On Saturday morning, New Mexico State, Southwestern Louisiana and Nevada all had markedly better odds of going to the Las Vegas Bowl than did Utah State. But the Aggies weren't caught napping - not on the field, not in the front office.
On Saturday night's victorious charter flight home from Las Cruces, N.M., where Utah State's 20-17 win over New Mexico State and a helping hand from Arkansas State made the Aggies the Big West Conference representatives to Las Vegas Bowl II, athletic director Chuck Bell revealed USU's game plan for the weeks leading up to the Dec. 17 bowl.From staff meetings to ticketing to press conferences to pep rallies to a state-long, snowballing bus caravan - they were all already in the works before players had even finished their postgame sack dinners on the plane.
Bell held meetings Sunday to brief his staff on the plans.
Morris Travel of Logan (1-800-999-8188) is putting together bus and airline packages that include game tickets, and game tickets are available at the USU ticket office ($30 reserved; 1-800-249-BLUE). Tickets were to go on sale Monday. Morris is to have a booth at the Aggie exhibition basketball game Monday night in the Spectrum.
The Vegas Bowl will hold a press conference Monday, Nov. 29, for the coaches, USU's Charlie Weatherbie and Ball State's Paul Schudel. USU officials will stay to tour the stadium and other event sites and finalize plans for the rallies, tailgate parties and pre- and post-game parties.
The team will leave Logan by bus Sunday, Dec. 12, and stay in St. George a day, arriving in Vegas on Tuesday.
Bell said there are plans for a length-of-the-state caravan of booster buses on Thursday, Dec. 16. They'll start in Logan and pick up buses of fans on the way. Bell hopes to have as many as 18 busloads of fans arriving in Las Vegas, where he hopes they'll be met by police car and helicopter escorts.