The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IT IS bowl week in the Bahamas.

Both teams, along with their travelling fan-bases, have arrived in the capital for a week of activities building up to the showdown between the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders and the Western Michigan Broncos at the 2015 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

The teams were hosted to a welcome reception at the Atlantis resort last night as many of the players and staff make their first steps toward being acclimate to the Bahamas.

Activities continue today with the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Player Beach Bash and Dinner, also at the Atlantis. Tuesday will feature a pair of community outreach programmes to bridge the gap between the bowl as an organisation, the teams, and locals, with a special focus on the underserved youth in the community. Players from both teams will make a visit to the Ranfurly Home for Children 2-3pm. The teams will then shift venues to host a Youth Football Leadership Clinic 3–5:30pm at the Roscow Davies Soccer Field. There will be a final press conference on December 23 prior to gametime - noon December 24 at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium.

The Blue Raiders will represent Conference-USA in the bowl. They concluded the season with a 42-7 win in their regular season finale. This will be the fifth bowl game appearance, and the first since the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl, for the Blue Raiders, all under head coach Rick Stockstill, who is in his 10th season at the school.

The Broncos will be favoured by three points over the Blue Raiders when the teams face off.

The Broncos, 7-5 overall and 6-2 in MAC play, will come into the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl with a share of the MAC West Division title after posting six victories in their last eight games, including a 35-30 victory over No. 24 Toledo in WMU’s last game.

It will mark Western Michigan’s seventh overall bowl game appearance, and it will be the second straight for the Broncos under head coach PJ Fleck, who is in his third season at the school and is the youngest head coach at the FBS level.

The Broncos played in the 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Air Force.

This is the second time Western Michigan will participate in a bowl game outside of the United States as the Broncos played in the inaugural 2007 International Bowl against Cincinnati in Toronto, Canada.

Blue Raiders safety Kevin Byard said he anticipated the experience and looked forward to bonding with his teammates.

“My high school coach called yesterday asking about special rates so he might could go down and watch. It’s definitely an exciting time. My family won’t be able to make the trip, but I know they’ll be watching on ESPN. I’ve had lots of calls congratulating us,” he said. “I heard they have a nice water slide down there with sharks and stuff like that. I don’t really have to do too much. Being with my brothers and spending time with them is something I definitely look forward to.”

Blue Raiders linebacker TT Barber said: “My little sister texted me wanting to go with me. My family and friends told me I’m lucky for going, and I agree. We’ve been working all season and finally get to go to the Bahamas, which is a great reward.”

Fleck said he expects a full contingent of support for his Broncos with a trip to the Bahamas as a main selling point for family members and friends of the programme.

“I don’t think it’s very hard to convince your family members to come the Bahamas. We have a video release of when we told our players were coming to the Bahamas and they went absolutely crazy. They’re like little kids in a candy store. Practices are absolutely crazy when you know you’re coming to the Bahamas because there’s that light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “We will have a great turnout, we really will because we have a very close knit family. We want their entire families to show support no matter where they go.”