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Ohio coach Frank Solich and San Diego State coach Rocky Long stand with the DXL Frisco Bowl trophy at Tuesday's press conference.

Football: News and notes from the Frank Solich and Rockly Long joint press conference

FRISCO, Texas — As the DXL Frisco Bowl draws near, Ohio (8-4) and San Diego State (7-5) will begin to wind down on bowl activities and get down to football.

The Bobcats and Aztecs were both represented at Toyota Stadium on Tuesday morning for a joint press conference. Coach Frank Solich and coach Rocky Long, two of the oldest active head coaches in Division I football, took the podium first, and then players from both schools met one-on-one with media contingent.

Here are some of the highlights of the press conference and media interactions:

As two of the three oldest active coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Solich and Long shared a sense of mutual respect as they went through their press conference. Each credited the bowl committee and the people around the Frisco Bowl for welcoming them.

“We have been treated as nice and as kindly as we could be treated,” Long said. “In fact, I think we’re spoiled in the way they treat us. Whenever you get cheeseburgers and milkshakes at night for snack and all that kind of stuff, and you don’t have to pay for it, that’s pretty spoiling.”

Solich was similar with his praise for the Frisco Bowl, which is in just its second year.

“The people that we have been involved with and the bowl committee people have been excellent,” he said. “You can just see that this bowl will grow and grow fast. It’s a great bowl and we are proud to be here.”

Both coaches have groomed their programs in a particular mold to earn a bid in the Frisco Bowl. Long and Solich appreciate the grind of the season, as well as what it takes to become a perennial bowl team. 

Solich discussed some of the things that make his program successful.

“You have to have great support from your administration,” Solich said. “We have been very pleased with the progress that we have made. We still have a couple of steps that we feel we need to take yet and we are going to work on trying to get those accomplished. When you have the backing of your administration, your athletic department and you are able to recruit the right guys and you have a coaching staff that, in our situation, has been pretty much together with our coordinators and myself here for 14 years, the continuity helps a great deal.” 

Long knows Solich’s pedigree. Solich is an all-timer in the coaching ranks, working his way up at Nebraska until he became the head coach in Lincoln. From there, he was hired to rebuild the Ohio program. Long knows who he’s going against.

“I have a great respect for coach (Solich) and what he does because he’s been one of the best coaches in college football for a really long time,” Long said. “Obviously, he’s done it at what people consider different levels, but what he’s doing where he is right now is unbelievable. Consistent winners compete for a championship without all the resources that a lot of other people have. So he’s been one of the best football coaches in college football for a really long time.”

@SpencerHolbrook

sh690914@ohio.edu

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