Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN · 32m32 minutes ago

Cubs want to start bowl game at Wrigley Field in 2020 @TeddyGreenstein reports. No bowls can be added before 2019

Don't we have enough bowl games in baseball stadiums already? Stick to football stadiums. Chicago has Soldier Field, so that would work better.

I'm thinking MAC vs low-level B1G would be the best, at least to start. Best attendance you'd get up north in December.

(01-05-2017 02:11 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  I'm thinking MAC vs low-level B1G would be the best, at least to start.

Big Ten already had that, and got rid of it. They don't want bowl games with MAC teams.

Somebody has to be the first to say something along the lines of "I'm not sure if it makes sense anymore to talk about 'minimum' win-loss records as being a requirement for eligibility in a bowl game. If a program and school are willing to spend the money, sell the tickets, put in the work to prepare ... I don't see why we ought to deny them that opportunity".

Just a question of who's gonna be the guy to kick the snowball down the hill, and how many more years until it happens.


People will be furious, but too bad.

MAC and B1G would likely be the only conferences interested. That's probably as tough to sell as the potato bowl. If they want to have them up North they need to be indoors. How about the Mall of America Bowl at the mall. At least there would be lots of people in attendance.

We do need more schools coming up from the FBS level.

Big Sky
Southland
Southern
MVFC
CAA
Jacksonville State
Liberty
North Alabama
Eastern Kentucky
Congrates, you all graduate to FBS status.


CAA will shed Villanova and William and Mary to Patriot.

CAA:
James Madison
Maine
Stony Brook
Maine
URI
Delaware
New Hampshire
Towson
Eastern Kentucky
UMass.
Elon
Liberty or Youngstown State

MVFC:
North Dakota State
North Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Missouri State
Northern Iowa
Illinois State
Southern Illinois
Indiana State
Wichita State
New Mexico State
UTRGV/West Texas A&M

Southland:
Lamar
Sam Houston State
SFA
Houston Baptist
Incarnate Word
Abilene Christian
McNeese State
NW La. State
SE. Louisiana
Nicholls State
Central Arkansas
UTRGV
New Orleans

Southern:
Chattanooga
Citadel
VMI
Wofford
Samford
Western Carolina
East Tennessee State
Mercer
North Alabama
Jacksonville State
Kennesaw State
Tennessee State

Big Sky no change.

That could bring Lone Star, GNAC, RMAC, Gulf South and one other conference up from D2 to replace the FCS conferences that move up.

The thing about Wrigley though, with the setting of Wrigleyville, for those in attendance, it would probably be a more fun experience than Soldier Field, in terms of having plenty of places to gather in short proximity. Plus it's not like it'd be a bowl that draws 55,000, and needs to be in soldier field. Wrigley is not like most baseball stadiums as it was hosted football for a long time. And while the last game there wasn't so great due to renovations making it hard to fit a field in the footprint, I think with the new renovations, that problem was eliminated.

I'm not normally a big fan of baseball stadiums hosting football. But I think Wrigley would be an exception.

No.

My guess is the schools invited to wrigley would feel like Colorado St when they found out they were headed to beautiful sunny Boise for thier bowl. Fans instantly go from thinking about San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, New Orleans, Miami, Boca Raton, Bahamas and then Wrigley, Pinstripe, and Potato are all buzzkill.

I'd rather see a bowl in Mexico or another warm venue to help grow the sports popularity outside the country. Between fans and kids having a good time at warm spots and the locals getting into the sport it would be a lot of fun. Cancun beats the heck out of Wrigley in December as a reward and vacation for kids and fans. Hell Bermuda would be better than Wrigley. Might even pick up some recruits.

Wasn't the Illinois vs Northwestern game at Wrigley a few years ago a really weird field fit and they had to have both teams go the same offensive direction all four quarters? Maybe the renovations will make football more feasible.

(01-05-2017 02:54 PM)p23570 Wrote:  My guess is the schools invited to wrigley would feel like Colorado St when they found out they were headed to beautiful sunny Boise for thier bowl. Fans instantly go from thinking about San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, New Orleans, Miami, Boca Raton, Bahamas and then Wrigley, Pinstripe, and Potato are all buzzkill.

I think the problem with the bowl in Boise is when you have teams who come from cold weather climates to begin with. While I wasn't able to make the Humanitarian Bowl when Clemson went under Bowden I know people who did and they had a blast. Went skiing, the town was great, etc. One guy I know has been back to Boise twice since, once in the summer and another winter trip, because of the bowl.

But I can see why someone from Fort Collins wouldn't be enthused about it as it would be like Clemson going to a bowl in Auburn.

