Harding to face A&M-Commerce in bowl game
Texarkana’s first Live United event is Dec. 7
The stage has been set, and now the players have been given their parts in the Live United Bowl.
Harding University will host Texas A&M University-Commerce in the inaugural NCAA Division II Bowl Game held at Arkansas High’s Razorback Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7, it was announced Wednesday during a press conference at the Texarkana, Ark., Convention Center.
Kickoff for the Bison (8-2) and Lions (7-4) will be at noon.
Harding is the school selected from the Great American Conference, giving it the home-team station, and A&MCommerce was selected from the Lone Star Conference after having a record-setting season for the school.
“It was a very difficult process
to select teams for this game,” said Allen Brown, Live United Bowl chairman. “With our partnership with the Great American Conference, we put a formula in place that would give us the highest-ranking team from the GAC that wasn’t selected for the playoffs. That was very easy, but we wondered what’s going to happen to the other side. How are we going to select an opponent?
“Will (Pruitt, the GAC Commissioner) contacted a few people, and within minutes we were contacted by the Lone Star Conference and the MIAA (Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association) to please select one of their teams. We knew we would have an opponent.”
The Live United Bowl benefits the United Way of Greater Texarkana. Events for the bowl game begin Friday, Dec. 6.
Along with team practices held at Arkansas High and Texas High, there will be a banquet for the teams at Texarkana, Ark., Convention Center, and a public pep rally later that evening.
“This is an opportunity to come together as one community; we have separate state and city governments, but we’re still one community,” said Texarkana, Ark., Mayor Wayne Smith. “This is the opportune time, that we as a community... come together and display Texarkana, USA, to the teams coming to our community. We’re thankful to everyone who’s made this bowl game possible.”
Both mayors stressed the importance of both cities and the Texarkana community’s involvement with the bowl game.
“This is indeed a historic day for Texarkana, USA,” said Texarkana, Texas, Mayor Bob Bruggeman. “Having a college NCAA Division II bowl game in Texarkana, USA, is very, very exciting.”
Bruggeman joked that he may have to spend a half on one side and move to the other side for the second half because his wife, Jackie, is an alumnus from Harding University but he is the communications manager for Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana, a sister school to A&M-Commerce.
Arkansas state Reps. Prissy Hickerson, R-Texarkana, and Brent Talley, D-Hope, and Arkansas Sen. Jimmy Hickey, RTexarkana, were present for the team announcement.
Texas state Rep. George Lavender, R-Texarkana, was also present.
Several members of the community and volunteers were also recognized during the press conference.
Introduced at the event, held at the convention center inside the Holiday Inn, were athletic directors and head coaches for both schools.
Harding University AD Greg Harnden has been with the school for 27 years, and coach Ronnie Huckeba has served on the football staff for 28 years, including 13 as a coordinator and the last seven as head coach.
“You have no idea how wonderful this opportunity is,” Harnden said. “Division II schools don’t have these opportunities often. At our level, if you don’t make the playoffs (24 teams), your season is over. This is great for the towns of Texarkana, but this is unbelievable for our student-athletes.”
For Texas A&M-Commerce, the athletic director and football coach are both in their first years with the school. Ryan Ivey was hired at the beginning of the year as the new AD, and one of his first orders of business was to hire a new coach.
“I was fortunate during my years as a football studentathlete with the University of Memphis to have played in a couple of bowl games at the Division I level,” Ivey said. “What you guys have done today and what I see in the future rivals any of those Division I games. You are on the right road.”
He filled that position with longtime Division II coach Colby Carthel, who is in his first head coaching position and turned around a program that had back-to-back 1-9 seasons to 7-4 this fall.
“The response we’ve had for this bowl game has been phenomenal; it’s been unbelievable,” Brown said. “I never dreamed that we would be in the position we’re in as a community. This started with a phone call on a dreary day in February. The next thing that I know we have a Division II bowl game, and it came from a thought from one person. That person is Jeff Roberson (a local NCAA football official).”
Shelby Brown, the Live United Bowl marketing director, said the Texarkana Advertising & Promotions Commission was integral in getting the game off the ground so quickly.
“This is made possible because of the Texarkana, Ark., A&P Commission; they gave us seed money of $20,000 to get this thing rolling,” Brown said. “It is being hosted in Texarkana, Ark., but this is truly a Texarkana event because this is drawing from East Texas, Southwest Arkansas, and even farther away.”
Tickets remain on sale at all Red River, Domino, TEXAR and Mil-Way credit unions, as well as the Texarkana United Way and Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. All tickets are general admission and cost $6 for adults and $4 for students.