by Rick Griffin
San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU), San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institution with three local East County branches in El Cajon, La Mesa and Santee, is the title sponsor of the ninth annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The game will be broadcasted live before a nationwide audience on ESPN-TV and ESPN-Radio. The bowl game matches the Utah State Aggies and Northern Illinois Huskies, two teams that are division winners from the Mountain West Conference and the Mid-American Conference.
Utah State (8-5, 7-1) will play in its third straight bowl game, a school record. The Aggies’ defense is ranked among the top 25 in the nation. With the nation’s fifth-ranked offense, Northern Illinois University (12-1, 8-0) is led by Heisman Trophy nominee Jordan Lynch, who has run for an NCAA quarterback record 1,881 yards and passed for 2,676 yards while rushing for 22 scores and passing for 23 TDs.
The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl is the only college football bowl game among the 35 college football bowl games to have a credit union as a title sponsor. SDCCU has served as the title sponsor of the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl since the bowl game’s inception in 2005. According to the San Diego Bowl Game Association, the non-profit entity that produces the game, the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl generates millions of dollars into the San Diego economy during a week when the region’s tourism industry is at one of its slowest times of the year. Officials report that the previous eight San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl games have added a combined $75.7 million of revenue into the local economy.
Tickets for the 2013 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl are now on sale. For information, visit sdccu.com/community. One dollar of every admission ticket sold to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl goes to the San Diego chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, allowing the charity to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.