On December 1st, another round of tickets will be released for the Croke Park Classic, taking place on 30th August 2014 between the UCF Knights and Penn State. As the collegiate American football season heads into its final weekend of games state side, UCF just need one win to clinch a share of the American Conference title. The Knights have had just one loss this season and continue to rise in the ratings poll ranking #17 going into their final games. This is the highest ranking ever for the UCF Knights at this stage of the season.

UCF and Penn State will open their 2014 campaigns August 30 when they meet in the inaugural Croke Park Classic in Dublin, led by two of the most highly regarded college coaches. George O’Leary and Bill O’Brien have previously worked on the same staff at Georgia Tech.

Coach O’Leary has his squad playing at its highest level ever. He took over the program ten years ago and has rebuilt it from the ground up. The Knights’ two signature victories of the season were against previously undefeated and #8 ranked Louisville, which followed on the heels of their win in Beaver Stadium in September over the Penn State Nittany Lions. Coach O’Leary has his team headed toward their most outstanding season in history.

Coach Bill O’Brien got his Penn State team back on track earlier this month by dominating the Purdue University Boilermakers 45-21 in front of more than 96,000 fans at home in Happy Valley. PSU, playing in the Big 10 Conference currently has a record of 6-5, including their four-overtime cliff hanger win over Michigan in mid-October. Their final game is against Wisconsin on 30 November, as the young squad focuses on finishing strong.

So not only will the 2014 Croke Park Classic feature the O’Leary-O’Brien matchup, but also the on-field passing combinations of Hackenberg to Robinson for Penn State vs Bortles to Worton for Central Florida. It’s shaping up to be a great battle of these two giants of American College Football in Dublin next year. This big season opener will also be the first time that UCF and Penn State have played outside the United States.

From December 1st, you can pick up tickets from ticketmaster.ie and tickets.ie with prices starting from €20. For more information about the Croke Park Classic, check out www.crokeparkclassic.ie, follow the event on twitter @CrokePkClassic and facebook.com/crokeparkclassic for news and updates. You can also follow us on twitter @iafaireland and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/iafaireland

Notice of Irish American Football Association AGM – 2014

The Annual General Meeting of the Irish American Football Association (IAFA) will take place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9 on Sunday 8^th December 2013 commencing at 11am.

Any proposals for inclusion on the Agenda should be forwarded by Sunday 24^th November 2013 to commissioner@americanfootball.ie or by post to 19 Castle Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

Agenda and list of candidates will be circulated 1 week in advance of the AGM.

Elections

The AGM will include elections to the following positions on the IAFA Board:

• 3 Board Members – serving until Q4 2016 (3 year term). [Positions currently occupied by John Judge, Greg Loughran and Tony Rivers – note that John Judge and Tony Rivers hold the Director of Coaching and Director of Officiating roles independently from their Board positions – the positions up for election are generic Board positions].

Candidates interested in standing for election should forward the Candidate for Election Form (attached below) by 24^th November 2013 – to commissioner@americanfootball.ie or by post to 19 Castle Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

Candidate for Election 2014 IAFA Board Member

A meeting of the new Board will take place immediately after the AGM.

Audits

IAFL team audits will take place over the weekend of 30^th November/1^st December. Each team will be contacted re: time/location (locations will vary this year) within the next few days.

Cillian Smith

Commissioner

Irish American Football Association