PRESS RELEASES

ESPN Regional Television (ERT) today announced that the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., will host a matchup between the BIG EAST Conference and the Southeastern Conference starting in 2008.

The matchup between a bowl-eligible team from the SEC and one from the BIG EAST came about as the result of negotiations between the two conferences and Conference USA, and with the approval of the NCAA Postseason Bowl Committee. The announcement was made today at the annual Football Bowl Association meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“The approval of the St. Petersburg Bowl offered both Conference USA and the BIG EAST an opportunity to participate in a Florida based bowl game,” said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ERT. “Consequently, we were able to partner with the SEC in Birmingham.

“We look forward to the added excitement that the Southeastern Conference will bring to the already successful Papajohns.com Bowl. Birmingham and the SEC, with their lengthy traditions in football, are a natural fit. We’re pleased to present such a matchup to the community.”

The third annual Papajohns.com Bowl will be played at Legion Field on Dec. 29. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN and broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio.

“The Southeastern Conference is excited about the opportunity to have a member institution participate in the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham,” said Mike Slive, Southeastern Conference Commissioner. “We look forward to working with the Bowl and the community to continue to grow the game. With the geographic proximity of Birmingham to our schools, it is a natural fit for a new bowl opportunity for the SEC. It is a wonderful opportunity to add an additional bowl against a quality opponent from the BIG EAST Conference to our bowl lineup.”

“We have always wanted to have a bowl relationship with the Southeastern Conference and this matchup in the Papajohns.com Bowl allows the BIG EAST that opportunity,” said Mike Tranghese, BIG EAST Conference Commissioner. “We believe the game will continue to prosper under the BIG EAST and SEC banners.”

The first two matchups in the Papajohns.com Bowl featured the BIG EAST and Conference USA, with the BIG EAST winning both contests. The Inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl was played in December 2006 with the South Florida Bulls and the Pirates from East Carolina playing in front of 28,527. The 2007 game featured the Cincinnati Bearcats (ranked #20 nationally) and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in front of 32,595 fans.

Last month, Papa John’s announced that it had agreed to extend its agreement as the title sponsor through the 2009 bowl game.

“Obviously, we are very pleased to partner with the SEC in our bowl game in only our third year of operation.” said Mark Meadows, Executive Director of the Papajohns.com Bowl. “Since our inception, our goal has been to bring quality opponents to the Birmingham football fans. We feel we have accomplished that in our first two years, and as a result we have enjoyed good corporate support and local interest in our game.

According to the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the bowl game has generated a combined economic impact of $12.3 million to Birmingham in its first two years.

Tickets for the 2008 Papajohns.com Bowl are scheduled to go on sale June 1. For more information visit www.papajohnsbowl.com.

ESPN REGIONAL TELEVISION/EVENT OWNERSHIP
The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 900 sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – Big East, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, Western Athletic).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including the Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl; the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Football Classic; the National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway; and collegiate basketball events including the Spartan Clash (Auburn Hills, Mich.); the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City, Okla.); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.).

PAPA JOHN’S
Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., Papa John's is the world's third largest pizza company with nearly 3,000 restaurants operating in 49 states and 25 countries. For seven years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national QSR chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.