College football at Bulldawg Stadium

The seventeenth annual C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl will take place this Saturday at Bulldawg Stadium.  If you like college football this is an opportunity you will not want to miss.  The bowl features two games.  The first game is at 11:00 a.m. and features two nationally ranked junior colleges.  The second game is 6:00 p.m. featuring two top NCAA Division II institutions. 
At 11 a.m. Saturday, the junior college game features the 8th-ranked Cardinals of Trinity Valley Community College (Athens, TX) and 12th ranked Garden City Community College (KS).  Both teams played each other in 1997 for the national title.  Trinity Valley won that meeting.  The Garden City Broncbusters come into this contest as the defending 2016 National Champions.  Both of these colleges have a long history of success.
Trinity Valley’s roster includes several local names.  Shoemaker graduate wide receiver Tyrl’k Barnes, Harker Heights freshman offensive lineman Khalil Corbett-Canada, Killeen sophomore offensive lineman Darrius Mosley and redshirt freshman linebacker Ryan Johnson from Belton.  
The second game at 6 p.m. features two NCAA Division II teams facing each other for the first time.  The Angelo State University Rams of San Angelo take on the Ichabods from Washburn University of Topeka, KS.  Both teams feature potential NFL draftees.   
If you love college football you will be hard pressed to find a better deal than watching these two great games.  Tickets are good for both games.  What a deal. 
How does a football bowl help the community of Copperas Cove and vicinity?  According to Carl Winston, program director of SDSU’s Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, research findings have been very consistent showing there is a significant economic impact on host cities.  
Winston said the economic impact of college bowl games brings in money that wouldn’t have come into the community otherwise.  As a result, the purchase of a ticket by someone living in the area was not considered a reflection of the economic impact.  Non-local spectators travel with the specific purpose of attending the bowl game.   
Many non-local spectators stay in a hotel.  They purchase food, gas and entertainment.  These bowl spectators are dependent on the local economy for their daily needs.
Why do these colleges attend the annual bowl game in Copperas Cove?  These games serve as great marketing tools for the programs and the universities at large.  Playing in a bowl game is great exposure for a program. It will certainly impress potential recruits, and serves as a great marketing platform for the institution.  
All four institutions, their communities and the Copperas Cove vicinity also benefit from the national exposure of the bowl games being aired live on national television (College Sports).  In addition to live national television, the game can be viewed on YouTube and the College Sports App.  Both games will also be covered by Centex Central Radio on the worldwide internet (www.centexcentral.com).  Folks that is a lot of coverage.
Come in person to see these two great games this Saturday.  Football in Copperas Cove, with some great weather to boot.  See you at the pound.
Thought for the week, “I’m not trying to win a popularity poll. I’m trying to win football games.” Woody Hayes