CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Connecticut accepted a bid Tuesday to play in the Meineke Bowl on Dec. 29 against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
The Huskies were selected over Cincinnati as the Big East’s representative for the game, which will be played at Bank of America Stadium.
The ACC team is not expected to be named until after Saturday’s conference championship game. Wake Forest and Maryland are the leading contenders.
The Huskies are coming off their best season since moving up to the top level of college football six years ago. UConn (9-3, 5-2 Big East) had a chance to win the conference title and capture the league’s Bowl Championship Series berth until Saturday’s 66-21 loss at West Virginia in their regular season finale.
It will be Connecticut’s second bowl appearance. The Huskies beat Toledo 39-10 in the 2004 Motor City Bowl.
Connecticut was selected over Cincinnati, which beat the Huskies 27-3 on Nov. 10, one of two losses in its final three games for Connecticut.
The Meineke Bowl, played at the Carolina Panthers’ 73,000-seat stadium, is in its sixth year. It has included a Big East team every year until last season, when it cut a one-year deal to select Navy.
The ACC’s Boston College beat the Midshipmen 25-24 on Steve Aponavicius’ 37-yard field goal on the final play.
In previous years, the bowl, run by Raycom Sports, has tried to secure a team with a local following, making Wake Forest an attractive option to be UConn’s opponent. North Carolina and North Carolina State have played in the game in the past.
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