Strong Fan Support Leaves Lasting Impression In Memphis

Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss fans showed their support for the Black and Gold in a big way during the bowl week and made a lasting impression not only on the Liberty Bowl officials but the city of Memphis as well.

Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini announced that 11,996 tickets were distributed from the Southern Miss ticket office for the 2003 AXA Liberty Bowl. There were 10,419 tickets sold, including 1,030 student tickets and then an additional 1,577 tickets were distributed to reach the final number. Estimates for the entire number of tickets purchased by Southern Miss fans - from USM or other sources - have hovered around 25,000.

"We appreciate all the Southern Miss fans who showed their support to the University by coming to Memphis and cheering for the Golden Eagles," Giannini said. "It was great to see so many fans buy tickets through our ticket office and support us in that way.

"In addition to those fans, it was great to see how many more Golden Eagle fans were in attendance at the game. The atmosphere was outstanding with all of our fans making so much noise, it seemed like we were playing a home game.

"The Liberty Bowl officials were extremely pleased with the support shown by the Golden Eagle fans, not only at the game, but also at the parade and other activities associated with the bowl. They said it was the largest crowd to attend the parade in 10 years. That is a compliment to how dedicated our fans are to Southern Miss."