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Issued: August 29, 2005

BLUGOLDS LOOK TO CONTINUE SUCCESS IN CLEAR WATER BOWL

The Clear Water Bowl will return home this year for the UW-Eau Claire football team.

The sixth annual event, targeted around the Blugolds' home opener, will take place Saturday when the Blugolds host St. John's University at Carson Park. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. for the showdown with the perennial Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) powerhouse directed by the winningest coach in all of college football in the person of John Gagliardi.

In this fall's D3football.com preseason poll, the Johnnies are ranked No. 10 and the Blugolds No. 22 while Street & Smith's preseason poll has St. John's at No. 4 and the Blugolds at No. 23.

Last year, the Blugolds were forced to take their "home opener" on the road when the artificial turf at Carson Park was not completed in time for their first game. The game was to have pitted the Blugolds against defending NCAA Division III national champion St. John. The Blugolds instead traveled to Collegeville, Minnesota to face the Johnnies but were able to prevail there regardless, taking a 30-28 decision.

This will be the fourth time that St. John's will be the Clear Water Bowl opponent and the Blugolds have prevailed in both 2002 (28-21 in OT) and 2004 (30-28). St. John's won the inaugural Clear Water Bowl, 49-14, in 2000. In the other two Clear Water Bowl contests, the Blugolds disposed of Augsburg, also an MIAC foe, by scores of 37-14 (2001) and 52-20 (2003).

A pre-game festival will take place in the Oak Pavilion area of Carson Park from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. Sodexho, the UWEC food service contractor, will be selling food and beverages to any and all attendees. Among the menu items will be brats & kraut, hamburgers & cheeseburgers, Ball Park hot dogs, veggie burgers, snack desserts, chips and bottled soda. A beer garden will also be set up stocked by Blugold corporate partner M&L Brands. Students on a fixed meal deduction plan can use their meal card for a hot dog combo.

- TP -

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