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PROVO — BYU confirmed Sunday afternoon that it will meet Memphis in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22.
Marlins Park will host the first-ever meeting between the Tigers (9-3) and the Cougars (8-4). Memphis earned a share of the American Athletic Conference championship, along with two other teams, after a 7-1 mark in league play.
"Our team is excited to be in the postseason for a 10th-straight season and looking forward to the challenge of facing Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said in a statement. "Memphis had a great regular season, winning a share of the AAC title. They are well coached with a strong defense and a balanced offense. It should be a great matchup in Miami."
Both teams played Houston, Middle Tennessee State and UConn this season; Memphis lost to Houston and beat the others, while BYU defeated all three. The Cougars, however, beat Houston and UConn prior to quarterback Taysom Hill's season-ending injury.
"We're thrilled to have two red-hot teams to showcase in our first bowl game," said Carlos Padilla, executive director of the Miami Beach Bowl, in a press release. "Memphis has won six straight games and BYU closed out the year winning its last four games."
BYU was the first team to accept a bowl bid on Nov. 16. The Cougars had their four-game bowl winning streak snapped last year when they lost to Washington, 31-16, in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
Since Mendenhall took over in 2005, BYU's run of 10 consecutive bowl appearances has been matched by only 12 other programs. The Cougars' 6-3 record over that span is second only to Florida State's seven wins.
The game will kickoff at 12 p.m. MST and be televised on ESPN. You can hear the game live on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM, beginning with pregame coverage that day at 10:00 a.m.
