MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and Syracuse will play each other in this year's Pinstripe Bowl, played at Yankee Stadium Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. Central.
"Our players are really excited. This is a once and a lifetime opportunity," said Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck. "A lot of our players have never been to New York City. They've never been to Times Square. They've never been in the experience they're about to embark on."
The Gophers will be the eighth different Big Ten Conference team to play in this bowl game in the last eight seasons.
"There is no place in the world like New York City on Christmas time," said Fleck.
The game will be played at iconic Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees.
"You're playing in New York. You're playing in the media capital of the world. Our fans will be there, you're playing in Yankee Stadium. It's as big a stage, as there is," said Syracuse Athletic Director John Wildhack.
"Being able to play in one of the most historic venues, one of the most iconic venues, truly is an honor," said Fleck.
A unique intersection of the Gophers and Orangemen's Pinstripe Bowl matchup is Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle, who hired both P.J. Fleck at Minnesota and Dino Babers when he was at Syracuse back in 2015.
"The one thing that really stood out about Dino and Coach Fleck is they're even better people," said Coyle. "They're wonderful men with great character, I think there's a reason why you see them having so much success. They're both great, great football coaches, but even better people, and I'm excited to see the success that they both have."
"I'm glad that I don't have to learn the names of the athletic director or the other head coach, or practice saying that," said Babers.
Before being at their current schools, Babers and Fleck faced off while they were head coaches at Bowling Green and Western Michigan in the MAC Conference. Fleck won the duos initial meeting in 2014, Babers won the second matchup in 2015.
With a win at the end of the month, Minnesota would improve to 4-0 in Bowl games under Fleck, and finish with nine wins for the third time in the last four seasons.
"That is historic for our program, as we keep knocking down a lot of nevers and firsts," said Fleck.
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