Howard, Levy on the call for ESPN at Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl

Elk Grove Village's unique foray into the world of college football will have some star power behind it.

ESPN announced Thursday that Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard will join longtime SportsCenter anchor Steve Levy and sideline reporter Laura Rutledge to call the 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl.

Elk Grove, using its Makers Wanted slogan, is sponsoring the Dec. 21 bowl game between Florida International University and Toledo. It'll be broadcast live at 11:30 a.m. central time from Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

Howard joined ESPN in 2005 after an 11-year NFL career. He's an analyst on the eight-time Emmy-Award winning College GameDay, the network's signature Saturday morning show, and also calls ESPN's midweek games.

Levy, an ESPN anchor since 1993, has been ESPN's play-by-play voice for every game in the bowl's history. Howard will work his second straight Bahamas Bowl, while Rutledge will work the sidelines for the third time.

Elk Grove is paying $300,000 to sponsor the game, previously known as the Popeye's Bahamas Bowl. Besides naming rights, the village will have "Makers Wanted Elk Grove Village Illinois" logos on the 25-yard lines of the field, and the "Makers Wanted" slogan will be nestled in between two palm trees as part of the bowl game logo on the 50-yard line.