Quote:The MW is also finalizing agreements with eight (8) different bowl games that in any given year will generate six (6) or seven (7) postseason opportunities for its member institutions. These include primary positions in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Gildan New Mexico Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl - and a secondary position with the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

After a first selection by the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, where the MW will face a team from the Pac-12 each season, the Mountain West will collaborate with its bowl partners to determine the annual placement of teams, with an emphasis on geographic proximity, avoiding repeat trips by any one institution and creation of the most compelling match-ups for each market. In two years during the cycle, the MW will rotate a team into the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl to take on a Big Ten opponent - opening up the Las Vegas Bowl one year and the Hawai‘i Bowl in another.
http://www.themwc.com/#!/news-detail/mw-...-13_wer1x1

From the press release the MWC will be participating 2 years in the New Orleans Bowl and 2 years in the Armed Forces Bowl.

When the MWC plays in the Armed Forces Bowl it opens up spots in the Las Vegas and Hawaii Bowls. With the MWC taking spot from CUSA or AAC from the Armed Forces, its likely the displaced conferences end up in the the Hawaii and Las Vegas.

In the New Orleans Bowl it sounds like the MWC is going to have 2 spots there displacing the Sun Belt who is then going to be participating in the Bahamas Bowl.

The MAC has 4 more slots in the bowl alliance and its safe to assume that all 4 slots won't be in Miami because the AAC wants to move that opponent around. What I'm thinking is the MAC is going to have 2 primary slots in the New Orleans Bowl (the second of two remaining bowl announcements) and 2 primary slots in the Miami game with the AAC having the power to trade the MAC slots to get Army, BYU or the MWC at their discretion. The MAC then would slide over to the Poinsettia Bowl to complete the agreement.

MAC (6 Bowls)
1a) CFP/at-large
2) Mobile (vs. SBC)
3) Boise (vs. MWC)
4) Montgomery (vs. SBC)
5) Boca Raton/Miami (vs. CUSA/AAC)
6) Bahamas/New Orleans (vs. AAC/CUSA)

The MWC is backing up the BWW bowl in Phoenix (B12 vs PAC) which has the last PAC and B12 choices. Repeating this pattern the AAC will try to sign a backup with the Liberty Bowl and the MAC with the Lions Bowl. There isn't going to be as much availability to step into a game as before with only 5 contract leagues instead of 6 and a more conservative number of bowl agreements in this cycle for the P5.

(10-16-2013 06:05 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

Quote:IRVING, Texas - Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, today announced the members of the committee that will select the four teams to compete in the first playoff. The 13 members were unanimously chosen by the College Football Playoff Management Committee, the commissioners of the conferences overseeing the new playoff. The playoff will begin at the end of the 2014 season.

Team-Selection Method:
Unlike the BCS, which uses a formula based on a combination of computer rankings and human polls to select teams, selection committee members for the new playoff will have flexibility to examine whatever data they believe is relevant to inform their decisions. Among the many factors the committee will consider are win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and conference championships won.

Anticipated Timing of Announcements:
Although the exact timing has yet to be determined, the selection committee will meet several times in person to evaluate teams and prepare interim rankings during the regular season. It will meet again during selection weekend and will announce the pairings for the playoff.

http://www.collegefootballplayoff.com/story?id=9825420

CFP committee has now been announced. It will have 13 teams and it will not use any of the computer polls as the previous BCS system.

The emphasis placed on teams having to win their conference championship might hurt a 1 loss SEC team over a 10-2 PAC champion ranked #6 in the country.

Unless a G5 team goes 12-0 and loses its conference championship game on a close play, the G5 representative is almost going to have to win its conference to be considered.

In the other scenario where you have two schools from the G5 finishing 13-0 in that case BOTH will probably be selected over marginal 10-2 P5 schools that didn't win their division.

I don't see it and here is why. Assuming that there are two, but someone like Notre Dame is ranked very high and has one loss, they pick ND all day because the excuse will be " they travel well."

(10-18-2013 12:15 PM)lance99 Wrote:  

(10-16-2013 06:05 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  

Quote:IRVING, Texas - Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, today announced the members of the committee that will select the four teams to compete in the first playoff. The 13 members were unanimously chosen by the College Football Playoff Management Committee, the commissioners of the conferences overseeing the new playoff. The playoff will begin at the end of the 2014 season.

Team-Selection Method:
Unlike the BCS, which uses a formula based on a combination of computer rankings and human polls to select teams, selection committee members for the new playoff will have flexibility to examine whatever data they believe is relevant to inform their decisions. Among the many factors the committee will consider are win-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and conference championships won.

