WKU Football accepts invitation to 2025 New Orleans Bowl
WKU Athletics Press Release
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football has accepted an invitation to play in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl, WKU announced Sunday.
The Hilltoppers will face Southern Miss in the game, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
“We’re really excited to return to the New Orleans Bowl. They do a great job,” WKU Football Head Coach Tyson Helton said. “We get to play a great opponent in Southern Miss. It should be a great game.”
It is the program’s second appearance in the New Orleans Bowl. The Hilltoppers defeated South Alabama 44-23 in the 2022 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
The New Orleans Bowl marks WKU’s 12th bowl game in the past 14 seasons. Starting with the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2012, the Tops have only missed the postseason in 2013 and 2018. This marks the seventh consecutive bowl game appearance for WKU in six seasons under Helton. WKU is one of nine programs to have played in a bowl game or College Football Playoff game each season since 2019 that is also bowl eligible in 2025.
WKU enters bowl season with an 8-4 overall record. It marks the team’s fifth consecutive season with at least eight wins. The Hilltoppers are one of two non-Power Conference programs that have won at least eight games every season since 2021, and one of 10 programs in the nation that have won at least eight games each season since 2021 and currently have at least eight wins.
“The year marks 25 years of the New Orleans Bowl, and we could not be more excited to welcome the Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles to New Orleans to help us celebrate this incredible milestone,” New Orleans Bowl Executive Director Billy Ferrante said. “There’s nothing like the pageantry of the bowl season, and we look forward to sharing this with two teams who have worked so hard to get here.”
Southern Miss posted a 7-5 overall record during the 2025 season. The Hilltoppers are 4-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, with the last meeting between the two programs coming in Bowling Green during the 2020 season – a 10-7 WKU win.
Ticket requests for the 2025 New Orleans Bowl can be made HERE. Fans can also call the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIGRED for more information.
