'Holiday' season starts with quick trip
December 17, 2015 | Football
Recapping the Badgers' jaunt to San Diego
MADISON, Wis. -- The trip started at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday and ended at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. In just a little more than 24 hours, a small contingent of Wisconsin athletic department officials, including Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez and head coach Paul Chryst, traveled 4,000 miles from Madison to San Diego and back on an eight-seat Citation Encore and were officially introduced to the Holiday Bowl.
After checking into the team hotel and having a couple hours to explore the expansive, bayside property, the group made the short walk to the Marriott Marquis. On the docket was the first official bowl function, a press conference featuring the two coaches from the teams in the Poinsettia Bowl, Northern Illinois and Boise State, and then the Holiday Bowl coaches, Chryst and Clay Helton from USC.
"I was fortunate to live here for three years and know what a great place this is and for our kids to experience it, it's big-time, and we appreciate it," Chryst told a gathering of approximately 15 media members, reflecting on his time as a member of the San Diego Chargers coaching staff. "Our kids are excited to come to San Diego and be part of the Holiday Bowl. Then when you find out that you're playing USC, it grabs their attention quick."
Helton quickly demonstrated his familiarity with the Badgers.
"We've been so impressed with Coach Chryst and his staff and his team as we have scouted tape this week," he said in his opening statement. "Defensively, any time that you hold teams to 13 points a game, you're doing something really, really right. I've been extremely impressed by their quarterback. To be able to set maybe an all-time victory mark for the school speaks volumes of the character that he has and the leadership that he has."
At the conclusion of the press conference, the coaches and administrators joined a group of nearly 200 bowl officials, volunteers and sponsors for the San Diego Bowl Association Directors' Dinner. The highlight of the event came at the end, when all four coaches were on the stage with emcee Bruce Binkowski, the Executive Consultant for the San Diego Bowl Game Association.
Each coach talked about their previous connections to San Diego. Brian Harsin of Boise State, Rod Carey of Northern Illinois and Helton have all coached teams in the Poinsettia or Holiday Bowls previously. Chryst spoke glowingly of his three years with the San Diego Chargers, joking "I just wish we had won enough games to stick around longer."
The quips didn't stop there, with many of them directed at Binkowski, who is retiring after 38 years with the San Diego Bowl Game Association. He began a question to the coaches about pet peeves during games, enumerating a long list of his own pet peeves. Carey spoke of his offensive line coach constantly chewing gum loudly into the headsets during games. When Chryst proudly announced he knew of no such pet peeves of his own, he added, "Though with your list Bruce, I now know why you're moving to Montana."
The night also included a special announcement regarding the Holiday Bowl, a new title sponsor. National Funding and their CEO, David Gilbert, stepped in to fill a void created when a replacement for National University, the game sponsor the past two seasons, was needed. National Funding is a San Diego-based financial technology company serving small to medium-sized businesses nationwide.
The Badgers will be heading back west with the football team in two in just seven days. And if the short time on the ground in San Diego this week was any indication, the bowl experience will be a memorable one for the players and staff.
After checking into the team hotel and having a couple hours to explore the expansive, bayside property, the group made the short walk to the Marriott Marquis. On the docket was the first official bowl function, a press conference featuring the two coaches from the teams in the Poinsettia Bowl, Northern Illinois and Boise State, and then the Holiday Bowl coaches, Chryst and Clay Helton from USC.
"I was fortunate to live here for three years and know what a great place this is and for our kids to experience it, it's big-time, and we appreciate it," Chryst told a gathering of approximately 15 media members, reflecting on his time as a member of the San Diego Chargers coaching staff. "Our kids are excited to come to San Diego and be part of the Holiday Bowl. Then when you find out that you're playing USC, it grabs their attention quick."
Helton quickly demonstrated his familiarity with the Badgers.
"We've been so impressed with Coach Chryst and his staff and his team as we have scouted tape this week," he said in his opening statement. "Defensively, any time that you hold teams to 13 points a game, you're doing something really, really right. I've been extremely impressed by their quarterback. To be able to set maybe an all-time victory mark for the school speaks volumes of the character that he has and the leadership that he has."
At the conclusion of the press conference, the coaches and administrators joined a group of nearly 200 bowl officials, volunteers and sponsors for the San Diego Bowl Association Directors' Dinner. The highlight of the event came at the end, when all four coaches were on the stage with emcee Bruce Binkowski, the Executive Consultant for the San Diego Bowl Game Association.
Each coach talked about their previous connections to San Diego. Brian Harsin of Boise State, Rod Carey of Northern Illinois and Helton have all coached teams in the Poinsettia or Holiday Bowls previously. Chryst spoke glowingly of his three years with the San Diego Chargers, joking "I just wish we had won enough games to stick around longer."
The quips didn't stop there, with many of them directed at Binkowski, who is retiring after 38 years with the San Diego Bowl Game Association. He began a question to the coaches about pet peeves during games, enumerating a long list of his own pet peeves. Carey spoke of his offensive line coach constantly chewing gum loudly into the headsets during games. When Chryst proudly announced he knew of no such pet peeves of his own, he added, "Though with your list Bruce, I now know why you're moving to Montana."
The night also included a special announcement regarding the Holiday Bowl, a new title sponsor. National Funding and their CEO, David Gilbert, stepped in to fill a void created when a replacement for National University, the game sponsor the past two seasons, was needed. National Funding is a San Diego-based financial technology company serving small to medium-sized businesses nationwide.
The Badgers will be heading back west with the football team in two in just seven days. And if the short time on the ground in San Diego this week was any indication, the bowl experience will be a memorable one for the players and staff.
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