In The News

HOUSTON – Lone Star Sports & Entertainment today announced that the 2022 Battle of the Piney Woods presented by H-E-B, featuring the Sam Houston Bearkats and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, from NRG Stadium in Houston. For the second consecutive year, a live television broadcast of the game will be provided by Bally Sports Southwest across the network’s four-state footprint, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Randy McIlvoy and Taylor McHargue will provide the call, with Deepi Sidhu reporting from the sideline. A radio broadcast of the game will be available in the Houston market on SportsRadio 610 KILT-AM. Fans can purchase tickets and find game information at www.lsse.net/battle-of-the-piney-woods, by visiting the Sam Houston Athletics site at www.gobearkats.com or by visiting the SFA Athletics site at www.sfajacks.com.

 

“H-E-B is excited to build on the Battle of the Piney Woods partnership with Bally Sports Southwest. This year’s slot will continue to grow exposure for this historic matchup,” said H-E-B Houston Director of Marketing Joe Casiano.  “We can’t wait to welcome Bearkat and Lumberjack fans back to NRG Stadium on October 1.”

 

This year’s game marks the 96th meeting between Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin dating back to 1923, making the matchup the third oldest college football rivalry in the state of Texas. In 2021, the Sam Houston emerged with a 21-20 victory over the Stephen F. Austin, erasing a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The Bearkats hold a 58-35-2 edge in the all-time series entering the 2022 matchup.

 

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to producing annual college football events such as the TaxAct Texas Bowl and the Battle of the Piney Woods rivalry between Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the Copa de Lone Star, Copa America Centenario, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, the 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

 

About H-E-B

H-E-B, with annual sales of more than $34 billion, operates more than 400 stores in Texas and Mexico. Recognized for its fresh food, quality products, convenient services, and a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability, H-E-B strives to provide the best customer experience at everyday low prices. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs over 145,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico and serves millions of customers in more than 300 communities. For more information, visit heb.com.

 

Media Contact

Jackson Riebel – jackson.riebel@houstontexans.com

 

HOUSTON – English Premier League champions Manchester City and Liga BBVA MX powerhouse Club América have announced the following rosters that will travel to Houston ahead of the 2022 Copa de Lone Star:

 

MANCHESTER CITY (26 PLAYERS)*

GOALKEEPERS (3): Stefan Ortega, Ederson, Scott Carson

 

DEFENDERS (9): Kyle Walker, Rúben Dias, Nathan Aké, Oleksandr Zinchenko, João Cancelo, Luke Mbete, Rico Lewis, Finley Burns, Josh Wilson-Esbrand

 

MIDFIELDERS (9): Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Cole Palmer, James McAtee, Oscar Bobb, Ben Knight

 

FORWARDS (5): Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Riyad Mahrez, Liam Delap, Kayky

 

*Roster subject to change

 

CLUB AMÉRICA (24 PLAYERS)*

 

GOALKEEPERS (2): Guillermo Ochoa, Óscar Jiménez

 

DEFENDERS (8): Miguel Layún, Jorge Sánchez, Bruno Valdez, Emilio Lara, Néstor Araujo, Sebastián Cáceres, Luis Fuentes, Mauricio Reyes

 

MIDFIELDERS (9): Alejandro Zendejas, Jürgen Damm, Pedro Aquino, Jonathan Dos Santos, Álvaro Fidalgo, Richard Sánchez, Karel Campos, Íker Moreno, Sebastián Martínez

 

FORWARDS (5): Jonathan Rodríguez, Diego Valdés, Román Martínez, Federico Viñas, Henry Martín

 

*Roster subject to change

 

 

The 2022 Copa de Lone Star will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 20. Played at NRG Stadium in Houston, the game will be televised live within the United States on ESPN2 (English) and TUDN (Spanish). The fixtures will also be available globally for fans via Manchester City’s content subscription channel, City+ (excluding USA and Mexico). Fans can visit www.mancity.com and www.clubamerica.com.mx for more information on global broadcast outlets and find match and ticket information at www.lsse.net/copadelonestar.

 

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to producing annual college football events such as the TaxAct Texas Bowl, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the Copa de Lone Star, Copa America Centenario, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, the 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

 

About Manchester City Football Club

 

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, eight League Championship titles, including six Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 12 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

 

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

 

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com.

 

About Club América

 

Founded on October 12, 1916, Club América is the largest and winningest soccer team in both Mexico and North America. The Eagles have secured 13 Liga MX titles, six Copa MX titles and one Liga MX Femenil. At the international level, Club América has won two Inter-American Cups and a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League tiles. Playing its home games at the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Club América is also heavily involved in various social responsibility initiatives and activities.

 

For more information, please visit www.clubamerica.com.mx.

HOUSTON – The 2022 Copa de Lone Star, a showcase international soccer event featuring reigning English Premier League champions Manchester City and Liga BBVA MX powerhouse Club América, will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 20. Played at NRG Stadium in Houston, the game will be televised live within the United States on ESPN2 (English) and TUDN (Spanish). The fixtures will also be available globally for fans via Manchester City's content subscription channel, City+ (excluding USA and Mexico). Fans can visit www.mancity.com and www.clubamerica.com.mx for more information on global broadcast outlets and find match and ticket information at www.lsse.net/copadelonestar.

About Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment is an event management company founded in 2003 that is closely affiliated with the NFL’s Houston Texans. Since its founding, LSSE has established itself as the leading sports event promoter in Houston. In addition to producing annual college football events such as the TaxAct Texas Bowl, LSSE has emerged as a premier promoter for international soccer matches, including the Copa de Lone Star, Copa America Centenario, the 2010 MLS All-Star Game featuring Manchester United, the 2006 FC Barcelona U.S. tour, the International Champions Cup, the 2003 and 2008 matches between the United States and Mexico, and the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

 

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, eight League Championship titles, including six Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 12 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs.

Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

For more information, please visit www.mancity.com.

 

About Club América

Founded on October 12, 1916, Club América is the largest and winningest soccer team in both Mexico and North America. The Eagles have secured 13 Liga MX titles, six Copa MX titles and one Liga MX Femenil. At the international level, Club América has won two Inter-American Cups and a record seven Concacaf Champions Cup/Champions League tiles. Playing its home games at the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Club América is also heavily involved in various social responsibility initiatives and activities.

For more information, please visit www.clubamerica.com.mx

 

It’s June and while we wait for football to return, all we can do is look at projections and predictions. Today, we’ll look at some of the VERY early TaxAct Texas Bowl projections to see who the experts think will take the field at NRG Stadium on December 28.

Last year’s matchup featured lots of purple with the K-State Wildcats facing off against the LSU Tigers. K-State took home the hardware after a 42-20 victory over LSU that featured four Deuce Vaugh touchdowns. With the 2022 TaxAct Texas Bowl in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look at some predictions for the 2022 game.

 CollegeFootballNews.com

Bowl Projection: Baylor vs Auburn

The first projection features a matchup between two teams that haven’t faced off on the gridiron since 1976. Previous matchups have resulted in two Baylor wins, one Auburn win, and one draw. The Baylor Bears are 1-1 in their two TaxAct Texas Bowl games while the Auburn Tigers don’t have an appearance yet. With this being only their fifth matchup ever and their first in almost 50 years it makes for an interesting Bowl game.

 

247sports.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Kentucky

This is another matchup that hasn’t happened in quite some time. These two teams last met on the field back in 1951 with the win going to the Longhorns by a score of 7-6. Now that Texas joining the SEC in the next couple of years this would be one of the last chances for these two to meet before becoming conference mates. Texas has one TaxAct Texas Bowl appearance while Kentucky is a fresh face for this Bowl game. With one team looking to bounce back after a down year and another looking to continue their success from the previous season this looks like a pretty good matchup overall.

 

Actionnetwork.com

Bowl Projection: Texas vs. Tennessee

Once again, we have Texas and a new face to the Bowl game. With these two teams in the game, it becomes a battle of orange schools whose names start with a ‘T’. It’d be the perfect follow-up to the purple vs purple matchup of the K-State vs LSU Bowl game. These two haven’t faced each other since 1969 and the current score is two Texas wins to one Tennessee win. It’s been a long wait but if this is the matchup then Tennessee finally has a chance to tie the series up.

            Join the waitlist to stay informed on all things TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

As spring football comes to a close and teams prepare for the final stretch before the season starts let’s take a look at some rankings. With no actual action on the field, all we can do is argue about where all our teams rank. Here are some post-spring football power rankings for both the BIG 12 and SEC.

In the first set of SEC rankings, there’s the usual Crimson Tide in first place followed up by the defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs. Bryce Young and Will Anderson leading their respective units have the Tide as the favorites to claim the National Championship after a one-year drought. With Georgia having 15 total players drafted they’ll be looking to reload and at worst be in the mix for a CFB playoff spot again. The Aggies are coming in hot this season after assembling the greatest recruiting class in CFB history. Anything other than a CFB Playoff birth will be seen as a wasted year. All those four and five-star players should be able to get the Aggies into their first-ever CFP.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Alabama – Crimson Tide

2.       Georgia – Bulldogs

3.       Texas A&M – Aggies

4.       Kentucky – Wildcats

5.       Arkansas – Razorbacks

6.       Tennessee – Volunteers

7.       Mississippi State – Bulldogs

8.       LSU – Tigers

9.       Ole Miss – Rebels

10.   South Carolina – Gamecocks

11.   Florida – Gators

12.   Auburn – Tigers

13.   Missouri – Tigers

14.   Vanderbilt – Commodores

 

The Big 12 rankings by USA Today have Oklahoma as the current favorites to claim the conference title. Even after taking some considerable loses at various coaching positions and some players transferring OU has done a lot of work to prove they’re still in contention. With Dillon Gabriel out of UCF stepping in at QB and Brent Venables taking over as HC the Sooners will most likely contend for a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl once again. Behind the Sooners are both Oklahoma State and Baylor who both had very successful seasons last year. After facing off for the conference championship last year both teams will look to contend with OU for the Big 12 title this year.

 

Full rankings:

1.       Oklahoma – Sooners

2.       Oklahoma State – Cowboys

3.       Baylor – Bears

4.       Kansas State – Wildcats

5.       Texas – Longhorns

6.       West Virginia – Mountaineers

7.       Iowa State – Cyclones

8.       TCU – Horned Frogs

9.       Texas Tech – Red Raiders

10.   Kansas – Jayhawks