New Orleans Bowl gets Friday night in December at Dome

[NewsCopy]

NEW ORLEANS - The Sun Belt Conference and the New Orleans Bowl could return to a post-Hurricane Katrina environment stronger than they were before the storm hit last summer. Damage from Katrina forced the bowl to move to Lafayette last December and that switch allowed the Wyndham hotel chain to void its contract as title sponsor. But the bowl game will be back in the Superdome in December with a more favorable playing date and more national media exposure. The first five New Orleans Bowls were played on Tuesdays in the second week of December, but this year's game will be played Friday, Dec. 22, and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and ESPN Radio. "We think the move will help us sell tickets and attract more viewership," New Orleans Bowl President Paul Valteau said at the Sun Belt Conference Media Days on Tuesday. The Sun Belt annually sends its champion to the New Orleans Bowl to play a team from Conference USA. Previous New Orleans Bowls were not only played on Tuesdays, but also when students from the participating schools were still in classes. "The date change is huge," bowl executive director Billy Ferrante said. "New Orleans is all about events and a Friday night is more conducive to that than a Tuesday night is." The rest of the story

[California Cajun]

That's a big accomplishment and should boost attendance, especially if UL wins the right to go to the bowl.