Tulane and USC will face off in this year's Cotton Bowl Classic on Monday, Jan. 2 but this game is about much more than what happens on the field.
"We are really excited about the match-up," said Cotton Bowl Chairman, Dave Brown.
It's the 87th Cotton Bowl and already North Texas is a winner.
"It has grown over the years and it has just become a fixture in our community, part of our sports scene here in Dallas," Brown said.
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Dave Brown is the chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. This year #16 Tulane and #10 USC will be on the field.
It's the third Cotton Bowl Classic appearance for the Trojans and the first for the Green Wave.
Both teams come to Arlington with an 11- 2 record and once again, a Heisman-winning quarterback will be at AT&T Stadium: Caleb Williams.
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"The Cotton Bowl seems to have a knack for Heisman trophy winners playing the game, we had Bryce Young last year, obviously Caleb Williams this year, you just go back in time, Roger Staubach, Bo Jackson, Doug Flutie, Tim Brown, the list goes on and on of Heisman trophy winners that have been featured in the Cotton Bowl," Brown said.
The 87th Cotton Bowl Classic and the 14th at AT&T Stadium comes with a $100 million local economic impact, according to Brown.
"We are going to have a lot of folks coming into town that are going to spend the weekend, stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants. That's part of the benefit of the Cotton Bowl, how we energize our community and create economic impact," Brown said.
And it also has an impact on charity—the Cotton Bowl Foundation donates about $500,000 a year to different charities in the community.
"And we are able to now go out and take the proceeds from the game and focus on what we think is our sweet spot which is in terms of giving back and that is in our education system in our community," Brown said.
