ORANGE BOWL COMMITTEE MAKES CONTRIBUTION TO COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS DISPLACED BY HURRICANE KATRINA

Miami, FL (www.orangebowl.org) –The Orange Bowl Committee announced Friday efforts to assist the athletic programs at the University of Southern Mississippi and Tulane University as well as the Sun Belt Conference with a contribution of $150,000. Additionally, $1 for every ticket sold to the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl will be collected and distributed to other need-base organizations following this year’s game.

“The Orange Bowl Committee is dedicated to helping these institutions regain a sense of normality in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” commented Peter T. Pruitt, Jr., President of the Orange Bowl Committee. “The catastrophic loss these programs endured is overwhelming and will take years to overcome. The Orange Bowl Committee is honored to do our part in assisting these programs in their time of need.”

Many collegiate institutions suffered significant losses, including New Orleans-based Tulane University and the Sun Belt Conference, who were forced to relocate. The University of Southern Mississippi, just over 100 miles north of New Orleans, followed in the path of Hurricane Katrina and also suffered massive damage to its campuses.

To the Orange Bowl Committee board, Peter Pruitt and Keith Tribble, this is an awesome response in a great time of need,” said Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson. “For everybody on the Gulf Coast, on behalf of the 300 plus student-athletes and staff of Tulane University, we would like to thank everybody who has helped us. This gesture will be remembered for a lifetime.”

The Sun Belt Conference, as explained by Commissioner Wright Waters, will use its total contributions to assist its member institutions who were affected by the storm, including the University of New Orleans, which lost its campus, as well as Louisiana-Lafayette, South Alabama, Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas-Little Rock, which are currently serving as evacuation centers.

“We are very appreciative of the Orange Bowl Committee’s generosity,” added Waters. “This truly noble act reaffirms our faith in the intercollegiate athletic community, which includes the Orange Bowl Committee and so many others who have risen in the time of need. This is what we all have grown to expect form the Orange Bowl [Committee]. When someone needs to step up and show leadership, the Orange Bowl [Committee] is always at the top of the list.”

“The University of Southern Mississippi is overwhelmed by the generosity of the Orange Bowl Committee in their gift to us in our time of need,” added Richard Giannini, Director of Athletics at the University of Southern Mississippi. “We’re most appreciative of Peter Pruitt, Keith Tribble and the entire Committee membership for taking a leadership role in assisting Universities during what has become the biggest natural disaster in the history of the United States.”

“Seeing what the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has done to the schools along the Gulf Coast, especially in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, it is nothing short of horrific,” commented Keith R. Tribble, Chief Executive Officer of the Orange Bowl Committee. “There is not enough that we can do to bring back normalcy to the countless thousands that were affected and uprooted from their campuses. As we join the outstretched arms of a global community brought together by this tragedy we implore everyone to keep these families and friends continually in our hearts and prayer.”

-- Orange Bowl Committee --


Joe Hornstein
Director of Media Relations
Orange Bowl Committee

703 Waterford Way, Suite 590
Miami, Florida 33126