2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl
The 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl was the first-ever edition of the bowl game, played on December 27, 2000, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. East Carolina Pirates of Conference USA beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12, 40–27.
East Carolina, coached by Steve Logan in his ninth season, finished 7–4 (5–2 in C-USA) and tied for second in the conference. It was their second straight bowl appearance, after the Mobile Alabama Bowl the year before.
Texas Tech, led by first-year head coach Mike Leach, finished 7–5 (3–5 in the Big 12 South). Leach’s up-tempo Air Raid offense featured quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, who averaged a high number of pass attempts per game.
Attendance was 33,899, and each team received a $750,000 payout. The game was televised on ESPN2 with announcers Dave Barnett, Mike Golic, Bill Curry, and Michele Tafoya. The referee was Bill LeMonnier of the Big Ten.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:47 (CET).