Anticipated Timing of Announcements:
Although the exact timing has yet to be determined, the selection committee will meet several times in person to evaluate teams and prepare interim rankings during the regular season. It will meet again during selection weekend and will announce the pairings for the playoff.

http://www.collegefootballplayoff.com/story?id=9825420

CFP committee has now been announced. It will have 13 teams and it will not use any of the computer polls as the previous BCS system.

The emphasis placed on teams having to win their conference championship might hurt a 1 loss SEC team over a 10-2 PAC champion ranked #6 in the country.

Unless a G5 team goes 12-0 and loses its conference championship game on a close play, the G5 representative is almost going to have to win its conference to be considered.

In the other scenario where you have two schools from the G5 finishing 13-0 in that case BOTH will probably be selected over marginal 10-2 P5 schools that didn't win their division.

I don't see it and here is why. Assuming that there are two, but someone like Notre Dame is ranked very high and has one loss, they pick ND all day because the excuse will be " they travel well."

12 spots is a lot of spots to fill. They were able to accommodate TCU/Boise when there was 8.

There are going to be teams that are 10-2 that didn't win their division in a P5 conference included every year so that is why I think a 13-0 from the SBC for example would get in when the MWC also has a 13-0 participant.

Quote:The American Athletic Conference will announce on Thursday the creation of the Miami Beach Bowl, to be played at Marlins Park starting in 2014, sources said.

In the newly created bowl, the American is expected to play teams from Conference USA, the Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences from 2014-19, sources said. A news conference is scheduled for Thursday at Marlins Park, the home of the Miami Marlins, a source said.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/stor...rlins-park

The announcement for the Miami Beach Bowl will be on Thursday.

From the sounds of it the MAC, CUSA and SBC will all have 2 slots in the Miami bowl game. That leaves the MAC 2 slots short of having 5 full guaranteed bowls.

My guess is the MAC and AAC will be both taking 2 slots in the New Orleans Bowl when the announcement comes out. Its going to be a nice pickup for the MAC.

Quote:The MAC will play the American Athletic Conference in the Miami Beach Bowl in both the 2016 and 2018 bowl seasons. The MAC will have the final primary bowl partnership announcement for this rotation in the next several days.

“The Mid-American Conference is proud to have a tie-in with the Miami Beach Bowl as part of this collaborative effort among FBS conferences,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. “We are excited for our student-athletes, fans and alumni to have the opportunity to come to South Florida as a bowl destination during the holidays for the 2016 and 2018 bowl seasons.” -

See more at: http://www.mac-sports.com/tabid/969/Arti...MUwTb.dpuf

The 2014-19 bowl picture for the MAC takes one more step into clarity for the MAC with the announcement of a primary tie-in at Miami Beach for 2016 and 2018.

The final two primary slots to be accounted for should be announced within the next week and before the Midweek ESPN games begin which will make for a nice conference talking point.

My front runners for the last 2 MAC slots:

New Orleans: With the SBC worked into the bowl pool rotation with 2 slots each in Bahamas and Miami AND only 3 guaranteed bowl slots, they must be giving up slots in New Orleans and maybe the Camellia Bowl.

Poinsettia Bowl: It is possible that BYU is in on this, taking slots in the New Orleans Bowl. This may send the MAC to the Poinsettia for 2 years out of 6 years to allow BYU or Army to move around. This also fits the concept of playing the MWC a couple of extra times since on the other side of the agreement is the MWC #2 team.

Hawaii Bowl: SBC to Miami, MWC to New Orleans, MAC to Hawaii for a couple of slots. This would fit the MAC's desire to stick to prime vacation destinations for recruiting. However the opponent in this game will end up being either CUSA or AAC, which doesn't fit with the Steinbrecher multiple MWC team hint.

I don't see Las Vegas. The MWC has offered to vacate its game against the PAC #6 one time in 6 years. My thoughts are this will give the MWC flexibility to place their champ in Miami with BYU and its large Mormon support playing in Las Vegas. The conference opposite the bowl agreement would be the PAC which doesn't fit the Steinbrecher hint.

Quote:"Our champion could play in this bowl," said AAC commissioner Mike Aresco. "We have maintained flexibility for our champion. We will determine which opponents are available in particular games, but this is an attractive destination and may well be the type of game for our champion."

The date and time of the game will be announced later, but the conference said they were looking at a pre-Christmas bowl game with the basic ticket price around $60.

A postseason bowl game at a baseball stadium is nothing new as it becomes the fourth bowl to be played in a baseball stadium, joining the St. Petersburg Bowl (Rays), the Pinstripe Bowl in New York (Yankees) and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco (Giants).

The Miami Beach Bowl will match an AAC team against an opponent from the Conference USA, Mid-American or Sun Belt, but will also have the oppotunity to take an at-large team.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...rlins-park

It sounds like the MAC could very well end up shipped out of the Miami Beach Bowl to another ESPN run property.

