Thousands of Canes alumni across the country are securing flights and hotel rooms to spend their New Year’s Eve at the Cotton Bowl just outside Dallas, Texas, where the Hurricanes will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in round two of the College Football Playoff.
“My bags are packed for Dallas,” said Darren Dupriest, president of the University of Miami Alumni Association, and a lifelong Canes fan. “Whether you graduated last week or decades ago, so many alums have been drawn to this team.”
Alana Dombrosky, president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Canes Community, is eager to host more University of Miami alumni for the event. She was one of the 3,000 Canes fans in College Station, Texas, at the first playoff game against Texas A&M and hopes even more alumni and fans will come to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, where she has lived since graduating from the University in 2015.
“I was excited by how many people were in College Station and that’s a far harder place to get to,” said Dombrosky. “This time, there are more available game tickets, so I hope that Canes supporters and alumni show up and we fill the stadium.”
Alumni staff think there will be a strong showing. The Alumni Association’s pregame festivities sold out within 48 hours, and the venue holds 500 people. There are still registration spots for the “Miami Takeover,” the night before the game, hosted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Canes Community. Dombrosky, her husband Bradly, also an alumnus, and Dylan Brooks, immediate past president, helped organize the evening, with University alumni engagement staff.
In the past year, the Dallas-Ft. Worth Canes Community has swelled to some 1,200, and Dombrowsky hopes it will grow through the Cotton Bowl, which is being played at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas, and its related events. These include:
Tuesday, December 30
- Dallas Canes Cotton Bowl Service Project, 8:30-11:30am CT
Location: North Texas Food Bank, 3677 Mapleshade Lane, Plano, TX 75075
The University of Miami Alumni Association will team up with The Ohio State University to serve Dallas families facing food insecurity. Register here.
- Dallas Canes: Miami Takeover, 5:30-7:30pm CT
Location: Troy’s at Texas Live! 1650 E Randol Mill Rd #100, Arlington, Texas, 76011
Connect with Canes from near and far at our exclusive alumni and friends gathering. Bring the entire family to help us build momentum for the Cotton Bowl. Register here.
Cotton Bowl events open to the public:
- Battle of the Bands from 4 to 5 p.m. west plaza, outside AT&T Stadium
- Cotton Bowl Live! concert from 7 to 11 p.m. next to AT&T Stadium
Wednesday, Dec. 31
- All Cotton Bowl ticket holders can attend the Goodyear Huddle Up Fan Fest from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the east and west plazas of AT&T Stadium.
- The Cotton Bowl begins at 6:30 p.m. central time on Dec. 31. Game tickets can be purchased here: https://miamihurricanes.evenue.net/events/FB-B
For those alumni who can’t make it to Dallas, there are watch parties hosted by Canes Communities across the United States. So far, 27 events are listed, with more likely to be added in the coming days, said Erica Arroyo, associate vice president of engagement at the University.
“The response from alumni, parents, and friends of the U to these games has been amazing,” she said. “The football season has a magical way of bringing everyone together to unite in support of a place that means so much to us.”
While the University’s sports program has improved in recent years, with basketball shining in 2023, and volleyball advancing to the NCAA tournament this year, football has taken a backseat in the past few years, so fans, students and alumni were thrilled when the victories began stacking up this fall.
“This shows that slow progress does get us there, so it’s validating for all of us fans who have stuck through with it all these years,” Dombrosky said.
Many alumni are cautiously optimistic about the Canes chances against the Buckeyes on New Year’s Eve. It’s a team that beat the Hurricanes in overtime at the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, so veteran fans are fired up for the rematch. Dupriest has been a Canes fan since he was a student and watched the team win a national title in 1987, with Coach Mario Cristobal playing alongside Michael Irvin.
“There was an amazing turnout in College Station, but this is a game that so many have been waiting for,” said Dupriest. “Canes, if you can get to Dallas, get there because it’s going to be fantastic.”
Dombrosky has also been a Hurricanes fan since she arrived at the University in 2011. As a former member of the Frost Band of the Hour, she attended every home football game and took the field to play tenor sax or bass drum and is looking forward to supporting her favorite team again.
“Canes fans are coming from all over, but we will all be celebrating one thing in common, so it’ll certainly be a great party,” she said about the Cotton Bowl. “I hope we turn Dallas orange and green.”
To learn more about the 2025 Cotton Bowl, visit the University’s Alumni and Friends website here, or the UM Athletics site here.
