Three days before Christmas isn’t the ideal time of year to plan a road trip, but Travellers president Walt Houk thought he had it covered Monday.
“We’ve had a lot of calls all day,” Houk said from the travel agency at 831 Mass., where the company is offering a comprehensive travel plan for Kansas University’s Dec. 22 date in the Tangerine Bowl at Orlando, Fla. “We’ve had an awful lot of inquiries.”
Travellers’ package includes airfare, game tickets and accommodations at KU’s team motel, the Caribe Royal Resort, among other things.
Anthony Travel, a national agency, is offering a package that doesn’t include airfare but does have game tickets, reservations at the team hotel and tickets to local attractions such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.
Both plans can be accessed on the Internet at kualumni.org.
While fans still have a small window to book their own flights, Houk was confident Travellers’ charter flight was the best bet for fans.
“I imagine the flights are getting pretty full,” Houk said. “Not just because of the bowl game. There are people going to Orlando for Christmas, and there are cruise ships leaving from there. It’s a big travel time.”
The Jayhawks (6-6) will meet North Carolina State (7-5) in KU’s first postseason football game since the 1995 Aloha Bowl and its first bowl on the mainland since the 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl.
Fans taking Travellers’ charter won’t have to worry about getting home for the holidays. The return flight was scheduled to land at 11:30 p.m. Dec. 22 in Kansas City, Mo.
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“We’ll come back after the game so people can get into Christmas mode,” Houk said.
For fans pondering a drive to Florida, it’s a 1,280-mile trek from Lawrence to Orlando. That’s a 20-hour, 23-minute drive, according to mapquest.com.
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No guarantees: The Orlando Sentinel reported that N.C. State and Kansas are required to sell 12,500 tickets each, but KU actually won’t be on the hook for its share of the $45 tickets if it can’t sell that many.
Athletic director Lew Perkins clarified Monday that the Big 12 Conference would take care of any shortfall, but he hoped there wouldn’t be one.
“It’s a tough time of year,” Perkins said, “but the kids worked hard for coach (Mark) Mangino, and it would be great to have a good turnout. We’re counting on true KU fans to show up and root on the team.”
Tickets can be ordered at KUStore.com or the bowl’s official Web site, www.fscbowls.com.
Associate athletic director Jim Marchiony was traveling with the men’s basketball team Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, and said an accurate count of KU’s ticket sales was not yet available.
Last year’s Tangerine Bowl drew just 21,689 fans to 65,438-seat Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. Texas Tech defeated Clemson, 55-15, in that game.
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Where to go: Wall Street Plaza in downtown Orlando will be the site of the bowl’s official pep rally. The event is scheduled for 6-11 p.m. Dec. 21. … There will be a tailgate party at 2:30 p.m. Eastern — three hours before kickoff — Dec. 22 at Tinker Field at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.
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Rivers honored: North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers was named the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year Sunday by the Associated Press. He completed 311 of 438 passes (71 percent) for 4,016 yards and 29 touchdowns in 12 games.
The Wolfpack already honored the senior by retiring his No. 17 jersey.
“He has brought the name of N.C. State to the forefront nationally,” coach Chuck Amato told the AP. “He will be a special, special name in the history of N.C. State football forever and ever. He needs to be put up there as one of the best quarterbacks who has ever played.”
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Alabama native was a unanimous pick in 68 votes cast by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Assn.
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What’s in a name?: So you’ve never heard of the Tangerine Bowl? Well, the 14-year-old event also has been the Blockbuster (1990-93), Carquest (1994-97), MicronPC (1998-99), MicronPC.com (2000), Visit Florida Tangerine (2001) and finally the Mazda Tangerine Bowl the last two years.
