A football game that will feature the best of the Heritage Conference taking on the best of the WestPAC has gained a major sponsor.
In an announcement today at the First Commonwealth Bank Office in Ebensburg, First Commonwealth officials joined with officials from the Heritage Conference and the WestPAC to announce the annual Appalachian Bowl will be presented by First Commonwealth Bank. First Commonwealth will also be the presenting sponsor of the crossover games called the WestPAC-Heritage Conference Challenge, which are part of the regular season now for both conferences. At the end of the season, the number one teams from both conferences will face in the Appalachian Bowl, while the number two-ranked teams will play each other, and so on down the line.
Greg Sipos, the executive VP of Corporate Banking with First Commonwealth said that it was important to make the commitment to the community and to the students. Since most of the people First Commonwealth serves are in both conferences, it made sense to be able to give back to the great tradition of High School Football with their sponsorship of the annual bowl game.
Heritage Conference President Jody Rainey also commented on the announcement, saying that it was exciting. The game and the crossover series is exciting on their own, but to have the backing of First Commonwealth is very beneficial to both conferences.
The Appalachian Bowl was the championship for the Appalachian Conference starting in the 1970s until the conference was disbanded in the late 1990’s. The game was revived in 2016 to feature champions from the Heritage Conference and the WestPAC.
