bitcruncher Wrote:The Liberty bowl isn't what I'd call much of an improvement.

I'd like to see us pitted against some Big 10 and SEC teams in bowl games. Let's prove who really has the best teams on the field. It's easy to say you're better than somebody if you never have to face them.

Improvement over what? It's the only bowl that pays over a million without full BCS participation. (Las Vegas bumped up their payout to exactly $1M last year)

Its a pretty easy switch if UMemphis does get an invite...piazza bowl goes back to CUSA and liberty bowl goes with Big East with both games keeping the SEC tie in. As for memphis, i think its pretty much a coin toss between memphis and C.Fl. I favor Memphis if the football school's don't want to split but C.Florida if they do want to split and than staying at 9, at least for awhile to see how things settle down. If memphis does get the invite, i doubt very much the big east would pick off another cusa or any football school at the same time but i would think, if there is no split, another hoop school...st louisU would be added. Also, wonder what cusa would do...given that its pretty much its namesake, you could look all over the country for the memphis replacement, new mex state, la tech, to a mac team, doubtful, even a sun belt team or maybe ga southern. Of course, the first call i'd make would be to try to get TCU back.

The GMAC Bowl is looking more likely to end up as Sun Belt #2 vs. ACC #7 or #8. Washington DC will get the other bottom eligible ACC team to face Navy or Army. The GMAC folks will have to support South Alabama's future conference.

The Big East will probably retain the BCS, Gator, and Meineke Car Care as our top three bowls in 2010. I can see the Big East inviting the Big 12 #7 team that currently goes to the Independence Bowl to be our opponent in St. Petersburg.

The next bowl in the line-up could go two ways. Either the Big East slides into the Independence Bowl against a higher-ranked SEC team for more money or else the SEC drops the Independence Bowl too and gives Birmingham that team.

The SEC will not be able to consistently send its #9 (really #10 due to usually landing two BCS bids) to Birmingham and the Big East will get frustrated. So will the bowl organizers and ESPN. The SEC will have to go back to eight deals.

The CUSA team that gets booted from St. Petersburg will go to whichever bowl the Big East and SEC drop - Birmingham or Independence - because the simple fact of the matter is that Big East fans demand a BCS foe in St. Petersburg.

The sixth, and final, bowl in the line-up will continue to be the International Bowl. Since the Big East and MAC expended so much effort creating the game, they are going to make sure it turns into a solid event, proving bashers wrong.

GMAC, with extra 350,000 could get SEC#8 vs ACC#7. That seems doable, it appears SEC & B-12 might be trying to get out of Independence bowl.
ST Pete has long way to go, by the time bowl negotiation open up for '10. St Pete will need 1.5 for SEC #8 or B-12 #7. 1 million for C-USA #2. 750,000 would get ACC #8 or B-10 # 7 or 8.
Nobody will make a commitment to Birmingham untill dome is built. If SEC does not get 10 eligable, it will be a recipe for disaster as far as BE is concerned.
As ND slowly improves BE will need a spot for them, I can't believe MT leaves his magic wand out in the cold.