Boise is like Hawaii for vacation. They have ski resorts in the Boise area. You will get snowbirds going there to ski, and would take in a game. I could see a bowl game being placed in Denver, Fort Collins or anywhere in Colorado as well. Chicago does not have the mountains for skiing.

(01-05-2017 03:07 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Boise is like Hawaii for vacation. They have ski resorts in the Boise area. You will get snowbirds going there to ski, and would take in a game. I could see a bowl game being placed in Denver, Fort Collins or anywhere in Colorado as well. Chicago does not have the mountains for skiing.

There is skiing on Lake Michigan

This is just a ploy by Chicago St to get big time football there.

That didn't take long. So much for less bowl games.

Ugh! For so many different reasons.

(01-05-2017 03:15 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(01-05-2017 03:07 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Boise is like Hawaii for vacation. They have ski resorts in the Boise area. You will get snowbirds going there to ski, and would take in a game. I could see a bowl game being placed in Denver, Fort Collins or anywhere in Colorado as well. Chicago does not have the mountains for skiing.

There is skiing on Lake Michigan

This is just a ploy by Chicago St to get big time football there.

Hah, I actually LOLed at this one.

(01-05-2017 02:46 PM)adcorbett Wrote:  The thing about Wrigley though, with the setting of Wrigleyville, for those in attendance, it would probably be a more fun experience than Soldier Field, in terms of having plenty of places to gather in short proximity. Plus it's not like it'd be a bowl that draws 55,000, and needs to be in soldier field. Wrigley is not like most baseball stadiums as it was hosted football for a long time. And while the last game there wasn't so great due to renovations making it hard to fit a field in the footprint, I think with the new renovations, that problem was eliminated.

I'm not normally a big fan of baseball stadiums hosting football. But I think Wrigley would be an exception.

Completely agree.

It's funny that I was thinking about what a Wrigley Field bowl would look like in the back of my mind after the recent thread about the lackluster attendance at the latest Detroit bowl.

Soldier Field is obviously a better football stadium, but Wrigley Field would be a better bowl *experience*. I'm as big of a Bears fan as anyone and I believe Soldier Field is a great football venue for sightlines... but that doesn't make it a great bowl venue (especially for Chicago in December). There's no one that wants to see a game at Soldier Field for the sake of going to Soldier Field, particularly when it's cold out.

However, I could certainly see the appeal of a Wrigley Field bowl even in the worst winter Chicago weather. Wrigley Field *is* one of those handful of sports venues that is a destination unto itself, so it's one of the few (if not only) cold weather Midwestern locations that could reasonably attract people from out-of-town. Maryland and Boston College fans wouldn't travel to watch their teams in Detroit, and I doubt that they'd travel to watch their teams in Indianapolis (despite having domes to keep you warm from the elements), but traveling to watch their teams in Wrigley Field while partying in Wrigleyville is a very unique value proposition. There is a whole host of sports fans that don't have any connection to Chicago or the Cubs that still have Wrigley Field on their bucket list to visit, so being able to see your own college team play could be enticing.

Frankly, if you just took the Big Ten vs. ACC matchup that's currently in Detroit and just move it over to Wrigley Field, that would probably suffice. The Big 12 might actually work as a partner instead of the ACC, as well. We're not seeing the Chicago Cubs organization propose this in order to invite the MAC (outside of possibly being a backup). This is all about getting a Big Ten team playing another P5 team.

(01-05-2017 02:57 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Wasn't the Illinois vs Northwestern game at Wrigley a few years ago a really weird field fit and they had to have both teams go the same offensive direction all four quarters? Maybe the renovations will make football more feasible.

Yes - endzone on one end was a brick wall.

(01-05-2017 03:07 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  Boise is like Hawaii for vacation.

I keep thinking that you've reached the peak in terms of making asinine statements, but you keep raising the bar. It's almost impressive at this point.

(01-05-2017 03:47 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Maryland and Boston College fans wouldn't travel to watch their teams in Detroit, and I doubt that they'd travel to watch their teams in Indianapolis (despite having domes to keep you warm from the elements),

I'll give Mpls a leg-up on those two, with new US Bank Stadium and the Mall of America. Chicago is still Chicago, though. King's Landing to Winterfell.

(01-05-2017 03:47 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  but traveling to watch their teams in Wrigley Field while partying in Wrigleyville is a very unique value proposition. There is a whole host of sports fans that don't have any connection to Chicago or the Cubs that still have Wrigley Field on their bucket list to visit, so being able to see your own college team play could be enticing.

Sounds like a cold version of the French Quarter plus a historic stadium. I'm in!