BE may get into Liberty Bowl somehow?

http://blog.al.com/solomon/2010/01/papaj...he_wa.html

I could see a deal go down:

game 1
sec team 8 vs big east school

game 2
sec team 9 vs cusa school

rotate game 1 and game 2 between the liberty bowl and papa johns bowl, ie the big east would send a team to Memphis one year, than Birmingham the next year but in both games play sec team 8.

I'm astonished that the Liberty is being talked about at the same level as the PJ. Here's how they stack up:

1) Heritage:

PJ: A new, pre-fab bowl with no history.
Liberty: A rich tradition dating back to the 1950s.

2) Attendance:

PJ: Not well-attended. Attendance has ranged from the high-20s to around 42,000 for this year's game.
Liberty: One of the consistently best-attended non-BCS bowl games, almost always in the mid-50s, this year drew 60,000.

Television:

PJ: Low ratings, was 30th out of 34 bowl games this year.
Liberty: Very good ratings: was 11th out of 34 bowl games this year.

The Liberty has tradition, attendance, and TV advantages, and Memphis is a nicer town to visit than Birmingham.

The Memphis organizers have to be doing a terrible job managing their resources if they can't come up with enough money to easily put them ahead of the PapaJohns Bowl.

(01-18-2010 12:04 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  I'm astonished that the Liberty is being talked about at the same level as the PJ. Here's how they stack up:

1) Heritage:

PJ: A new, pre-fab bowl with no history.
Liberty: A rich tradition dating back to the 1950s.

2) Attendance:

PJ: Not well-attended. Attendance has ranged from the high-20s to around 42,000 for this year's game.
Liberty: One of the consistently best-attended non-BCS bowl games, almost always in the mid-50s, this year drew 60,000.

Television:

PJ: Low ratings, was 30th out of 34 bowl games this year.
Liberty: Very good ratings: was 11th out of 34 bowl games this year.

The Liberty has tradition, attendance, and TV advantages, and Memphis is a nicer town to visit than Birmingham.

The Memphis organizers have to be doing a terrible job managing their resources if they can't come up with enough money to easily put them ahead of the PapaJohns Bowl.

completely agree, the only explanation i can think of is the C-DOA tie that the liberty bowl is refusing to let go of... the SEC would much rather play a middle of the pack Big East team than the C-DOA champion, so they are pushing for this

id drop the PJ bowl in a second for the liberty bowl

Can't see any other reason. All works out for the better for BE. Cusa may end up being pushed to pizza a year or two.

The Liberty Bowl will want an SEC tie in first anf foremost. The CUSA tie in comes in because Memphis is part of CUSA. But things are getting dicy now because if the SEC is more willing to bump the PPJ over them to play a BE team rather than an SEC team, then that puts the Liberty in a rough spot, do they let a shot at the SEC go by to hang on to CUSA or do they let go of CUSA to hang on to SEC?
WE will find out as time goes by, but all the Liberty has to do is look at what happened to the Independence Bowl.
If the SEC tells the Liberty if you want the #8 SEC team you must match the BE or another BCS league? what would be their reaction?

my guess is sec wins. as usual.

(01-18-2010 09:17 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  The Liberty Bowl will want an SEC tie in first anf foremost. The CUSA tie in comes in because Memphis is part of CUSA. But things are getting dicy now because if the SEC is more willing to bump the PPJ over them to play a BE team rather than an SEC team, then that puts the Liberty in a rough spot, do they let a shot at the SEC go by to hang on to CUSA or do they let go of CUSA to hang on to SEC?

IMO, hanging on to the SEC should be their top priority, even if that means jettisoning C-USA and angering local Memphis supporters.

If the SEC insists on a BCS matchup with the Big East, they should dump C-USA and sign us up.

(01-18-2010 09:37 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(01-18-2010 09:17 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  The Liberty Bowl will want an SEC tie in first anf foremost. The CUSA tie in comes in because Memphis is part of CUSA. But things are getting dicy now because if the SEC is more willing to bump the PPJ over them to play a BE team rather than an SEC team, then that puts the Liberty in a rough spot, do they let a shot at the SEC go by to hang on to CUSA or do they let go of CUSA to hang on to SEC?

IMO, hanging on to the SEC should be their top priority, even if that means jettisoning C-USA and angering local Memphis supporters.

CUSA football is just about invisible right now in Memphis. Memphis a few years ago when they were on the verge of breaking through and becoming a regular top 25 was drawing in the mid 40k range. Now its drawing 20k PAID with actuals far less.

That would really screw CUSA if they were forced to take their champ to the Papa John's to play the SEC #9, a big step down from where they were before.

I'm pretty sure though the Liberty is committed to CUSA as the host conference in the bowl.

If what they're sayng comes about, either cusa would get pushed to pizza vs ? or liberty would lose sec to pizza and have cusa vs ? some years. Sec has had 10 eligible 2 of last 4.

If the Liberty Bowl dropped CUSA tomorrow I wouldn't be upset. It eliminates Memphis perceived negotiating chip for an invite to a better conference. It would mean our champion isn't losing to some low end SEC school. The LB is a very good bowl game that now has to beg for scraps from the SEC and potentially the BE. Good for your conferences. It obvious BCS scraps is better than most anything a non-BCS conference (MWC, Boise and Fresno excluded) can offer at this time.

(01-18-2010 12:04 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  I'm astonished that the Liberty is being talked about at the same level as the PJ. Here's how they stack up:

1) Heritage:

PJ: A new, pre-fab bowl with no history.
Liberty: A rich tradition dating back to the 1950s.

