Press Release Archive

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Governors Culver, Sanford Make “Win-Win Wager” On Outback Bowl

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver today made a friendly wager with his counterpart in South Carolina on the upcoming Outback Bowl between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. But, the real winners of the wager will be local charities in both Iowa and South Carolina.

Governor Culver is betting South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford that the Hawkeyes will beat the Gamecocks on New Year’s Day. The “winning Governor” will have a donation of home-grown food made in their name to charities in both states. The donations will be made regardless of the outcome of the game.

"I have no doubt in our Iowa Hawkeyes, but this wager is a win-win no matter the outcome of the Outback Bowl," said Governor Culver. "While we are enjoying the success of our college football players on New Year's Day, it's also a chance to remember people in need, whether because of our national economy or our natural disasters, and give something back to help."

Here in Iowa, the Iowa Pork Producers Association will be contributing $500 worth of meat to the Food Bank of Iowa and the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program. The IPPA represents all Iowa pork producers through the pork checkoff. The Food Bank of Iowa, based in Des Moines, distributes food through a network of 280 non-profit organizations in 42 Iowa counties. HACAP is headquartered in Hiawatha and serves some of the communities hardest hit by last summer’s floods.

In South Carolina, the state’s Department of Agriculture will be donating a similar amount of food to the Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia, SC.

"We're awfully proud to have the University of South Carolina in the Outback Bowl, and I know they will represent our state well," Governor Sanford said. "More importantly, I want to thank Governor Culver for joining with me on this front, and having some good-natured fun in a way that also helps give back to those in need."

The Outback Bowl begins at 10:00 am (Central Time) on New Year’s Day and can be viewed on ESPN or listened to statewide on the Hawkeye Radio Network.