In The News

H-E-B is teaming up with Lone Star Sports and Entertainment as presenting sponsor of The Battle of the Piney Woods, game officials announced today. H-E-B will become the presenting sponsor for the game for the next three years starting in 2015. The Battle of the Piney Woods is the annual football game between Southland Conference rivals Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University played at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

This year’s Battle of the Piney Woods presented by H-E-B, which will be played Saturday, Oct. 3, will be the sixth played in Houston. It was recently announced that NRG Stadium will be the new permanent home for the game with tickets going on sale to the general public for this year’s game June 1st.  For more information on premium seating or hospitality options visit www.battleofthepineywoods.com or call 832-667-2390.

“For 110 years, H-E-B has built a tradition that is truly Texas.  We are proud to join this gridiron classic in its 90^th year and look forward to building a Texas-sized atmosphere for years to come,” said Harlan Hooks, H-E-B Houston vice president of marketing and merchandising.

Sam Houston State defeated Stephen F. Austin 42-28 last season before a crowd of 26,788 fans at NRG Stadium. The crowd was the largest in the 89-year history of the rivalry. The Battle of the Piney Woods dates back to 1923, making it the third-oldest college football rivalry in the state of Texas. Sam Houston State holds a 52-35-2 edge in the series following last year’s victory.

“We are extremely excited to join with H-E-B as a big part of continuing to bring this great rivalry to NRG Stadium,” said Lone Star Sports & Entertainment Executive Director David Fletcher. “The Battle of the Piney Woods is one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in Texas, and playing the game at a neutral site has made it a must-see event for fans of both schools.”

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment also announced an extension of its partnership with CBS Radio Houston as the radio broadcast home of the game.  This year’s 90^th meeting will be once again broadcast on SportsRadio 610 (KILT-AM).

About H-E-B

H-E-B, with sales of more than $22 billion, operates more than 360 stores in Texas and Mexico. Known for its innovation and community service, H-E-B celebrates its 110^th anniversary throughout 2015. Recognized for its fresh food, quality products, convenient services, and a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience at everyday low prices. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs more than 85,000 Partners and serves millions of customers in more than 150 communities. For more information, visit www.heb.com.

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003.  Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. The sold out AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl and the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff provide an annual economic impact to the city of Houston of $100 million. LSSE has also emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. Additionally, LSSE has reinvigorated the “Battle of the Piney Woods” rivalry between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State and has promoted a pair of major concerts featuring country superstars George Strait and Kenny Chesney.

CONTACT:           Amy Palcic (832) 667-2220; amy.palcic@houstontexans.com

TWITTER:             @BOTPW

The 2015 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. CST (9 p.m. ET). The game will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, and televised nationally on ESPN.

The 10th annual game will mark the second meeting of a six-year agreement between the Big 12 and SEC to play at NRG Stadium.

Last year’s Texas Bowl saw the Arkansas Razorbacks defeat the Texas Longhorns 31-7. The 2014 game was the most attended non-college football playoff game in the country and set a record for the largest bowl attendance in Houston history.

The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success over its first nine years, both on and off the field, with an average attendance of nearly 60,000 fans per year since inception. The bowl, which contributed an economic impact of over $44 million to the Houston economy in 2014, has donated over $850,000 in financial support to date to DePelchin Children’s Center, Houston’s oldest children’s charity and the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary.

Tickets for the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl range from $35-$140. For availability and special packages call (832) 667-2390. Suites can be purchased by calling 832-667-2160.  For more information, follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl is one of 13 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN.

ESPN Events ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; 13 college bowl games, nine college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Boca Raton, Boise, Birmingham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football

AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Orlando Kickoff (Florida); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)

Collegiate Basketball

Armed Forces Classic (Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan); DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic Presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona (Hartford/Storrs, Conn.); Orlando Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan) and State Farm Champions Classic (Chicago)

For more information, visit www.espnevents.com or follow on Twitter and Facebook.

ESPN Media Contact: Rachel Margolis Siegal at 860-766-2798 or rachel.m.siegal@espn.com

AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Media Contact: Amy Palcic at 832-667-2220 or amy.palcic@houstontexans.com

ABOUT THE ADVOCARE V100 TEXAS BOWL

The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, and managed locally by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. The bowl showcases teams from the Big 12 and the SEC, two of the country’s premier conferences. The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success both on and off the field over its first nine years. The bowl generated $50 million in economic impact for the Houston economy. The bowl has provided over $850,000 in donations and millions of dollars in promotional support and publicity to DePelchin Children’s Center, the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary.

