Gesture tightens bond between athletic directors

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Tuesday's meeting between UCF and Southern Miss was not only about what happened on the field, it was also a reunion of sorts for UCF Athletic Director Keith Tribble and Southern Mississippi AD Richard Giannini.

In 1990, working with Raycom at the time, Giannini and Tribble helped create the Blockbuster Bowl in Miami, still the most successful first-year bowl in history.

But the topic of conversation when the two sat down for dinner this week centered on another special gesture Tribble helped orchestrate before leaving his old job as chief executive officer of the Orange Bowl Committee.

After watching his former colleague's school get caught up in the carnage that was Hurricane Katrina last year, Tribble led the committee on a campaign that resulted in its giving Southern Miss $25,000 to aid in relief.

The committee also gave $25,000 to the Sun Belt Conference and Tulane, as well as another $125,000 toward other relief efforts.

Kyle Hightower & Andrew Carter, Sentinel Staff Writers