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Poor Babies– The Bowls, That Is

IdaGriz01

IdaGriz01

Well-known member
This isn’t about FCS football, but it fits into every “move up” thread ever started … since bowl participation is a big part of that conversation
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...mpus-sites-expanded-college-football-playoff

Key quotes:
Bowl Season executives who oversee the operation of 43 postseason bowl games sent a letter this week to hundreds of leaders in college football asking that any future College Football Playoff games in potential expansion models be held at bowl sites instead of on campus, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by ESPN.

The letter, from Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli and chairman Mark Neville …
…
Carparelli told ESPN that the letter was sent to 403 people: 131 presidents and chancellors, 131 athletic directors, 131 head coaches and the 10 FBS commissioners. In addition to reminding them of the important role Bowl Season has played in the history of the sport, Carparelli said, the letter was sent to ask that, as the future of the sport continues to be contemplated, "Bowl Season have a seat at the table for the conversations."
…
Click to expand...
As to the first point, I didn’t know -- but I’m not surprised -- that the bowl sponsors have their own association. Then, when you distribute a message to over 400 people, someone is bound to leak it.

FWIW: I think it makes a lot of sense for the bowl association to “have a seat at the table” in discussions of an expanded playoff. The campus approach -- as we know -- gets you into the complications of seeding in terms of who gets to be the host. But let’s follow the money (what a surprise!): Some of the “lesser” bowls would surely enter into a bidding war if they could host a game that was meaningful in terms of a playoff system.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
This isn’t about FCS football, but it fits into every “move up” thread ever started … since bowl participation is a big part of that conversation
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...mpus-sites-expanded-college-football-playoff

Key quotes:
Bowl Season executives who oversee the operation of 43 postseason bowl games sent a letter this week to hundreds of leaders in college football asking that any future College Football Playoff games in potential expansion models be held at bowl sites instead of on campus, according to a copy of the letter obtained Thursday by ESPN.

The letter, from Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli and chairman Mark Neville …
…
Carparelli told ESPN that the letter was sent to 403 people: 131 presidents and chancellors, 131 athletic directors, 131 head coaches and the 10 FBS commissioners. In addition to reminding them of the important role Bowl Season has played in the history of the sport, Carparelli said, the letter was sent to ask that, as the future of the sport continues to be contemplated, "Bowl Season have a seat at the table for the conversations."
…
Click to expand...
As to the first point, I didn’t know -- but I’m not surprised -- that the bowl sponsors have their own association. Then, when you distribute a message to over 400 people, someone is bound to leak it.

FWIW: I think it makes a lot of sense for the bowl association to “have a seat at the table” in discussions of an expanded playoff. The campus approach -- as we know -- gets you into the complications of seeding in terms of who gets to be the host. But let’s follow the money (what a surprise!): Some of the “lesser” bowls would surely enter into a bidding war if they could host a game that was meaningful in terms of a playoff system.
Click to expand...

I’m sure there are some good arguments for the bowls to host playoff games but the root of this request is 100% for these guys to keep their jobs and pockets fat. The FBS expands to a 16-24 team playoff field without involving the bowls system and instantly half those bowls are completely irrelevant.
 
kurtismichael said:
There are 43 bowl games now? 😳
Click to expand...
That's the current number, but it can change at any time.

That means there must be 86 "bowl eligible" teams to fill all those slots. (The playoff adds some slight complication, but you get my drift.) Since there are only 130 schools considered 1-A (right now), that means almost two-thirds of them have to be declared eligible (somehow). Last I heard, they're only allowed to count one 1-AA (FCS) win among their total. I've never counted them, but I know there are always at lot (too many?) bowl matchups between two (6-6) teams. Those can be competitive and entertaining (for us football junkies), but they sure don't put the best football talent on display.
 
alabamagrizzly said:
IdaGriz01 said:
This isn’t about FCS football, but it fits into every “move up” thread ever started … since bowl participation is a big part of that conversation
https://www.espn.com/college-footba...mpus-sites-expanded-college-football-playoff

Key quotes:
As to the first point, I didn’t know -- but I’m not surprised -- that the bowl sponsors have their own association. Then, when you distribute a message to over 400 people, someone is bound to leak it.

FWIW: I think it makes a lot of sense for the bowl association to “have a seat at the table” in discussions of an expanded playoff. The campus approach -- as we know -- gets you into the complications of seeding in terms of who gets to be the host. But let’s follow the money (what a surprise!): Some of the “lesser” bowls would surely enter into a bidding war if they could host a game that was meaningful in terms of a playoff system.
Click to expand...

I’m sure there are some good arguments for the bowls to host playoff games but the root of this request is 100% for these guys to keep their jobs and pockets fat. The FBS expands to a 16-24 team playoff field without involving the bowls system and instantly half those bowls are completely irrelevant.
Click to expand...

Their being irrelevant is sorta what they are now, innit?
 
IdaGriz01 said:
kurtismichael said:
There are 43 bowl games now? 😳
Click to expand...
That's the current number, but it can change at any time.

