University of Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter announced Wednesday the Badger football team had accepted an invitation to play in the Music City Bowl Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tenn. The early acceptance by UW (7-5, 4-4) was in large part because Sun Bowl representatives made it clear they would not offer an invitation to Wisconsin regardless of how many Big Ten teams advanced to BCS bowl games.

“We’re very pleased to be able to make this arrangement this soon and get ahead of the game, so to speak,” Richter said. “There was a lot of discussion about potential matchups; in fact, we are the only team in the Big Ten that is able to make the arrangement at the present time.”

Wisconsin’s opponent in Nashville will be a representative of the Southeastern Conference and will likely be either Arkansas or Auburn, with Auburn appearing to be a more likely probability.

“I’m actually very excited to get to play another game with my teammates,” senior linebacker Jeff Mack said. “I guess the speculation has been Auburn or Arkansas. They are both quality opponents. I like the way Auburn plays … I know they were in the top 10 sometime this year.”

The Music City invite represents Wisconsin’s ninth bowl berth over the past 11 seasons and would be head coach Barry Alvarez’s 100th win at Wisconsin if the team is victorious.

“That was actually one of our goals this season,” Mack said. “Although it didn’t turn out, we still have an opportunity. What better way than to get that in a bowl victory against a quality opponent?”

Landing Wisconsin was a top priority for Music City representatives, and UW administrators appeared to be equally excited about the bowl invite.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to play in the Music City Bowl,” Coach Alvarez said. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about the city and the bowl itself, the hospitality and how they treat the players.”