Dec. 11--It will be the second appearance in the Alamodome for UCLA Coach Jim Mora and Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder when their teams meet in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2.
They had vastly different experiences on their last visits.
Snyder brought Kansas State to the Alamo Bowl game in 1998.
"I remember it was a very, very positive thing for us," Snyder said during a teleconference call Thursday. "I remember how well we were received and treated, not only by the bowl committee and people associated with the game, but the community itself."
Purdue was a little more rude. The Boilermakers beat the Wildcats, 37-34. The game changed Bowl Championship Series rules. The Wildcats had finished third in the BCS standings, but slipped to the Alamo Bowl after losing the Big 12 championship game.
The "Kansas State" rule guaranteed the No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the BCS standings spots in more prominent bowl games.
Mora came to the Alamodome as the Atlanta Falcons' coach in 2005. The New Orleans Saints were forced to play their games in the stadium after Hurricane Katrina. The Falcons won, 34-31, after a Saints' penalty gave them a second chance on a game-winning field goal with no time left.
"It was an incredibly emotional time," Mora said. "It was post-Katrina. Jeff Haslett, the Saints' coach, was a very good friend. It was unique to come there and play that game."
