ACU to play in Cotton Bowl
4/30/2009 3:45:00 AM | Football
ABILENE -- The oldest rivalry in Lone Star Conference will take its act to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas when ACU and Texas A&M-Commerce meet in an LSC crossover football game on Sept. 12.
ACU will take part in the second Harvey Martin Classic at 5 p.m. on Sept. 12 when it takes on the Lions in a game honoring the former TAMC and Dallas Cowboys great. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, but will be moved to the legendary stadium in Fair Park. The stadium played host to the AT&T Cottton Bowl from 1937-2009, but lost the game to the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium beginning in January 2010.
The stadium has played host to thousands of high school, college and pro football games and has been home to the SMU Mustangs, Dallas Texans (AFL) and Dallas Cowboys, and, most notably, has been the annual home to the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma. The Wildcats, however, have never played in the Cotton Bowl.
"It's a tremendous honor for our program to be chosen to participate in the game," ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said. "We've got a great opening to our season with Northwest Missouri State coming to Abilene in our first game (Aug. 27) and then getting the chance to play our oldest rival in the Cotton Bowl two weeks later. So many great teams and great players have had a chance to run through that tunnel and play on that field, and I'm glad our guys will get a chance to experience what that's like."
The Wildcats and Lions have played 66 times dating back to 1922 with ACU holding a 38-27-1 advantage, including last year's 45-14 win in Abilene.
The contest is named after former East Texas State and Dallas Cowboys standout, Harvey Martin, who was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in 1987. He was selected an Associated Press Little, Football News and NAIA All-American en route to leading the Lions to a national title as a senior in 1972.
In 2007, Martin was selected to the Lone Star Conference 75th Anniversary Football Team and was named LSC Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1970's. In addition, he earned first team defensive lineman honors for the LSC Football Team of the 1970's and was selected to the LSC All 25-Year Team, where he was recognized as the Best Defensive Player and a first team defensive lineman. Martin was a first team all-Lone Star Conference selection as a junior in 1971 and as a senior in 1972.
Martin went on to become a third round selection by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1973 NFL Draft. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979) and four-time all-pro selection (1976, 1977, 1979, 1982). He was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 1970's and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1977. In Super Bowl XII, he was named the game's MVP along with teammate Randy White.
A&M-Commerce maintains a perfect 7-0 record in the Cotton Bowl, including a 27-15 win last year in the inaugural Harvey Martin Classic over East Central.
