Football Travels to Case Western Reserve in 31st Annual Academic Bowl

Game Notes - pdf

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to play Case Western Reserve University in the 31st Annual Academic Bowl for its final game of the season Saturday, November 12.  The Tartans enter Saturday's contest with a 6-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) while holding a 1-1 record in the University Athletic Association (UAA). Case Western Reserve is 9-0, 7-0 (PAC) and 2-0 (UAA).  

The game will count towards both the PAC and UAA standings with the top spot in the Association on the line.  If the Spartans win, they will be crowned the outright UAA Champion. If Carnegie Mellon is victorious, they will share the championship with Case Western Reserve and possibly Washington University if they defeat the University of Chicago on Saturday, as all three teams will have a mark of 2-1 in UAA play.

The Academic Bowl is an annual football game between two of the nation's top academic institutions that began in the fall of 1986. The winner is awarded the Academic Bowl trophy. The Academic Bowl is more than a trophy, as it emphasizes a "Commitment to Academic and Athletic Excellence." The Spartans won the first Academic Bowl Trophy in 1986, defeating Carnegie Mellon 21-14. In the all-time Academic Bowl series, the Tartans hold a 16-14 advantage over Case Western Reserve and also lead the all-time series, 27-18.  

The first-ever meeting between the two schools was in 1970, as the Tartans defeated Case Western Reserve, 21-0. Last season, Carnegie Mellon snapped Case Western Reserve's eight game winning streak in the series with a 52-42 win in Pittsburgh, which was the longest in the series for the Spartans. The Tartans longest win streak against Case Western Reserve spanned seven games from 1975-1981.  The Tartans' last win in Cleveland over the Spartans was in 2006.
    
Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. on the turf of DiSanto Field in Cleveland.