diego. That’s kind of a natural,” he said.
Navy has played in the Poinsettia Bowl four times, including the first one in 2005, when it beat Colorado State 51-30, and last year, when it beat San Diego State 17-16. It also lost 35-32 to Utah in 2007 and lost 35-14 to San Diego State in 2010.
Navy also played at San Diego State in 1994, losing 56-14.
Navy is the home team in even- numbered years in its series with Notre Dame. Games have been played in Landover and Baltimore, Md.; Dublin, Ireland; Orlando, Fla.; East Rutherford, N. J.; and Philadelphia.
Notre Dame never has played in San Diego.
RENO, Nev. — Five of Boise State’s football games will be televised nationally on Friday nights next season under a package the Mountain West Conference announced Wednesday that also includes Fresno State hosting Nevada and UNLV on ESPN2.
The deal with ESPN and CBS Sports Network opens with Hawaii hosting Colorado on CBSSN Thursday Sept. 3 and Boise State hosting Washington the next night on ESPN.
Nevada plays Thursday Nov. 5 at Fresno State, which hosts UNLV on Friday Oct. 16. The rest are Fridays: Boise State hosts Idaho State Sept. 18 and Air Force Nov. 20 and travels to Utah State Oct. 16 and San Jose State Nov. 27. The others are Utah State at San Diego State Oct. 23, Wyoming at Utah State Oct. 30 and BYU at San Jose State Nov. 6.
Mountain West inks deal