TSSAA BlueCross Bowl Dec. 1-3
COOKEVILLE – The “Road to Cookeville” and BlueCross Bowl starts this week as 219 teams in eight classifications begin the first round of the TSSAA High School Football Championships. It all leads up to Dec. 1-3 games when, for the eighth consecutive year, Cookeville and Tennessee Tech University welcome eight championship games to Tucker Stadium.
Almost 40,000 fans will visit Cookeville and the Tennessee Tech campus during the three-day stretch – players, bands, spirit squads and fans. Those who attend will be able to take advantage of Cookeville’s 1,400 hotel rooms, more than 100 restaurants, and hundreds of retail opportunities. Tennessee Tech has 10,492 students on a 235-acre campus. Tucker Stadium seats 16,500 with an artificial turf surface.
For most students, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience; the town works together to produce a first-class event for them. Each school is assigned its own group of volunteers who serve as their “ambassadors.” Duties kick off during semi-final week, continue the week leading up to the game, and end only after the team’s bus has left the stadium.
“The excitement is still there,” said Don Viar, BlueCross Bowl. “Approximately 750 Cookevillians volunteer to host and run the event doing everything from selling tickets to working admission gates, from advising on hotel reservations to arranging for caterers.”
Championship games will be played as follows:
- Thursday, Dec. 1, Division II classes 1A and 2A
- Friday, Dec. 2, Division I classes 1A, 3A, and 5A
- Saturday, Dec. 3, Division I classes 2A, 4A, and 6A
Tickets are $12 per day. Tickets purchased the week of the game at participating schools are $10.
TSSAA’s BlueCross Bowl in Cookeville is a combined effort between the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, City of Cookeville, Putnam County, and Tennessee Tech University.
For TSSAA information and playoff brackets, go to www.tssaa.org. For BlueCross Bowl information along with Cookeville area information, visit www.roadtocookeville.com.
