Hilltoppers Accept Invitation to 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football has accepted an invitation to play in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl, WKU announced Sunday.

The Hilltoppers will face Old Dominion in the game, which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 18, at Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN.

"First of all, just congratulations to our players, Coach (Tyson) Helton, and his staff," WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said. "One of our goals every year is to make a bowl game, and while a lot of teams make a bowl game each year, not very many do it year after year. I think the consistent success of this program is what I'm most proud of. In all five years under Tyson, we've now been to a bowl game. I don't ever want us to take that for granted because, right now, of the 133 FBS programs in the country, only 16 have made a bowl game each of the last five seasons. That's a pretty small list."

The accepted invitation to the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl marks WKU's 10th bowl game in the past 12 seasons. Starting with the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2012, the Tops have only missed the postseason in 2013 and 2018. This marks the fifth consecutive bowl game appearance for WKU in five seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton at the helm of the program. WKU is one of 16 programs to have played in a bowl game each season since 2019 that will also play in a bowl game in 2023.

WKU finished the 2023 regular season with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-3 mark in Conference USA play. The Hilltoppers became bowl eligible with a 28-23 victory over Sam Houston on Nov. 18 at Houchens-Smith Stadium, and followed with a 41-28 win at FIU in the regular-season finale.

"Just very excited to be a part of this bowl game in Charlotte and play a very good Old Dominion team," Helton said. "I know our players will be excited to go out there and compete. We take a lot of pride in not only going to bowl games, but trying to win bowl games. Our minds will now turn to trying to go win this game. We're going to face a very, very good opponent – one that we're familiar with – and it should be a great competition between two good teams.

"We're really looking forward to going to Charlotte. Charlotte is a very good town, good place to have a bowl game. It's not only a celebration and reward to our players, but it gives them an opportunity to experience new things. We like the fact that we've had opportunities every year since we've been here to go to different places and be a part of good bowl games, and I'm sure this one will be no different. Very, very happy to be in this bowl game and to play a great opponent in Old Dominion."

In its bowl game last year, WKU beat South Alabama 44-23 in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, and the year before the Hilltoppers claimed a 59-38 win over Appalachian State in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. Under Helton, the Hilltoppers also beat Western Michigan, 23-20, in the 2019 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, and fell to Georgia State in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl.

WKU and Old Dominion have met seven times previously when both were members of Conference USA. WKU leads the all-time series 6-1 against the Monarchs. The most recent meeting came during the 2021 season, when the Hilltoppers won 43-20 at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia. Old Dominion – now a member of the Sun Belt Conference – went 6-6 overall this season and 5-3 in conference play.

Tickets for the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl can be purchased HERE. Fans can also call the WKU Ticket Office at 270-745-5222 on Monday-Friday during normal business hours.

For all the latest on WKU Football, follow @WKUFootball on Twitter and Instagram and like the WKU Football Facebook page.

Related Videos