That means there must be 86 "bowl eligible" teams to fill all those slots. (The playoff adds some slight complication, but you get my drift.) Since there are only 130 schools considered 1-A (right now), that means almost two-thirds of them have to be declared eligible (somehow). Last I heard, they're only allowed to count one 1-AA (FCS) win among their total. I've never counted them, but I know there are always at lot (too many?) bowl matchups between two (6-6) teams. Those can be competitive and entertaining (for us football junkies), but they sure don't put the best football talent on display.
Click to expand...

I love watching football, but I doubt I’ve ever watched more than 10 of those 43. Usually only the big ones like the Rose, Orange, Fiesta etc.
 
kurtismichael said:
IdaGriz01 said:
That's the current number, but it can change at any time.

That means there must be 86 "bowl eligible" teams to fill all those slots. (The playoff adds some slight complication, but you get my drift.) Since there are only 130 schools considered 1-A (right now), that means almost two-thirds of them have to be declared eligible (somehow). Last I heard, they're only allowed to count one 1-AA (FCS) win among their total. I've never counted them, but I know there are always at lot (too many?) bowl matchups between two (6-6) teams. Those can be competitive and entertaining (for us football junkies), but they sure don't put the best football talent on display.
Click to expand...

I love watching football, but I doubt I’ve ever watched more than 10 of those 43. Usually only the big ones like the Rose, Orange, Fiesta etc.
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well, I don't bother wasting my time watching any bowls other than the big ones. And all those schools who get try to get excited about participating in the other bowl games end up losing a huge amount of money, and no one cares or remembers that they even participated.
 
alabamagrizzly said:
...
I’m sure there are some good arguments for the bowls to host playoff games but the root of this request is 100% for these guys to keep their jobs and pockets fat. The FBS expands to a 16-24 team playoff field without involving the bowls system and instantly half those bowls are completely irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Totally agree about the $$$ aspect.

Of course, many would argue that most of the bowls are already irrelevant, and have been for years. Yet most of them have been around for those same years, or even decades. There are some around the fringe who come and go, but most of these organizations have continued to find sponsors ... change the official name, but it's the same city and stadium. It seems we still have an insatiable appetite for college football. Would the fact that a few more bowls would be "playoff" venues make that much difference in the relevance of the rest. Personally, I don't see it.

Here's the deal. As it stands now, six top bowls — the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Peach Bowl – rotate as hosts for the semifinals, two at a time. So four seeded teams meet in the two "power" bowls designated as the semifinals. In cooperation, the other four bowls put out invitations to eight other teams they think will be good draws. All of these, including the semifinals, are scheduled so they can be marketed as a package, "New Years Six." The following year, two different top bowls get the semifinals.

Keep in mind that the "national championship" is a separate deal, open to bids that might not even include a bowl venue.

How would a 16-team playoff be different? Not a huge amount. It would break up the New Year Six theme, which I see as a stretch anyway. There are two ways it could go, but either way would allow the top bowls to host a quarterfinal or semifinal game every single year.

You could start with 8 low seeds, with the 4 top seeds getting byes. That would require four new sites ... those are the ones that the existing bowls want, rather than having them go to campus sites. With 4 winners and the 4 byes, the second round (quarterfinals) would need four venues. Those would surely be four of the six power bowls. The 4 winners would then moved on (week three) to the semifinals, held around New Years at the two other power bowls. Then on to the bid-location "championship."

Or you could start with all 16 teams. That would require eight new sites ... even more gravy for the existing bowls. With 8 teams from that round, you would then carry on as above: 4 top bowls for the quarterfinals, the other two for the semifinals.
 
That’s what I love about the Alamo Bowl. Usually a GREAT game, and always well attended (55,000-65,000) every year…
 
fanofzoo said:
kurtismichael said:
There are 43 bowl games now? 😳
Click to expand...
And 43 people attending
Click to expand...
Largely irrelevant (speaking of "irrelevance").
Read on: https://www.tampabay.com/sports/gat...top-number-of-college-bowl-games-from-rising/

Key quote:
...
The games are inventory for television programming, and even if the ratings are modest, almost any bowl will draw more eyeballs than something else, particularly on a weekday afternoon.

That’s why ESPN owns 14 bowls, and the network will add two more to its portfolio in the 2020 season even though viewership has trended mostly downward since the playoff era started in 2014.
...
Solich’s [Ohio U.] Bobcats beat Nevada in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last week in Boise, Idaho, in front of an announced 13,611, a record low for a bowl that has had three iterations since starting in 1997.

“I’ve been in this business 52 years and I’ve been to all kinds of bowls,” Solich said, “and I enjoyed coaching in the Bahamas Bowl and Potato Bowl every bit as much as coaching in the Rose Bowl. It’s about being on national television. It’s about the players who might not otherwise get to see the mountains.

“It’s about being a competitor; the kids for both teams played their butts off in that game,” he said. “It’s not about how many people are in the seats.” [My emphasis.]
Click to expand...
As has been mentioned on other threads: Even with declining attendance, most bowls draw more actual fans that attend the FCS national championship.
 
Projections for fall of 2022 - another decrease of 500,000 students enrolling throughout the US in higher education. A major problem long term. Football attendance might be the least of presidents/chancellors worries. If the trend continues - having sports at all is going to be the big issue. EWU is a classic example of eliminating sports programs or dropping down a division.
 
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