From OkState.com:
STILLWATER, Okla. (OSU Athletics http://www.okstate.com) - The Oklahoma State University football program will return to the postseason in 2006.
Oklahoma State has accepted an invitation to represent the Big 12 Conference in the 2006 PetroSun Independence Bowl to be played Dec. 28th in Shreveport.
The opposition will be Alabama (6-6), the Southeastern Conference representative. The game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.
The game will mark the first time OSU and Alabama will meet on the gridiron.
³We¹re excited about playing in the game,² said OSU head coach Mike Gundy.
³We¹re looking forward to another three weeks of practice and traveling down there and enjoying the comraderie amongst the coaches and players.
³And we¹re excited about our fans. Oklahoma State was a team that was considered right from the start when we became bowl eligible because of the following we have. The Oklahoma State people are so loyal and travel with the team and have represented us well in the bowls.²
The bowl appearance will be the fourth for Oklahoma State in five seasons -- the best postseason stretch by the Cowboys since they played in five bowls over a six-year period in the 1980s.
³Our football team did its job by getting us bowl eligible,² said Mike Holder, Oklahoma State¹s Vice President for Athletic Programs and Director of Athletics. ³And our fans got us selected by the PetroSun Independence Bowl.
³Our selection is, in part, a testament to our fans and their support of our bowl games in 2002, 2003 and 2004. It¹s imperative that we continue that postseason tradition in 2006 in Shreveport.²
Fans can purchase tickets online at www.okstate.com through the OSU ticket office. Tickets are available for $35 and $25. Fans who have already requested tickets will have those requests honored.
³Our allottment of bowl tickets for this game is very good,² said OSU ticket manager Tom Johnson. ³For our fans to get the best available seats, they should purchase tickets through the OSU ticket office.
³It¹s also important for our fans to purchase tickets through our office because it will help make us more attractive to future bowl games.²
OSU is 10-6 all-time in bowl games. The Cowboys¹ last bowl win came in the
2002 Houston Bowl, a 33-23 triumph over Southern Miss at Reliant Stadium.
Alabama will be making its NCAA-record 54th bowl appearance. The Crimson Tide own a 30-20-3 record in bowl games, with their last win coming in the
2001 Independence Bowl with a 14-13 victory over Iowa State. The 30 bowl wins is also an NCAA record.