Since 2010, the Sam Houston Bearkats and the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have traveled south to Houston for one of the best FCS rivalry games: The Battle of the Piney Woods. Both institutions will continue to travel to Houston for the foreseeable future as Lone Star Sports and Entertainment came to an agreement with both schools to meet at NRG Stadium permanently.

The Bearkats have dominated the series the past few seasons, having won some high scoring shootouts in NRG Stadium the past three years.

94.

105.

70.

Those are the point totals for the last three games and the first two listed above (2012 and 2013) were decided by only one score. Minus 2011, the average margin of victory is just eight points.

It’s as fun a matchup as this state can produce and given the nature of the upheaval in college football realignment, it’s one of the longest running rivalries in the state of Texas on any level.

The fact that the rivalry has moved inside to an NFL building speaks to the talent that resides on both sides of this rivalry. Currently, there are three former Bearkats/Lumberjacks in the NFL and a few more are on the way.

Former Sam Houston State star QB Josh McCown has played for nine organizations in his 13 year career and over the off-season, he signed with the Cleveland Browns. If McCown does eventually start, he’ll be one of potentially ten starting quarterbacks from the state of Texas (Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton, Matt Stafford, Derek Carr, potentially Nick Foles, potentially Ryan Mallett) and the only NFL starting QB from the Southland Conference.

New England Patriots DB Daxton Swanson is Sam Houston State’s all-time interception leader. He came into the league with the Colts, resided on the 49ers practice squad and is now with the World Champs in New England.

Former SFA star DB Josh Aubrey calls NRG Stadium his home, playing for the Houston Texans. He obviously doesn’t have to go far to see the Battle of the Piney Woods and is thrilled that the rivalry is here to stay.

SFA’s record setting running back Gus Johnson wasn’t drafted but he signed a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders following the 2015 Draft. Johnson is the school’s all-time leading rusher, was a two time 1st Team All-Southland Conference honoree and earned an FCS All-America honors in 2014.

Johnson was Stephen F. Austin’s only undrafted signee, while Sam Houston had two former Bearkats sign with NFL teams. TE Shane Young signed with the New England Patriots following the draft as well. Young caught a touchdown pass in the 2013 Battle of the Piney Woods. Johnson’s counterpart at RB for SHSU Keshawn Hill signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Hill, in particular, loved playing in NRG Stadium; he had four touchdowns on only 14 carries in last year’s 42-28 win over Stephen F. Austin.

The Battle of the Piney Woods is a rivalry in every sense of the word and it helps produce next level talent that one day returns to play in the permanent home of the game.

– John Harris, College Football Analyst –

The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl presented a check for $150,000 to DePelchin Children’s Center at the Center’s annual spring luncheon today.  The donation came from the proceeds of the 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl.

AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Board Chairman Chris Hanslik presented a check in the amount of $150,000 to Jenifer Jarriel, the President and CEO of the DePelchin Children’s Center.  The gift was the largest in Bowl history and marked the fourth time that the Bowl contributed $100,000 or more to DePelchin.  Donations have previously exceeded $100,000 in 2009, 2013 and 2014.

“The relationship with DePelchin is extremely special to our volunteers, staff and Board of Directors,” Mr. Hanslik said. “We feel honored to be able to provide a significant annual financial contribution to DePelchin and look forward to continuing to grow the game and our partnership with DePelchin for many years to come.”

DePelchin Children’s Center was named as the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary in 2006.  Over its nine-year history, the game has donated nearly $850,000 to DePelchin and has generated millions of dollars in promotional support and publicity.

“With this generous donation from the Texas Bowl, we will continue to turn lives around and help children and families in Houston and throughout the state of Texas,” said Jenifer Jarriel, President and CEO of DePelchin Children’s Center.

Founded in 1892 by Kezia Payne DePelchin, the Children’s Center is the largest and most comprehensive provider of children’s social and mental health services in the Houston area.  DePelchin Children’s Center serves 16,000 children and family members annually through 30 programs, including adoption, foster care, counseling and drug and alcohol prevention.

