Emerald Bowl 2011

Army's continued success will pay off as the Emerald Bowl will extend Army a bowl invitation in 2011. The Knights must be bowl eligible for the invite, but the offer represents a step on the staircase of success that extends before the Army football program.

In the year 2011, Army [if bowl eligible] will meet a Pac-10 team in San Francisco. The Cadets are the only service academy that has not yet appeared in an Emerald Bowl [Air Force played in the inaugural 2002 game].

“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to showcase our football program in the Emerald Bowl in 2011,” said Army Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson. “We feel the tradition and pageantry of the Army football program is second to none and would provide a tremendous spectacle for the people of San Francisco during the holidays."

A bowl game like the Emerald Bowl in 2011 should provide the impetus for Army football to take the next steps to winning records and postseason play... I'm not going to pretend that the Emerald Bowl is the Sugar Bowl, but since Army has never had the ability to pick and choose their bowl tie ins, the offer is a generous one.

Army's Bowl History 2-2

Season	Bowl	Opponent		Score	W/L
1984	Cherry	Michigan State		10-6	W
1985	Peach	Illinois		31-29	W
1988	Sun	Alabama		28-29	L
1996	Independence	Auburn		29-32	L

It will be very important to be bowl eligible in 2011, but it's as important (possibly more important) to achieve a bowl invite in the next two years. Army is in the process of raising it's national profile, that's difficult to do as an independent and it's even tougher while playing the light schedule that the Black Knights do. Stringing together bowl appearances and postseason wins will go a long way to reversing the general negative perception of Army's football playing ability.

Everyone involved wants to beat Navy, but the team doesn't have to qualify to play that game. The prospect of bowl bids and regular tie ins give Army every reason to compete in every game of every season. As it is, the Emerald Bowl in 2011 isn't nearly as important as achieving a bowl bid this year.