(01-07-2010 01:04 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Last year's feasibility study conducted by the Heery Consultant Group concluded that the only obstacle to UofM having an on-campus stadium was a $20,000,000 difference in cost of the stadium and what can be raised. Due to the current economy downturn and UofM's lack of BCS affiliation, it was put on the backburner.

That didn't stop UC's leadership.

- When the board of trustees was discussing Varsity Village, they did not have all of the funding secured. The estimated cost of the project in 2002 was $109 million and only around $41 million of that was expected to be raised through private donations. The university paid for most of the rest but had to end up borrowing $37 million to finance construction the project (Source). UC had the intelligence and vision to know that investing in their porgram despite the large upfront debt would pay big dividends down the road (Varsity Village is one of the things that helped UC earn a spot in the Big East).

- UC desperately needed an indoor practice facility, not only to keep Brian Kelly but to ensure that its next coach had the basics to ocntinue selling the program to recruits. UC raised $6.6 million in private donations, most to be paid over five years, and will use about $5 million in game contracts to pay for that project. To get the project rolling, however, UC borrowed $9.7 million to pay for the project until that money is collected (Source).

That is the difference in leadership between UC and Memphis and why one got into the Big East and why the other is still in C-USA (and may be for the foreseeable future).

Revised figures put the Papajohns TV rating at 1.58, the lowest in the bowl's 4-year history:

http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/01/tv_ra...hnsco.html

The only bowls with fewer view­ers than Birmingham's so far are the Insight (673,000 for Iowa State­-Minnesota); New Orleans (993,000 for Middle Tennessee-Southern Mississippi); International (1,613,000 for South Florida­-Northern Illinois); and the Armed Forces (2,168,000 for Houston-Air Force).

hard to compare year to year. Different time slots, dates and channels.
Still was most people ever to watch the pizza bowl. Its not a bad deal for what will now be BE5 starting next year.