The agency was originally founded to serve as a shelter for orphaned children, and has grown and changed over its century-plus history to continue to meet the needs of the greater Houston community.  Today, DePelchin Children’s Center has over 60 locations in Harris, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Ft. Bend and Waller counties.

Last year’s 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl matched Texas and Arkansas in the first year of the bowl’s partnership with the Big 12 and the SEC.  In front of a sold-out crowd of 71,115, Arkansas rolled to a 31-7 victory behind quarterback and bowl MVP Brandon Allen’s 160 yards passing and two touchdown performance.

The AdvoCare Texas Kickoff and the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl have grown to become two of the most popular annual college football games in the country and have combined to create an economic impact of close to $100 million annually for the city of Houston.

CONTACTS:                                                                                                                                        

Amy Palcic (832) 667-2220

David Fletcher (832) 667-2146

About the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl

The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, and managed locally by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment. The bowl will showcase teams from the Big 12 and the SEC, two of the country’s premier conferences, for the next five years. The AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl has been a tremendous success both on and off the field over its first eight years. The bowl has generated an average of $30 million per year for the Houston economy and has donated over $700,000 and over $13 million in promotional support and publicity to DePelchin Children’s Center, the bowl’s official charitable beneficiary.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership

The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,200 sporting events. Content includes action from NCAA football, basketball and Olympic sports, NHRA and professional and amateur golf, accounting for more than 3,400 live and/or original hours of programming. ERT’s owned and operated events reach over a million fans a year and provides more than 200 additional hours of programming.

In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003.  Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to the sold out AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl and the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. LSSE has also reinvigorated the “Battle of the Piney Woods” rivalry between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State and has promoted a pair of major concerts featuring country superstars George Strait and Kenny Chesney.

To get the latest information on the Texas Bowl, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

HOUSTON – Lone Star Sports & Entertainment announced today that NRG Stadium in Houston Texas will become the permanent home for the annual Battle of the Piney Woods matchup between Southland Conference rivals Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University as part of a new long-term agreement with the institutions. 

This year’s edition, which will be played Saturday, Oct. 3, will be the sixth played in Houston at NRG Stadium.  Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, June 1st with more information available by visiting www.battleofthepineywoods.com. 

“The Battle of the Piney Woods is one of the great annual events on the Houston sports calendar and we look forward to hosting the game at NRG Stadium for a long time to come. Hosting this rivalry at NRG Stadium brings a great deal of energy and excitement to the game and provides for an exceptional experience for the student athletes and the fans.” said Lone Star Sports & Entertainment Executive Director David Fletcher. 

“We are so happy that our partnership has grown into one of the top FCS events of the year. Now to have our game at NRG Stadium on a continuing basis says so much about how our fans have embraced this rivalry,” said Robert Hill Director of Athletics at Stephen F. Austin State University. “I’m excited to see how we can make this game even better.” 

“The Battle of the Piney Woods at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, has expanded Sam Houston State University’s footprint in the greater Houston area in so many positive ways,” said Bobby Williams, Director of Athletics at Sam Houston State University. “The opportunity it provides for media exposure is outstanding not only for Bearkat athletics but the entire University. Each year the event has become bigger and better. We want to say thank you to David Fletcher and the entire staff at Lone Star Sports & Entertainment for all the hard work they do each year to make “The Battle” such a success. It’s an event every Bearkat now has on their calendar. We can’t wait for the 90th renewal of this great rivalry with SFA next fall.” 

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment also announced an extension of its partnership with CBS Radio Houston as the radio broadcast home of the game.  This year’s 90^th meeting will be once again broadcast on SportsRadio 610 (KILT-AM). 

Sam Houston State defeated Stephen F. Austin 42-28 last season before a crowd of 26,788 fans at NRG Stadium. The crowd was the largest in the 89-year history of the rivalry. 

The Battle of the Piney Woods dates back to 1923, making it the third-oldest college football rivalry in the state of Texas. Sam Houston State holds a 52-35-2 edge in the series following last year’s victory.

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003.  Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to the sold out AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl and the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. LSSE has also reinvigorated the “Battle of the Piney Woods” rivalry between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State and has promoted a pair of major concerts featuring country superstars George Strait, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney.