The gridiron has been painted across Yankee Stadium’s green grass, awaiting the arrivals of Virginia Tech University and the University of Maryland, this year’s participants in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

Practices are continuing for the squads, who are set to kick off on Dec. 29 at 2:15 p.m. ET. Members of both football programs spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon as they prepared for their respective journeys to New York.

“I think it’s going to be very cool playing in Yankee Stadium for our players, our coaches and for the fans,” said Virginia Tech interim head coach J.C. Price. “We’re certainly excited to see a lot of Hokies travel up there. I know my wife and our kids are looking forward to taking this trip and experiencing New York in this time of year, at Christmas time.”

Added Maryland head coach Michael Locksley: “For us to have success up in New York against a great opponent like Virginia Tech, we’re going to need to be very fundamentally sound as a program. Our players have brought the same type of work ethic, energy and standard that we’ve set for what it takes to be successful.”

Virginia Tech is making its 34th all-time bowl appearance (13-20) and first in the Pinstripe Bowl. Continuing a remarkable run of sustained success, Virginia Tech has been bowl-eligible for 29 consecutive seasons (since 1993), the longest streak in the nation.

“We still have a lot of business to finish,” said Virginia Tech tackle Tyrell Smith. “We want to go and win this bowl game. It started with beating [the University of Virginia on Nov. 27] and we want to continue that path until we beat Maryland up in New York.”

The Yankees have an indelible connection with Virginia Tech. Following the tragic April 16, 2007 shooting on the university’s campus, the Yankees made a $1 million contribution to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. In March 2008, the Yankees visited the memorial of the April 16 victims and played an exhibition game against the Tech baseball squad in Blacksburg.

“We watched some highlights from the game and some news reports from when they were here in ’08,” Price said. “We told [the players] the history, the background. When something happens, you get that person who says, ‘Let me know if I can do something.’ Or you have people that just do something, like George Steinbrenner.”

Maryland is set to play in its first bowl game under Locksley. Dating back to 2002, the Terrapins are 5-4 in bowl games.

The Terrapins’ 28th bowl appearance in program history will be their first at the Pinstripe Bowl, as they become the seventh Big Ten team (in seven games of the bowl’s partnership with the conference) to play in the game.

“[Yankee Stadium is] a place with a lot of history,” said Maryland defensive back Tarheeb Still, who grew up in Sicklerville, N.J. “It’s a good place for baseball, so actually just getting a chance to play there is kind of cool.”

The inaugural Pinstripe Bowl was held in 2010, and the winner of the contest is awarded the George M. Steinbrenner Trophy. The game’s most valuable player will receive the David C. Koch MVP Trophy.