The Northern Illinois and Utah State football teams that will play in Thursday's Poinsettia Bowl will attend a luncheon aboard the USS Midway in San Diego Bay on Monday, one day after arriving in San Diego.
The luncheon is open to the public. Tickets are $45.
Northern Illinois began its trip to San Diego amid a blizzard DeKalb, Ill., with a caravan of six buses leaving for Chicago Rockford International Airport at 6:25 a.m. Central Standard Time Sunday, a university official said.
When the team arrived at the airport, its plane was not there, having been delayed about an hour. The players spent the delay playing cards, visiting with staff members and posing for pictures with fans.
The flight left two hours after it was scheduled and arrived at San Diego International Airport at 12:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
The Huskies conducted a one-hour, 15-minute practice at Mesa College in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets, then went to the Marriott Marquis & Marina in downtown San Diego for the official welcoming ceremony, greeted by a mariachi band.
A welcoming ceremony for Utah State was held at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina on Harbor Island.
