The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen will play in the 2007 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl with a six win or better regular season, San Diego Bowl Game Association President Rudy Castruita announced today.

“We’re ecstatic the Midshipmen will likely be returning to San Diego for the third annual bowl game,” Castruita said. “They created so much excitement in the inaugural game two years ago and we sincerely would look forward to their tradition-rich football program returning to San Diego this December.”

The agreement is for 2007 only. The bowl game will match the Midshipmen against the second selection from the nine-team Mountain West Conference. The Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl has the first pick. Navy played in the inaugural San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in 2005 defeating the Colorado State Rams 51-30 in front of 35,842 Qualcomm Stadium fans.

“The Navy family is still talking about the fantastic experience we had in San Diego for the inaugural game,” said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. “The bowl staff makes this game a first class experience for our team and all who visit one of the finest destination cities in the country. We need to win games this fall to be rewarded, but our fans can be certain that having a trip to San Diego in December as a possibility will be more motivation than ever for our team to succeed.”

The 2006 Navy Midshipmen finished their regular season with a 9-3 record and were rewarded with an invitation to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were narrowly defeated by Boston College 25-24.

The date and time for this year’s Poinsettia Bowl have yet to be determined, though it is certain it will be played prior to the Christmas Day holiday. For ticket information, call the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl at 619-285-5061.