After days of speculation, Arkansas officially announced Sunday afternoon that the Razorbacks will play in the Liberty Bowl.

Arkansas (7-5) will face East Carolina (9-4), which upset then-No. 18 Houston on Saturday in the Conference USA Championship.

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The Razorbacks have played three times previously in the Liberty Bowl, each ending in a loss.

Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino coached Louisville in the Liberty Bowl in 2004, when the Cardinals defeated then-unbeaten Boise State, 44-40.

"I'm excited about the preparation for the game and our team learning how to prepare for a bowl game," Petrino said.

The Liberty Bowl will kick off Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Arkansas has never faced East Carolina, but the Pirates will provide plenty of storylines leading up to the bowl game. East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz is a graduate of Fayetteville High School and his father, Lou Holtz, coached Arkansas from 1977-83.

Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said the UA had received 15,000 requests for ticket reservations prior to the announcement.

All seats at the Liberty Bowl are priced at $50.

Tickets may be purchased online through the university for $50 in addition to a $10 processing fee for each order. Visa and Mastercard are accepted online.

All Razorback fans are eligible to order bowl tickets. Seating location will be determined by priority status in the Razorback Foundation. Razorback Foundation members have through Dec. 8 to order tickets maintaining their seating priority.

For those season ticket holders that have pre-ordered bowl tickets, all requested quantities will be honored. Fans with further questions may contact the Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-HOGS (4647).

Student ticket sales will go on sale Wednesday.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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