LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury will play in front of a hometown crowd when the Red Raiders play Iowa in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 29.

Tech coach Mike Leach said Monday that the fact Kingsbury is from New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio, was part of the politicking with Alamo Bowl officials.

"We pitched it real hard," he said.

Tech (7-4) and Iowa met in the Alamo Bowl in 1996, the first year of the Big 12. The Red Raiders lost 27-0 to the Big 10 school. It will be the Hawkeyes' third trip to the Alamo Bowl.

Kingsbury was a senior at Canyon High School in New Braunfels and was at the 1996 game.

"I've watched this game for a long time, and it's one of my favorite bowls," Kingsbury said. "It's exciting to be a part of it."

The Alamo Bowl was Tech's first choice, but it had been believed that the bowl would select Texas A&M to oppose Iowa (6-5). The Aggies suffered from losing their last three games, against Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas. Tech shut out the Aggies 12-0 in Lubbock.

"Afterall, in head-to-head competition, our team is the best team," said Tech athletic director Gerald Myers, who along with Leach had been lobbying to get the Alamo Bowl invitation.

Both Iowa and Texas Tech bring conference-leading quarterbacks into the game. Kingsbury racked up 3,502 yards and 25 touchdowns, completing 69 percent of his passes.

Hawkeye quarterback Kyle McCann threw for 1,867 yards and 16 touchdowns. He completed 65 percent of his passes.

This will be Iowa's 15th bowl appearance in the past 21 years. The Hawkeyes' bowl record is 8-7-1.

Tech is 5-18-1 since its first postseason game in 1937. It is the first time a Tech coach has gone to a bowl game in his first two seasons. Last year, Leach and the Red Raiders lost to East Carolina in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston.

Tech receiver Wes Welker said he is excited about the bowl and is ready to get a bowl-loss monkey off the school's back.

"Definitely, we're going to change that," Welker said. "I'm excited. I'm ready to get out and get after it."