It’s fitting that on a day when Iowa City received its first significant snow fall of winter, the University of Iowa football team accepted an invitation to play in a bowl game with a slogan of “Football in Paradise.”

Head coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeye football team will face Louisiana State University in the 2014 Outback Bowl, held in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on New Years Day. Iowa finished the 2013 season with an 8-4 record and will enter its fourth appearance in the Outback Bowl having won its last three games, including victories at Purdue, vs. Michigan, and at Nebraska.

“It’s a really happy day for our football team,” Ferentz said at a press conference on Sunday night. “We’re thrilled to be going back to Tampa Bay and the Outback Bowl. They do a fantastic job there, not only hosting the teams, but also matching us with a marquee opponent.”

The Hawkeyes and this year’s marquee matchup, the LSU Tigers, have a little bit of bowl history. The two teams met in the 2005 Capital One Bowl and the game produced one of the most exciting finishes in Iowa football history, when Drew Tate connected with Warren Holloway on a 56-yard touchdown pass as time expired.

The 2013 edition of the LSU Tigers finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and a 5-3 mark in the Southeastern Conference. One of LSU’s wins caught the eye of Ferentz immediately.

“They are the only team, to my knowledge, to beat (SEC champion) Auburn this year,” Ferentz said. “Auburn is an outstanding football team and I’ve seen them the last two weekends on television.”

Ferentz and the Iowa football team aren’t the only ones excited about another trip to Tampa in January. UI director of athletics Gary Barta made note that the team took care of the work on the field to get invited to the Outback Bowl and the reputation of Iowa’s loyal fan base helped get the Hawkeyes back to the Sunshine State.

“I’ll stand pretty tall on the brand of Iowa,” Barta said. “When it comes down to the bowl discussion, we say it all the time but we have some of the best fans in the country and the bowls know that. I can talk with them about our television ratings or I can show them the bowl attendance and ticket sales. Believe me that means a lot to the bowls.”

Ferentz echoed Barta’s appreciation of the Hawkeye faithful.

Ferentz and Barta were all smiles after finding out the Hawkeyes were headed back to the Outback Bowl. Photo by Bill Adams.

“Our fan support is legendary, really, with the bowl people,” Ferentz said. “We’ve traveled well to Tampa now three times in recent history and I think that probably helped with (Outback Bowl executive director) Jim (McVay) and the group down there, just knowing how enthusiastic our fans are about traveling to Tampa.”

Most of the bowl-resume building happens on the field in wins and losses but it takes support from the entire administration to not only build a successful program, but also achieve success in the bowl circuit. Ferentz knows he has the support of everyone involved.

“Any coach at any level would tell you they appreciate it when people running the programs support them,” Ferentz said. “That means an awful lot because you can make decisions for the right reasons, not for game day decisions or having to win next week-type of reasons.

“I’m very appreciative of Gary’s support, President Mason has been tremendous, and President Skorton was outstanding prior to that,” Ferentz said. “As a football coach, I really appreciate that, especially as the culture and climate nationally continues to change. To me, that’s the way it should be.”

Sunday was a great day, indeed, for Iowa football. From 4-8 a year ago to 8-4 and some “Football in Paradise.” That should make a few snowy days around the Hayden Fry Football Complex just a little bit warmer.