| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
LAS VEGAS (AP) A Pac-10 conference team will play in the Las Vegas Bowl through the 2005 season, bowl officials announced Monday.
The Las Vegas Bowl pits the Pac 10's fifth-place finisher against the Mountain West Conference's second-place team. The two conferences have met in the postseason game since 2001.
``The quality of football played in the Pac-10 and the excitement generated on the campuses along with the proximity and easy accessibility to Las Vegas makes this a natural fit,'' the bowl's executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said in a statement.
Bowl officials said they moved this year's game to Christmas Eve so team members and fans can spend Christmas Day with their families. The 12th Las Vegas Bowl will be televised live on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. PST.
The Las Vegas Bowl, which is played at Sam Boyd Stadium, lost its sponsor, SEGA Sports last year, and bowl officials are still looking for a replacement.
Last year, UCLA defeated New Mexico 27-13 before a crowd of 21,584. Participating teams received $800,000 each.