This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
San Diego • Brigham Young University officials told the Poinsettia Bowl that BYU fans would flock to their game in San Diego in December, and Wednesday night they delivered on that promise.
Qualcomm Stadium was packed with Cougar fans for the game, and Wyoming fans represented as well.
Duff Tittle, BYU Associate Athletic Director for Communications, said more than 9,500 tickets were sold through the Marriott Center ticket office. BYU also gave a "couple hundred" tickets to military families and some children's groups in San Diego, Tittle said.
Wyoming officials reported selling between 3,100 and 3,200 tickets through their ticket office.
Before the game, fans from both Wyoming and BYU tailgated in the huge parking lot surrounding the stadium.
Wyoming fans Jim and Charlotte Newcastle made the trip from Sheridan, Wyo., and said they vowed years ago to attend the next bowl game the Cowboys went to because Wyoming, the Mountain West Conference champions, hadn't been to one since 2011.
"Getting to play in beautiful San Diego against an old, hated rival was just icing on the cake," Jim Newcastle said.
It was BYU's 12th-straight trip to a bowl game, and second time in San Diego in four years. Still, the Parker family of Idaho Falls, Idaho, made the trip down.
"A lot of great BYU football memories were made on that field over there," Stephen Parker said. "I think it is cool that we're playing Wyoming. That brings back a lot of memories, too. We had a lot of good battles with them over the years."
Poinsettia Bowl executive director Mark Neville told BYUtv Wednesday morning that a crowd of between 25,000-28,000 was expected.
"Having BYU and Wyoming in this game makes it very enjoyable," Neville said. "We work for this all year long. … We credit BYU with putting the Holiday Bowl on the map."
What about bowl game next year?
BYU will return to San Diego in 2018 for another appearance in the Poinsettia Bowl. The Cougars will play in the Hawaii Bowl in 2019 in Honolulu. But the Cougars will be a free agent next year with one stipulation, Tittle confirmed on Saturday.
"We have an agreement in place with ESPN to participate in a bowl game in 2017, but have not yet finalized the specific bowl," Tittle said.
BYU already has a deal with ESPN that allows the network first selection rights to all its home football games and any neutral site matchup where BYU is the designated home team. The agreement runs through 2018, and ESPN has an option to extend the agreement through 2019.
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates 13 bowl games for the 2016 season, so those would be among BYU's options in 2017, should the Cougars become bowl eligible and not participate in the College Football Playoff or a New Year's Day Six bowl game.
Briefly
Starting linebacker Frances Bernard did not play in the game, for reasons not disclosed before kickoff. … BYU's helmets featured stickers with a tribute to Elsie Mahe and Hayes Tate, children of former BYU player Reno Mahe and former Utah player Steve Tate who recently passed away.
Twitter: @drewjay