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PROVO -- BYU will face the University of Tulsa in the 2011 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The official bowl game that honors all branches of the United States armed forces, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will be broadcast nationally at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Live pregame and postgame shows will also air nationally on BYUtv.
Representing Conference USA, the 8-4 Golden Hurricane accepted the bowl bid Sunday to play the 9-3 Cougars in a matchup of two of the nation's most victorious programs over the past five years. In the last five seasons, BYU has achieved a 48-16 record to rank No. 12 for the most wins among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams, while the Golden Hurricane rank No. 21 in that same timeframe with a 44-21 record.
"We are looking forward to participating in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl," said BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall. "We are anxious for the opportunity to continue to improve our team and face a very good Tulsa team."
Tulsa will be competing in the NCAA postseason for the second-straight year after posting a 62-35 win over Hawai'i at the 2010 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. This year's Golden Hurricane are averaging 34.1 points per game with a balanced attack that totals on average 454.4 yards per contest. Defensively, Tulsa has allowed 27.6 points and 420.7 yards per game. Tulsa's four defeats have all come against teams ranked in the Top 7 in the nation at the time of the loss, with setbacks against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Boise State and Houston.
"The 2011 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl should be a terrific matchup," said BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe. "BYU is excited to return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to face a tough C-USA team. We are also honored to play in a game that pays tribute to the brave men and women of our armed forces."
BYU and Tulsa will meet for the eighth time and the first time in postseason. The Cougars hold a 6-1 advantage in the series that dates back to 1971. BYU won the first six meetings, with four of those games in Provo, but the Golden Hurricane claimed victory in the last outing with a 55-47 shootout win in Tulsa on Sept. 15, 2007.
UCF of Conference USA was the one common opponent on both Tulsa and BYU's 2011 schedule with the Golden Hurricane and Cougars both defeating the Knights 24-17. BYU's UCF game was September 23 in Provo to give the Cougars a 43- 12-1 all-time record against current C-USA schools. Tulsa's victory over the Knights was November 3 in Orlando, Fla.
In its first season as a football independent in 2011, BYU finished the regular season with a 9-3 mark and is coming off a 41-20 win at Hawaii on Saturday. BYU enters the bowl matchup with the opportunity to become one of potentially only six FBS schools to achieve 10 or more wins in five of the past six seasons. The Cougars average 30.6 points and 410.8 yards of total offense per game while holding opponents to 20.6 points and 316.3 yards per game. BYU's losses this year have come against Texas, Utah and TCU.
BYU will be playing in its second bowl game in Texas. The Cougars won the 1997 Cotton Bowl by defeating Kansas State 19-15 to finish with a No. 5 national ranking. One of college football's top programs with more than 500 wins and now 30 bowl appearances, the Cougars are coached by Bronco Mendenhall, who has a 65-24 record in his seven seasons at BYU. Mendenhall has guided the Cougars to seven-straight bowl appearances, with the school winning four of its previous six postseason appearances, including last year's 54-24 New Mexico Bowl win over UTEP of C-USA.
