The Arkansas State Athletics Department announced Tuesday that the Red Wolves have accepted an official invitation to play in the 2018 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 12:15 p.m. (CT).

JONESBORO, Ark. (A-STATE) – The Arkansas State Athletics Department announced Tuesday that the Red Wolves have accepted an official invitation to play in the 2018 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 12:15 p.m. (CT).

Making its eighth consecutive and 16th all-time bowl-game appearance, A-State will play a Mountain West Conference opponent at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. The Red Wolves opponent for the CBS Sports Network-televised contest will likely be announced this Sunday.

“This is another excellent opportunity for our guys to experience a great bowl setting against a strong opponent,” said A-State Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Terry Mohajir. “In addition, it gives our alumni and fans attending the game more time to plan their trip to an outstanding destination.”

Arkansas State most recently played in the 2017 Camellia Bowl, one year after defeating UCF in the Cure Bowl. A-State also appeared in the 2015 New Orleans Bowl, which followed four consecutive trips to the GoDaddy Bowl that is now known as the Dollar General Bowl.

The Red Wolves completed the regular season with an 8-4 overall record and as the Sun Belt Conference West Division co-champions. Their eight victories matches their third highest total since moving to FBS status in 1992. A-State has secured a school-record eight consecutive winning seasons and piled up 67 victories from 2011-18 for its most over an eight-year span in the program’s 104-year history.

“We’re excited to continue our season at the Arizona Bowl,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “This will obviously be our first appearance in this bowl game, so it will give our team a new experience at a beautiful destination and a stadium where we haven’t played before. We know we will face a great opponent that will present a tough challenge, but we’re looking forward to the opportunity to win our ninth game of the season.”

This year’s A-State matchup versus a Mountain West Conference opponent will mark the fourth edition of the Arizona Bowl. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase all tickets to the Arizona Bowl through Arkansas State Athletics. Purchasing tickets directly through A-State provides many benefits, including sitting with other A-State fans, providing direct revenue back to the university athletics programs, making A-State attractive to future bowl organizations and more.

Tickets are currently on sale online at AStateRedWolves.com/BowlCentral and through the First National Bank Arena in person or by phone (870-972-2781) beginning tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.

Tickets will be sold as a placeholder seat until Wednesday, Dec. 7. Beginning Dec. 8, all tickets will be allocated based on priority. Following the initial allocation, tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis.