JONESBORO -- The Arkansas State football team learned this week it will play Mountain West Conference member Nevada in the 2018 Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Dec. 29, at 12:15 p.m. in Tuscon, Ariz.
The game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network (Resort Channel 32).
Making its eighth consecutive and 16th all-time bowl game appearance, the Red Wolves (8-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) announced last week they had accepted an official invitation to play in the fourth edition of the bowl game. While A-State is making its first all-time appearance in the Arizona Bowl, Nevada (7-5, 5-3) will be making its second after also playing in the inaugural contest in 2015.
Arkansas State has played Nevada five times in the all-time series dating back to 1985, holding a 2-3 record against the Wolf Pack. The Red Wolves claimed a 44-28 home win in 1999, the last time they played Nevada.
Arkansas State and Nevada were both members of the Big West Conference from 1993-95, playing twice over that three-year span. A-State collected a 23-21 win in Jonesboro in 1993, while Nevada evened the conference series with a home victory a year later.
The first-ever game played between the two schools took place during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA -- now Football Championship Subdivision -- playoffs and saw the Wolf Pack pick up a narrow 24-23 win. The only other game in the series saw Nevada win during the 1996 season when A-State was playing as an NCAA Division I-A -- now Football Bowl Subdivision -- independent.
The Red Wolves completed the 2018 regular season as the Sun Belt Conference West Division co-champions. Their eight victories matches their third-highest total since moving to FBS status in 1992. A-State has secured a school-record eight consecutive winning seasons and piled up 67 victories from 2011-18 for its most over an eight-year span in the program's 104-year history.
Nevada completed its regular season tied for second in the Mountain West Conference's West Division. Nevada has played in three bowl games since joining the Mountain West in 2012. In addition to the 2015 Arizona Bowl, the Wolf Pack also played in the 2014 New Orleans Bowl and 2012 New Mexico Bowl.
Tickets are currently on sale online at http://www.astateredwolves.com and through the First National Bank Arena ticket office in person or by phone at 870-972-2781. Tickets were sold as placeholder seats through Wednesday, but they are now allocated based on priority. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis after the initial allocation.
Sports on 12/07/2018