Source: ESPNPLUS
ESPN Regional Television, Inc., a subsidiary of ESPN, announced today an agreement with six-time NFL Pro Bowl fullback and four-time All-Pro selection Mike Alstott, who spent his entire NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to be named the honorary chairman for the 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl, which will be televised nationally Saturday, Dec. 20, at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, live from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Alstott will serve as a representative of the newly created postseason college football bowl game and will make appearances on behalf of the event. His participation will benefit the Mike Alstott Family Foundation.
It's such an honor to be involved in this great event in the inaugural year, Alstott said of his association with the St. Petersburg Bowl. Football has been such a huge part of my life and I am thrilled to be able to continue to support the sport I love, along with the city my family and I call home. This event will not only bring a lot of excitement to the teams playing in it and the city as a whole, but is also supporting the community through the Mike Alstott Family Foundation.
Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ERT, added: The St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay area already is synonymous with sports, and we are thrilled to have local sports icon Mike Alstott represent the St. Petersburg Bowl. Mike Alstott is a household name in St. Pete and he definitely will add to the fans excitement about and enjoyment of this bowl game.
A native of Joliet, Ill., and a graduate of Purdue, Alstott played professional football with the Bucs for 12 years, retiring in 2007. He helped lead Tampa Bay to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 against the Oakland Raiders, scoring the first Super Bowl touchdown in Buccaneers history.
The St. Petersburg Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), which markets and owns five other bowl games the PapaJohns.com Bowl, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl and New Mexico Bowl.
For more information about the St. Petersburg Bowl, call 1-800-325-2910 or visit the official Web site, StPetersburgBowl.com.
The Mike Alstott Family Foundation
The Mike Alstott Family Foundation was formed to allow the Alstotts to assist others in uplifting the minds, hearts and spirits of families and children on their way to realizing their full potential through various events, assistance programs, and celebrations.
About Gulf States Toyota
Gulf States Toyota is the independent distributor of Toyota vehicles in the five-state region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company serves 149 Toyota dealers in 151 outlets in the region, providing marketing and management support as well as vehicle distribution.
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nations 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, WAC).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Bell Helicopter Armed Forced Bowl; the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; and The Home Depot College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the O'Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic (Oklahoma City); the Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.); the BIG EAST/SEC Invitational; the Anaheim Classic (Calif.); the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); and the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
