FRESNO – One day after winning its third Mountain West Championship, Fresno State accepted an invitation to the 2018 Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs will face Arizona State, from the Pac-12 conference, for the fourth time in program history. The game is set for a 12:30 p.m. PT kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 15, and will be televised nationally from Sam Boyd Stadium on ABC.
Tickets to the Las Vegas Bowl are on sale now, and fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets through Fresno State. They can be purchased HERE, or via the Bulldog ticket office (2650 E. Shaw Ave.) located on the Northeast corner of the Save Mart Center or by phone at 559-278-3647.
"We are excited to accept the invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl and represent the Mountain West conference," said head coach Jeff Tedford. "It's a great opportunity for our program and our fans to experience a premier bowl game. We have a great deal of respect for the Pac-12 conference and Arizona State, and look forward to an exciting bowl experience."
The Bulldogs, who will serve as the home team, will play in the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl for the third time overall but second time in six years. Fresno State fell 17-16 to Utah as a member of the WAC in the 1999 edition and 45-20 to USC in 2013. Tedford will return to the Las Vegas Bowl after previously leading Cal to a 35-28 victory over BYU in 2005.
"This will be a rare matchup of programs from two historic programs from the West who have not met on the field in nearly eight decades," Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti said. "Fresno State's impressive season continued with a big win in the snow up in Boise while Arizona State made national news with its turnaround this fall under Herm Edwards. Neither team has been here in a while so we are excited to host the Bulldogs and Sun Devils and their tremendous fan bases for another great bowl week in Las Vegas."
The Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl will mark only the fourth meeting of the two teams as ASU took all three matchups in 1931, '33 and '41.
ASU earned a second-place finish in the Pac-12 South Division (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) this season. The Sun Devils, who are led by first-year head coach Herm Edwards, make only their second appearance in Las Vegas, having lost to Boise State, 56-24, in 2011.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160
