Tar Heels return to Meineke Bowl

For the second straight season, North Carolina is playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte.

The Tar Heels (8-4) have accepted a bid to play 17th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3) at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 26 at Bank of America Stadium in a game that will be televised on ESPN.

Bowl officials sometimes are reluctant to invite the same team in consecutive seasons, but North Carolina's strong record and history of selling lots of tickets to the bowl made the decision easy, according to bowl executive director Will Webb.

Boston College was the only other ACC team available to the Meineke Bowl.

"We're very excited to have them coming back this year," Webb said of the Tar Heels. "In these economic times it's a great place for their fans to come. It's a good opportunity for them to play a ranked team in No. 17 Pittsburgh."

In a statement, North Carolina coach Butch Davis said the Tar Heels are excited to be playing in the Meineke Bowl again.

"We had tremendous fans support at the game in 2008 and will need that against this year against an outstanding Pittsburgh team," Davis said.

Ken Tysiac