Thirteen North Central Conference players have accepted invitations to participate in the 2008 Valero Cactus Bowl, the NCAA Division II All-Star Football game, to be played at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville, Texas on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. The NCC players represent nearly a third of the West team roster.

NCC players on the roster are North Dakota's Donovan Alexander (DB) and Weston Dressler (WR), South Dakota's Amos Allen (RB), Christian Morton (OL) and Tim Schneider (OL), Minnesota State's Jeff Fielder (TE) and Ben King (QB), Nebraska-Omaha's Bobby Jones (NG), Jake Krause (TE) and Rob Lewis (DE), Central Washington's Johnny Lopez (RB) and Brett Stray (LB) and Western Washington's Shane Simmons (LB). All the NCC players will play as part of the West team.

The Valero Cactus Bowl will be regionally televised in up to 8 million homes on Fox Sports Southwest and may be available on other Fox regional networks or Fox College Sports networks.

The selection committee picked from among the best seniors in NCAA Division II football.

Valero is a part-owner of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, stepping in to help organize a bid when the franchise was being pursued by out-of-town buyers who, potentially, could have relocated the team.

Valero has also been the title sponsor of the Valero Texas Open since 2002. In that time, the tournament has gone from the bottom of the PGA Tour in terms of charitable fundraising to raising more for charity than any other event in PGA Tour history.

The Cactus Bowl began as the Snow Bowl in 1994 at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.  After its initial seven-year run, the game moved to Kingsville in January 2001. The game was played in Kingsville for six years, took a hiatus last year and will return to Javelina Stadium in 2008.