2) Attendance:

PJ: Not well-attended. Attendance has ranged from the high-20s to around 42,000 for this year's game.
Liberty: One of the consistently best-attended non-BCS bowl games, almost always in the mid-50s, this year drew 60,000.

Television:

PJ: Low ratings, was 30th out of 34 bowl games this year.
Liberty: Very good ratings: was 11th out of 34 bowl games this year.

The Liberty has tradition, attendance, and TV advantages, and Memphis is a nicer town to visit than Birmingham.

The Memphis organizers have to be doing a terrible job managing their resources if they can't come up with enough money to easily put them ahead of the PapaJohns Bowl.

I couldn't agree more quo, the Liberty Bowl is very attractive. They need to get over this "Love me Daddy" complex with the SEC, and work on building up their reputation. They need to move up the pecking order with a BCS conference. They might have been able to get a better SEC squad if they were paired with a #4 or #5 Big East team.

(01-19-2010 10:43 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I couldn't agree more quo, the Liberty Bowl is very attractive. .... They might have been able to get a better SEC squad if they were paired with a #4 or #5 Big East team.

Indeed. There obviously isn't much enthusiasm in the SEC for playing a C-USA team, even their champ, and a BE matchup would seem to be a natural fit.

Getting involved with the Liberty, even partially, would be a big upgrade,imo. Especially after no more gator/sun.

(01-18-2010 09:17 AM)Cubanbull Wrote:  The CUSA tie in comes in because Memphis is part of CUSA.

No sh!t! The Liberty Bowl will NOT turn its back on UofM. They are comitted to helping the university into the BCS - the current leadership understands that in the long run, that will not only be the best thing for the City of Memphis, but the future of the bowl itself. That is the main purpose of bowl games: improving the community. For those who do not know, it was the Liberty Bowl which actually planted the seeds for what is now C-USA when they formed "The Liberty Bowl Alliance" back in the early 90's.

And if the liberty bowl fades into obscurity because of their refusal to let go of c-doa, theyll have no ability to help memphis.

Maybe if the SEC really puts the heat on the liberty bowl theyll sign with us, we can set up something like:

BCS
Champs vs ACC
MCC vs ACC
Liberty vs SEC
Yankee vs Big 12
St Pete vs C-DOA.. maybe their champion if they cant find a good spot for them
Papa Johns if necessary (maybe notre dames Champs year)

That would be a huge upgrade over the last round

(01-20-2010 12:39 PM)BullsBEAST Wrote:  And if the liberty bowl fades into obscurity because of their refusal to let go of c-doa, theyll have no ability to help memphis.

The Liberty Bowl, having 51 years of rich tradition, located in a tourist destination, having sellout crowds and good TV ratings is in little danger of "fading into obscurity". The Liberty Bowl hasn't had a crowd less than 50,000 since 1996 (49,163). One of the teams that year, by the way, was Syracuse of the Big East.

(01-20-2010 01:21 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(01-20-2010 12:39 PM)BullsBEAST Wrote:  And if the liberty bowl fades into obscurity because of their refusal to let go of c-doa, theyll have no ability to help memphis.

The Liberty Bowl, having 51 years of rich tradition, located in a tourist destination, having sellout crowds and good TV ratings is in little danger of "fading into obscurity". The Liberty Bowl hasn't had a crowd less than 50,000 since 1996 (49,163). One of the teams that year, by the way, was Syracuse of the Big East.

Yeah, Im sure it was ALL SU's fault that the game was not better attended. It couldn't have been because of the opponent in that game, HOUSTON. They are known to travel really well.

And if you dont think that this bowl has a very good chance of falling into obscurity by having the 8th or 9th place SEC team smack around the Cusa champ every season, your not being realistic. IMO, the bowl was more exciting when it pitted a CUSA champ vs the MWC champ.

(01-20-2010 01:21 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(01-20-2010 12:39 PM)BullsBEAST Wrote:  And if the liberty bowl fades into obscurity because of their refusal to let go of c-doa, theyll have no ability to help memphis.

The Liberty Bowl, having 51 years of rich tradition, located in a tourist destination, having sellout crowds and good TV ratings is in little danger of "fading into obscurity".

Yes,the LB has down very well by the attendance/ratings metrics. But, let's face it: It's the SEC that accounts for that, not the tie-in with C-USA. And getting pulled down to PapaJohns level would not be a good thing, long-term.

There's no reason to believe the LB wouldn't continue to draw 50,000+ and get even better ratings if the SEC was matched against bigger-name Big East opponents. With their current healthy condition, there's no reason the LB shouldn't be able to sweaten the pot enough to stay out of the low-tier pit.

(01-20-2010 02:55 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  IMO, the bowl was more exciting when it pitted a CUSA champ vs the MWC champ.

That was also back when TCU, Louisville, Cincy, & USF were all still in CUSA making a CUSA champ vs. MWC champ matchup more evenly matched.

It used to be that the Liberty Bowl was special because it was the only champ vs. champ matchup outside of the BCS. Now, it's just an SEC alsoran beating down the CUSA champ. Yeah, it gets good attendance thanks to the SEC and is on a premium TV slot (again thanks to the SEC). But, it's not anything special anymore. I know this is of no benefit to the Big East, but I wish there were some way to match the 2 highest ranked non-BCS teams that are do not qualify for a BCS game in this game every year. It's a great venue for it.

Unfortunately, Memphis is more preoccupied with the SEC than making the Liberty Bowl any sort of spectacle. Being that the SEC is the Liberty's first priority, I'd cater to the SEC by kicking out CUSA and seeking another BCS team (which is what the SEC wants). The most accessible conference for this is the Big East.