An example is the Independence Bowl signed with the ACC and the SEC. The SEC ends up with 3 teams in the CFP and can't fill its side of the equation. The ACC then agrees to send that selection to Miami taking the MAC's slot and the MAC would then play a CUSA school (which has a backup with the Independence) in Shreveport.

Quote:The Miami Beach Bowl will also host its first game during the 2014 season, with Conference USA expected to face a team from the American Athletic Conference in 2014 and 2015. The American will own and operate the Miami Beach Bowl, which will be held at Marlins Park - the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. Marlins Park is located on the former site of the historic Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami. Conference USA will play in the bowl a minimum of three years.

The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl has hosted a Conference USA team nine times during its 12-year history, with a current C-USA team winning six of those 12 bowls. The game will continue to be played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. C-USA is scheduled to be involved in three games over the next six years.

http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-fo...13aan.html

CUSA's vacating the NO bowl for 3 years. This is probably where the last two slots for the MAC are headed.

BYU is also pointing to only being in the Poinsettia for 2 seasons with a couple of years in one of the new bowl games.

Quote:BYU Sports Nation ‏@BYUSportsNation 41m

Holmoe said the "interesting" 2 bowl games will be diff than what #BYU has done in the past. All bowl will be locked prior to next season.
Expand
BYU Sports Nation ‏@BYUSportsNation 46m

Holmoe told BYU Sports Nation the other bowl games are "something we are working on with ESPN right now for the future." #BYU
Expand
BYU Sports Nation ‏@BYUSportsNation 49m

More from Holmoe...The other 2 yrs of the 6 yr Bowl term will be "something interesting for the fans." #BYU
Expand
BYU Sports Nation ‏@BYUSportsNation 50m

Tom Holmoe today on BYU Sports Nation. BYU Bowl situation over next 6 yrs. 2 yrs w/ Poinsettia, 2 yrs locked w/ another yet 2B named bowls.
Expand

Quote:Today’s announcement, in addition to the previous announcements of the Boca Raton Bowl, Bahamas Bowl and Miami Beach Bowl, is the fourth bowl announcements by the MAC and the centerpiece of a joint agreement between several FBS conferences. The Boca Raton Bowl, Bahamas Bowl and Miami Beach Bowl will be supported by several FBS conferences on a six-year rotating basis (2014-2019).

“The Mid-American Conference is proud to partner with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and provide yet another great destination for our student-athletes, fans and alumni,” said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. “We are excited to have the opportunity to come to San Diego with an opportunity to play a competitor from the Mountain West Conference.”

With the Boca Raton, Bahamas, Miami Beach and San Diego Bowl rotation, the MAC will have created two new primary appearances on an annual basis for the next six years. Starting in the 2014 college football season, the MAC will have a minimum five guaranteed bowl opportunities.

See more at: http://www.mac-sports.com/tabid/969/Arti...3XyI3.dpuf

As I suggested as one of the most likely possibilities, the Poinsettia Bowl ends up taking the final two bowl slots for the MAC. This fits in line with the MAC commish stating a while back that he expects to play the MWC somewhere between 1-2 times a year in the post season.

A second point I usually make is that because P5 conferences have learned their lesson from signing more bowls than what they can fill in the past that this time around their games aren't required by the NCAA to have a backup conference. The new game in Detroit may not fill with a B1G team every year but the Lions bowl isn't forced into signing a backup agreement with the MAC or any other conference since the B1G can sign up to 11 bowls without needing a backup and they are only going 8-9 deep in regular bowl tie-ins.

Thus the MAC's most likely place to be a backup was the Poinsettia Bowl where Army and BYU are anchored in. Army is almost never eligible. BYU is always eligible but is capable of making a CFP bowl. Its a good deal for the MAC because it features the MWC #2 team (#1 when the LV Bowl is vacated).

MAC (6 Bowls)
1a) CFP/at-large
2) Poinsettia/Miami (vs. MWC/AAC)
3) Mobile (vs. SBC)
4) Bahamas/Boca Raton (vs. AAC/CUSA)
5) Boise (vs. MWC)
6) Montgomery (vs. SBC)

With the Poinsettia a #1/#2 game for the MWC, when available its likely going to have the MAC's highest available selection and probably the same is true of the Miami.

Only under certain situations would the MAC Champ be forced to play in Mobile but could happen if CFP, Detroit, Miami and San Diego are all unavailable.

The Bahamas and Boca Raton games should earn a higher pick from the MAC over the game in Boise which is against MWC #6. Montgomery I think will end up with the last pick from the MAC just because its against SBC #3.

A good job by the MAC Office and Commissioner Steinbrecher in upgrading the conference bowl package.