Dixie Rotary Bowl Preview

225 South 700 East
St. George , UT 84770

Contact:
Chris Taylor
(435) 652-7544 (PHONE)
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ctaylor@dixie.edu

Garden City and Dixie State to meet in Dixie Rotary Bowl

 (ST. GEORGE , UT - Nov. 15, 2005) The Dixie Rotary Bowl selection committee today announced the match-up for the 20 th annual Dixie Rotary Bowl. The Broncbusters of Garden City Community College ( Kan. ), with a record of 7-3, will travel to St. George , Utah , to do battle with the Dixie State College Rebels ( Utah ), who have a record of 8-3.

Both teams enter the bowl game ranked tied for 17 th in the latest NJCAA poll. The bowl game will be played Saturday, Dec. 3, in St. George , Utah , at noon in Hansen Stadium on the campus of Dixie State College of Utah.

The two teams have met up once before in the Dixie Rotary Bowl in 1994. Dixie State went on to win that contest 26-21.

"We're awfully excited about coming out to St. George. It's a great bowl," said Garden City head coach JJ Eckert via telephone Tuesday. "Our team has been sitting here for two weeks trying to figure out where we'd end up, and we're happy to have the opportunity to play in such a wonderful bowl game."

The Rebels currently have a record of 13-5 in the Dixie Rotary Bowl, having appeared in 18 of the 19 bowl games since the inaugural bowl in 1986. Dixie State head coach Greg Croshaw, now in his twenty-fourth year at the helm of the Rebels, was out of town Tuesday at league conferences. Athletic director Dexter Irvin accepted the bowl invitation in his stead.

"We're very honored and proud to be a part of the Dixie Rotary Bowl for the 19 th time," Irvin said. "We have a great opponent in Garden City. The quality of their program has always been exceptional. We don't expect anything other than a great game, and a lot of that stems from the great conference they play in."

The Broncbusters compete in the highly competitive Jayhawk Conference with the likes of Butler (currently ranked 6 th ) and Coffeyville (currently ranked 4 th ). Dixie State competes in the Western States Football League (WSFL) against teams in Utah and Arizona , including No. 1 ranked Glendale .

Dixie State is led by sophomore tailback JT Diederichs, who has rushed for 957 yards this season with 16 touchdowns. Garden City is led by sophomore tailback Marcus Cross, who has rushed for 1,163 yards on the season with 14 touchdowns.

Kickoff for the Dixie Rotary Bowl is slated for noon at Hansen Stadium located at 700 East 500 South in St. George, Utah. Other events include the Dixie Rotary Bowl Banquet Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Dixie Center , which will feature former Atlanta Braves outfielder Dale Murphy as keynote speaker. There will be a golf tournament at Sunbrook Golf Course at 10 a.m. and 23 rd Army Band Concert in the DSC Cox Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. And the Dixie Rotary Bowl parade will take place Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. along Tabernacle Street in St. George.

Tickets for the game are $5 and $10 and can be purchased at the DSC Avenna Center Box Office or by calling (435) 652-7800. For additional information on all Dixie Rotary Bowl activities, visit www.rotarybowl.com or call (435) 688-9282.