Coaches honored at awards lunch

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Utes and Golden Eagles joined sponsors, family and friends at the annual Liberty Bowl Awards Luncheon at the Park Vista Hotel Monday.

The semiformal gathering included opening remarks by Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart and an official welcome by Memphis mayor Dr. W.W. Herenton.

After lunch, Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson formally presented the league's Coach of the Year award to Utah's Urban Meyer. Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky did likewise for Southern Mississippi's Jeff Bower.

Meyer, who was joined at the head table by Utah athletic director Chris Hill, safety Dave Revill and tight end Ben Moa, earned the accolade for leading the 25th-ranked Utes to a 9-2 record and their first outright conference title in 46 years.

The event ushered in the pomp and circumstance associated with the 45th annual Liberty Bowl.

A breakfast is planned for today, as are visits by both teams to the famed St. Jude's Children's Hospital. A parade on Beale Street is scheduled for 4 p.m., with the President's Gala at the Peobody Hotel slated for later in the evening.

WET WEATHER: For the first time since the Utes arrived on Dec. 26, weather conditions in Memphis were less than ideal. Even so, rain that fell in the morning was still a far cry better than the situation in snowy Salt Lake City.

Temperatures were forecasted to dip into the mid-30s overnight but rebound to 56 degrees with partly cloudy skies on game day.

PERFECT TIMING: Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower likes playing on New Year's Eve. It certainly prefers it to last season when his team was played in the Houston Bowl on Dec. 27.

"The timing of this bowl is perfect," said Bower, who didn't like that his players had to spend Christmas in Houston last year. "You get your exams done with no conflicts. Then you get an opportunity to practice with your squad, cut them loose for Christmas and then report back for the bowl."

ELITE COMPANY: Southern Miss has represented Conference USA in the Liberty Bowl two previous times — with impressive results. The Golden Eagles beat Pittsburgh in 1997 and Colorado State in 1999.

Bower will be making his third appearance as a head coach in the 45-year-old bowl game. Only three other coaches can make that claim — Alabama's Bear Bryant, Air Force's Fisher DeBerry and Colorado State's Sonny Lubick.

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