On a day that the UConn football program received its first bowl bid since 2015, the team went bowling.

The Huskies held a bowl party at the Hall of Fame Silver Lanes in East Hartford on Sunday.

A year after winning just one game and after Jim Mora took over as head coach, UConn (6-6) accepted an invitation to play Marshall (8-4) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Monday, Dec. 19 at Coastal Carolina’s Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. Game time is 2:30 p.m.

Mickey Grace, an analyst on Mora’s staff, came up with the idea that the Huskies go bowling.

“They were fired up,” Mora said about the team’s reaction during a Zoom call with the media on Sunday. “They whooped and hollered and cheered. … We went bowling and we gave out our bowl bound shirts and they all threw them on. I saw a lot of smiles.

“They were excited. I’m not sure that it mattered to them one bit when, where or who we were playing. It’s just a chance to play. The fact that we get to stay on the East Coast and play a great program like Marshall. They know who Marshall is and they’re aware they’re 8-4 and a really good football team and they have a great history.

“... It was pretty fun to be able to announce it to them, although Twitter broke it before we could talk about it, but that was okay. Just to see them all together and hearing it together at the same time was pretty neat. … We had a wonderful time.”

The Huskies, who became bowl eligible with a win over nationally-ranked Liberty on Nov. 12, knew they had locked up a berth before Sunday’s announcement. They’ve been practicing and preparing for their postseason game.

Now they know their opponent.

Like UConn, which went 5-2 to end the season, Marshall finished strong, winning five of their last six games. The Thundering Herd, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, stunned then No. 8 Notre Dame, 26-21, Sept. 10 in South Bend.

UConn also played Marshall in its last bowl appearance, losing 16-10 in the 2015 St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl at Tropicana Field.

The Huskies will have a chance to do something the program hasn’t done since 2010, and that’s win a bowl game. They beat South Carolina, 20-7, in the 2010 PapaJohns.com Bowl. They’ve gone 3-3 overall in six previous postseason appearances.

Mora has bowl experience, leading UCLA to four postseason appearances and going 2-2.

It’s not an easy path for an independent program like UConn to reach this stage.

The Huskies started the season 1-4 due in part to a brutal schedule, with two of the losses coming to nationally-ranked teams in Michigan and North Carolina State. They suffered devastating injuries to key players, especially on offense.

But they fought through the adversity and now have the opportunity to finish a season with a winning record for the first time since going 8-5 in 2010.

“The support of everybody has made this possible,” Mora said. “But I think I’m most excited for our players. It’s been a long, tough road for many of these young men. From the day I got here, they’ve had a goal and never blinked. And they’ve just worked hard every day, had a tremendous attitude and have really built a unique bond amongst each other.

“... We’re ready to get going.”

Mora and athletic director David Benedict are hoping UConn fans make the trip to South Carolina.

“It’s a great bowl and a great location for UConn and our fans,” Benedict said. “We’ve got some direct flights that I’m sure are going to be booking up quickly, if they’re not already full. And we couldn’t be more excited.”

g.keefe@theday.com