First and foremost I want to say this is not meant to offend anyone. It's my perspective as a recent graduate (my second season not playing) from the Rice football program.

I hope we get the opportunity to go to a bowl game. We can finish 8-4 or 7-5 and go to a bowl game. God forbid we go 6-6 and miss out on the opportunity. There are many reasons Rice should NEVER deny an opportunity to go to a bowl game. No matter what bowl it is, who we are playing in the bowl, or any other factor.

The main reason is for the players. Both years I played at Rice we were blessed enough to be able to go to a bowl game. Both years are some of the best memories I had at Rice. We didn't have to worry about school, all we had to worry about was football. It was awesome. We just had football and time to hang out with your best friends. Not to mention the free vacation to wherever the bowl game was, with your teammates. The bowl gifts are always welcome, no matter what they are. Even if you get a blow dryer (like one of the many gifts was at some random sub-par bowl a few years ago), you can give it to your mom, sister, or girlfriend. One less Christmas present to buy. But by and large the gifts are great. Each year I got things I wanted but would never buy for myself and the only reason I got them was because we went to a bowl game. Possibly the best point is that as a player, you get to play on a nationally televised game. I believe our bowls were on ESPN2 the first year and ESPN the second year. EVERYONE we knew could watch the game, no matter where they were in the nation. It was awesome. It's great for the seniors as well. A "one last hurrah" kind of thing. Most of us know we didn't have a chance or not much of a chance at the pros, so why not have one more game to play the sport we love and gave so much for?

The second reason is for the football program in general. Recruits want to go places that make bowl games, for the aforementioned reasons. The "we've made bowl games 4 years in a row" sounds a lot better to a recruit than "we made bowl games 3 out of the last 4 years but denied the 4th year because we didn't get the one we wanted." The national exposure of the football program also is a great advantage to going to a bowl game, no matter which bowl. Also, the development that occurs during bowl practice is great for the younger guys.

The third reason is for Rice University. A bowl game gives national exposure for Rice. It gets airtime during the commercial breaks and I guarantee you people google what Rice is all about when they see the game (because if most football fans are like me, I watch almost every, if not every bowl game). During bowl season, I definitely google information of schools I don't know much about when I see them playing.

I really hope this addresses this topic. I can guarantee you none of the recent graduates would trade going to a bowl for anything. It seems selfish to demand the program to deny a bowl invitation, only to satisfy a few people's dissatisfaction with a season. It's not fair to the players, football program, or the university.