Aug. 24, 2009

LAS VEGAS (Aug. 24, 2009) - The top selection from the Mountain West Conference will continue to face off against the Pacific-10 Conference in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas through at least 2013 as renewal deals with both leagues were announced Monday.

The bowl game, which will stage its 18th edition this December during the last year of the current contracts, continues to have the No. 1 choice from the MWC and will have the No. 5 selection from the Pac-10. The bowl previously was in a rotation with the Emerald Bowl for its Pac-10 representative but will now have its choice of schools at that fifth spot starting in 2010.

"We are ecstatic that MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will continue to pit the two top conferences in the West against each other here in the Entertainment Capital of the World," said MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Executive Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy. "There is a lot of movement going on out there right now in the bowl landscape and our executive committee worked really hard to get this extension done. It's a great move for our city and our new title sponsor, MAACO.

"We've enjoyed unprecedented success since these two conferences joined our game and we expect that to continue," she said. "We'll put our bowl week experience for the teams and their fans up against any bowl in the country and I think both sides love coming to Las Vegas. In addition, along with this new contract, we will begin exploring opportunities to move future dates of our bowl to after the Christmas holiday for the first time ever to help grow our game."

The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, which is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), is televised nationally on ESPN. The game has matched up the leagues since 2001 with each side winning four times. Last season saw Arizona down BYU 31-21 in front of the bowl's fourth consecutive sellout crowd.

"The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas has been a tremendous partner since the inception of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, and Las Vegas has proven a great destination city for our fans," said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. "I commend the bowl game on securing a great matchup. The MWC will face a Pac-10 opponent for the ninth straight year this season and we look forward to continuing the series."

"The Pacific-10 Conference is delighted to extend its relationship with the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas," said Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott. "The Las Vegas Bowl has proved to be a top-flight destination for the Pac-10 teams that have earned a berth in the game and a favorite of the fans who follow those teams. The leadership, staff and volunteers of the bowl make participating in the game a truly memorable experience."

The 2009 MAACO Bowl Las Vegas will be played Tuesday, Dec. 22, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. PT at Sam Boyd Stadium. Tickets prices remained unchanged this year at $20, $30, $50 and $100 and can be reserved by phone at 1-866-388-FANS or online at www.unlvtickets.com. Group & Corporate Package information is available by phone at (702) 732-3912.

For more information, visit the bowl's newly re-launched official website at www.maacobowllv.com.

MWC vs. PAC-10 RESULTS IN MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS

2008   Arizona 31, BYU 21

2007   BYU 17, UCLA 16

2006   BYU 38, Oregon 8

2005   California 35, BYU 28

2004   Wyoming 24, UCLA 21

2003   Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14

2002   UCLA 27, New Mexico 13

2001   Utah 10, Southern California 6

MAACO Inc.
Since 1972 MAACO's impressive growth has secured a dominant 47% share of the U.S. automotive aftermarket paint market. With extraordinary brand recognition, nearly 500 MAACO franchise centers in the U.S. and Canada, and system-wide sales approaching one-half billion dollars, MAACO is recognized by consumers, experts in franchising and the media for overall excellence and growth potential. The company has been cited numerous times in Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 survey as No. 1 in its category. MAACO Franchising Inc. headquarters are in King of Prussia, Pa. For more information, visit www.maaco.com.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation's largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of 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. - SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); ESPNU Road to the Championship (Women; San Antonio); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; All-College Classic (Oklahoma City) and ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.