New St. Pete Bowl would bolster Big East's lineup
New St. Pete Bowl would bolster Big East's lineup
by by Tom Luicci/Star-Ledger staff
Monday March 31, 2008, 5:45 PM
The Big East should know by the end of April whether it has another football bowl game to add to its lineup, with the St. Petersburg Bowl -- to be run by ESPN and the league -- having submitted a proposal to the NCAA bowl certifying committee to start this season.
If approved, the game will be played Dec. 21 at Tropicana Field and will have a Big East team playing one from Conference-USA.
It immediately raises two questions:
1 -- What happens to the new bowl game if the eight-team Big East can't fill what would then be seven bowl slots?
2 -- How does the league's role as a bowl partner in the game affect the Big East's stated desire to upgrade its bowl affiliation when the current contracts run out in two years?
League officials won't discuss the St. Petersburg Bowl yet because he hasn't been approved. But the league desperately wants this new bowl to succeed. With ESPN having a vested interest in the game -- it would be the sixth one run by the network and would be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2 -- it has a real chance to make it. The Big East wants a full-fledged bowl tie-in with a game in Florida. The St. Petersburg Bowl gives the league just that.
So let's address the two pressing issues.
The Big East will have tie-ins this year with the BCS, Gator or Sun, Meineke, Texas, International, Papajohns.com and, possibly St. Petersburg Bowl.
If the league can't qualify seven bowl teams, the new game won't take the hit. The Big East will have a financial stake in the St. Petersburg bowl as a partner. So either the Texas, Papajohns.com or International Bowl will be the game that the league opens up to other conferences. With ESPN also running the Papajohns.com and International bowls, it makes it a little easier to work a deal with other leagues for those games if the Big East qualifies only six teams.
The future?
The Big East's current bowl deals are up in two years.
If the league has its way when negotiations start on new deals, it would like to continue with tie-ins to the BCS, Gator and Meinke, then add the St. Petersburg bowl and two others. The Sun Bowl, played in El Paso, has geographical issues, so it could get dropped from the lineup.
The Big East also wants to strengthen its affialiation with the Gator Bowl to position that game as No. 2 in its lineup. The partnership with the Big 12 (the Big East and Big 12 alternate sending teams there) hasn't been the success Gator Bowl folks had hoped. Last year, Texas Tech brought just 5,000 people to the game.
So the league wants to lock that game up for itself, although Notre Dame would still be part of the deal. Instead of the Irish having a shot two out of every four years to play in the Gator Bowl in place of a Big East team, however, the league would like to modify that to once every four years.
Ultimately, the Big East wants to keep six bowl tie-ins, and the St. Petersburg Bowl would be one of the staples in the lineup. There's even speculation that the game will be moved in 2012 if the Tampa Devil Rays get a new outdoor stadium.
Are there too many bowls? No question. If the bowl certifying committee approves the new Congressional Bowl in Washington as well (that will be an ACC-military academy matchup), it will mean 34 bowl games next year. So more than half the country will have a postseason game to play in.
But the Big East needs a stronger bowl presence in Florida. Securing the Gator Bowl would be a boost. Having another in the St. Pete-Tampa area would be a strong addition. The Big East-ESPN partnership in the St. Petersburg Bowl would give the new game a real chance to succeed.
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