NEW ORLEANS, October 2007 With the University of Kentucky enjoying its best football season start since 1984, Wildcat fans across the country are wondering where this season will lead. Mark Cave, a graduate of UK?s School of Library and Information Science and an ardent fan, has already reserved a special place for them in New Orleans.

Cave, who received his MLIS degree from Kentucky in 1991, is the senior manuscripts curator and oral historian at The Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum, research center, and publisher located in the French Quarter. For much of 2007, Cave has been combing through seven decades of college football history in an effort to present The Collection?s upcoming exhibition of Sugar Bowl memorabilia.

Classic! A Celebration of Sugar Bowl Memories is being presented in recognition of the donation of the Sugar Bowl archive to The Historic New Orleans Collection. Originally housed in the Superdome, the Sugar Bowl archive survived Hurricane Katrina, but the catastrophic event proved that a more secure home was needed. And so The Collection, whose holdings chronicle 300 years of regional history, was officially named the new permanent home for the archive.

?The acquisition of the Sugar Bowl archive by The Historic New Orleans Collection will ensure that the memory of this important American sporting event, and its importance to the community, is preserved for centuries to come,? said Cave.

And the timing of the exhibition could hardly be better as New Orleans prepares to host both the 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl and the 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game.

?This is the perfect opportunity to showcase the history of the Sugar Bowl and its importance to New Orleans to a large audience of college football fans,? said Cave. ?The combination of the Sugar Bowl and the BCS championship game will be one of the biggest sporting events held in New Orleans since Katrina, and by casting light on the city?s rich history and the rich history of the Sugar Bowl, in particular, we hope to provide a good argument for the continued effort to rebuild this important American city.?

Opening November 29, 2007, Classic! A Celebration of Sugar Bowl Memories will showcase nearly 75 years of Sugar Bowl history. Through photographs, programs, scrapbook pages, an exclusive film and interviews with coaches and players, the exhibition will explore classic moments in Sugar Bowl history, beginning with the inaugural 1935 game and closing with the 2008 championship game.

A faithful alumnus, Cave made sure his alma mater was featured.

?One of the most important games was Kentucky?s 13?7 victory over then-undefeated, No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl,? he said. ?Kentucky, under legendary coach Bear Bryant, orchestrated one of the most notable upsets in Sugar Bowl history. The game propelled Bryant into the national spotlight and has to be considered a defining moment in his career.?

Cave?s research into the significant UK win led him into the fans? experience as well as the team?s.

?An army of Wildcat fans descended on New Orleans for the game by train,? he said. ?They arrived in numbers far greater than what the hotels could handle, and so, small ?Pullman Villages? were established where the UK faithful slept in parked railway cars during Sugar Bowl week.?

In addition to the 1951 match-up, the exhibition also features memorable moments such as Tulane running back ?Monk? Simons?s incredible run in the 1935 game; the classic 1973 match-up between Ara Parseghian?s Fighting Irish and Bear Bryant?s Crimson Tide; Alabama?s gutsy goal-line stand in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, a move that secured the national championship title for the Tide; LSU?s national championship-winning performance in 2004; and many more.

Patrons will have the rare opportunity to view the trophies of the Sugar Bowl. The original trophy, a silver bowl made in London in 1830 and donated to the Mid-Winter Sports Association by the Waldhorn Company of New Orleans in 1934, and the cast of the Most Valuable Player award will be on display throughout the exhibition. In addition, the 2008 Sugar Bowl trophy and the 2008 BCS trophy will be on display, but for a limited time only.

Classic! A Celebration of Sugar Bowl Memories will be on display Thursday, November 29, 2007 through Sunday, January 13, 2008, at The Collection?s Williams Gallery, located at 533 Royal Street in the French Quarter. The exhibition is free and open to the public Tuesday?Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit The Collection online at or call (504) 523-4662 for more details about the exhibition and related programming.

Founded in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. For more information about The Collection, visit or call (504) 523-4662.