DALLAS – Conference USA will be sending six schools to play in bowl games this holiday season.  C-USA Champion UAB leads the group of six teams, joined in the postseason by East Champion Middle Tennessee, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall and North Texas.
 
UAB enters postseason play with a school-record 10 wins when its represents C-USA in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton, Florida.  The Blazers will face Mid-American Conference Champion Northern Illinois in the fifth annual game, which kicks off on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST on ESPN.  This will be the first time in school history that UAB will be making back-to-back bowl appearances.
 
Middle Tennessee will make its fourth consecutive bowl appearance when it plays in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.  The Blue Raiders will face Sun Belt Conference Champion Appalachian State on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST on ESPN.  This will be the Blue Raiders first appearance in the New Orleans Bowl since 2009.
 
FIU will make its second straight bowl appearance under head coach Butch Davis with an appearance in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl in Nassau on Friday, Dec. 21 (12:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. CST).  This will be the fourth bowl trip in Panthers history and the second time that it will face Toledo in the postseason (FIU defeated Toledo, 34-32, in the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl).  A Panthers victory would set an FIU single-season program record for victories.
 
Louisiana Tech will be in a bowl game for the fifth straight season when it participates in the SoFi Hawai’i Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 10:30 p.m. EST/9:30 p.m. CST on ESPN).  The Bulldogs, who are one of four FBS programs to have bowl wins the last four seasons will face home-standing Hawai’i in the game.  C-USA teams have won six of their last seven games in the Hawai’i Bowl.
 
North Texas will kick off the 2018-19 bowl season when it faces Utah State in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. CST on ESPN.  The Mean Green will be looking to match the school record for victories with 10, a figure last reached in 1977.
 
Marshall will represent C-USA in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on ESPN.  The Tampa Bay area bowl will play its game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for this first time, a venue that happens to be the home stadium for the Thundering Herd’s opponent, South Florida.  Marshall is 11-2 all-time in bowl games and this will be its third appearance in this bowl since 2011.
 
Conference USA is 26-16 (.619) over the past six years in bowl games, which included five straight winning seasons from 2013-17.
 
2018-19 C-USA BOWL SCHEDULE
 
NEW MEXICO BOWL (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Saturday, December 15

North Texas vs. Utah State (ESPN)                                 1 p.m. CST
 
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Saturday, December 15

Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State (ESPN)       8 p.m. CST
 
CHERIBUNDI BOCA RATON BOWL (Boca Raton, Florida)

Tuesday, December 18

UAB vs. Northern Illinois (ESPN)                                     6 p.m. CST
 
BAD BOY MOWERS GASPARILLA BOWL (Tampa Bay, Florida)

Thursday, December 20

Marshall vs. South Florida (ESPN)                                  7 p.m. CST
 
MAKERS WANTED BAHAMAS BOWL (Nassau, Bahamas)

Friday, December 21

FIU vs. Toledo (ESPN)                                                       11:30 a.m. CST
 
SoFI HAWAI’I BOWL (Honolulu, Hawai’i)

Saturday, December 22

Louisiana Tech vs. Hawai’i (ESPN)                                 9:30 p.m. CST