ACU to host Dyess airmen

Wildcats to show appreciation to Dyess AFB

ABILENE -- The ACU athletics department will honor Dyess Air Force Base personnel on Saturday, Sept. 17, with Dyess Appreciation Day at Shotwell Stadium during the Wildcats' Lone Star Conference crossover football game against Texas A&M-Commerce.

Anyone presenting a valid military identification card will be admitted free to the game.  Dependent children will be admitted free with an accompanying sponsor.  The gates will open at 5 p.m. with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.

Col. Garrett Harencak, commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess, will join ACU president Dr. Royce Money on the field for the pre-game coin toss.  All Dyess guests will be invited onto the field at halftime for a special time of recognition.

T-shirts will be given out to the first 400 Dyess guests to arrive at the stadium, and the first 1,000 fans will receive yellow ribbon stickers.  The ACU Students' Association will be on hand to do face painting.

Dyess B-1Bs and the 7th Bomb Wing make up a large portion of the U.S. Air Force bomber force. Dyess has played a vital role in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The B-1B continues to produce effective sorties at Dyess and the "Bastion in the Big Country" continues to flourish and remains one our nation's most revered bases.