Ehrhart exploring options for 2006 game
By Ron Higgins
Contact
July 23, 2005
It's nice to be loved.
Having one of the most entertaining matchups of the 2004 bowl season -- a 44-40 Louisville victory over Boise State -- seems to be paying off for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl as executive director Steve Ehrhart seeks teams for the bowl's new contract that starts in 2006.
"The fact that almost every major conference has talked to us, except for the Big Ten, is a tribute to last year's game and the high TV ratings," Ehrhart said. "And having a recognizable name like AutoZone as a sponsor, and a 47-year history of including teams from just about every conference, are also huge positives."
While there has been speculation that the Liberty Bowl will eventually sign an agreement with the Southeastern Conference and either the Atlantic Coast Conference or Big East, Ehrhart said no deals have been done yet and no offers have been made.
The Conference USA agreement with the Liberty Bowl runs out this year, and the Mountain West Conference affiliation expired last year. Ehrhart said though he has talked to several conferences, there's a good chance that this year's Dec. 31 game will have an open wild card spot to face the Conference USA representative.
Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive confirmed on Wednesday that the Liberty Bowl remains a part of the league's bowl negotiations, but he declined to elaborate.
Slive said in early June that he hoped to have all of the conference's bowl contracts, starting with the '06 postseason, done by the start of the SEC's preseason football media days that begin Wednesday in Birmingham. But unless negotiations start breaking the speed limit, that might not happen.
"There are a lot of positives with the SEC, because of all the area alumni ties," Ehrhart said. "But we've had a good relationship with Conference USA and the Mountain West, and there's a new excitement in the Big East with the new teams and new coaches. It seems like every conference we've talked with has some great attributes."
Locally, there's some sentiment that because the University of Memphis is a member of Conference USA, that the Liberty Bowl should remain loyal and re-up with C-USA after this season.
"I haven't felt any pressure about that," Ehrhart said "But I am getting a lot of different opinions, viewpoints and input from people who want to do what's best for the bowl in the long-term future."
Ehrhart wouldn't comment on whether the SEC would agree to playing a Conference USA opponent in the bowl.
There will likely be opposition from several SEC schools, who want to avoid possible in-state post-season matchups, such as Alabama or Auburn vs. Alabama-Birmingham, or Ole Miss or Mississippi State against Southern Miss.
Some C-USA teams annually play SEC teams in the regular season, such as Memphis against Ole Miss, and Southern Mississippi against Alabama. Memphis has also bounced on and off Tennessee's schedule.
Ehrhart said he has no timetable to get an '06 agreement in place, but it might happen sooner than he thinks.
A few days ago, the Big Ten began the first musical chairs dance in the bowl negotiations by adding the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., and the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., starting in '06. After this season, the league will drop the Music City Bowl in Nashville and the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
-- Ron Higgins: 529-2525
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