Per ESPN's Brett McMurphy, this is just a one-year trial. Heart of Dallas Bowl seems to have been hoping for this to go through, as their website only has B1G/XII team updates so far this season despite C-USA being the heretofore perennial participant.

Up until 2013, the HOD Bowl's bids were XII on one side and alternating between the B1G and C-USA on the other. Since 2013, the plan was to have C-USA in one bid and the B1G and XII alternate on the other. The Armed Forces Bowl fit into this by taking the other team of the B1G/XII pairing so that each conference had a lower level bowl in the Metroplex (presumably) against a pushover. They never wound up filling the Armed Forces bid as that was the least attractive bowl for both the XII and B1G. The Armed Forces Bowl opponent for C-USA this year will be Army, if eligible. That bid rotates between Army, the American (Navy, if eligible and available), and the MWC (Air Force, ditto).

I can't find any press releases anywhere, but the bowls have updated their match-up pages (HOD, AFB). They show it as a one-time deal, but if the money is right, I don't understand why the leadership that approved it once wouldn't approve it again or make it permanent. I think this is a very bad move for the conference as it takes away our only P5 bowl bid. Everything else has been pointing towards C-USA running down into obscurity, so I guess there wasn't any reason to expect to keep this.

I honestly can't tell you what C-USA bowl is best after the HOD. They're all mediocre to garbage. Besides Armed Forces, this year we've got St Petersburg and Boca Raton against the American, New Mexico against the MWC, Bahamas against the MAC, and New Orleans against the Sun Belt. If you're JK/DB and (hypothetically) Rice wins C-USA this year, which bowl do you pick? Armed Forces for fan service in Dallas? Bahamas because we already got passports? Since we lost the Liberty Bowl, the answer was pretty clear cut: pick a Florida bowl if you recruit there (like Marshall and WKU and unlike Rice) or pick HOD if you want a chance at a P5 team. Now, we don't have anywhere particular to go. We already know the conference will ship us off to Hawaii or the Bahamas if we are bowl eligible and don't win the conference championship, but if we do win the championship, I don't see any remaining bowl distinguishing itself in any way for us.

(09-13-2017 09:18 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  Per ESPN's Brett McMurphy, this is just a one-year trial. Heart of Dallas Bowl seems to have been hoping for this to go through, as their website only has B1G/XII team updates so far this season despite C-USA being the heretofore perennial participant.

Up until 2013, the HOD Bowl's bids were XII on one side and alternating between the B1G and C-USA on the other. Since 2013, the plan was to have C-USA in one bid and the B1G and XII alternate on the other. The Armed Forces Bowl fit into this by taking the other team of the B1G/XII pairing so that each conference had a lower level bowl in the Metroplex (presumably) against a pushover. They never wound up filling the Armed Forces bid as that was the least attractive bowl for both the XII and B1G. The Armed Forces Bowl opponent for C-USA this year will be Army, if eligible. That bid rotates between Army, the American (Navy, if eligible and available), and the MWC (Air Force, ditto).

I can't find any press releases anywhere, but the bowls have updated their match-up pages (HOD, AFB). They show it as a one-time deal, but if the money is right, I don't understand why the leadership that approved it once wouldn't approve it again or make it permanent. I think this is a very bad move for the conference as it takes away our only P5 bowl bid. Everything else has been pointing towards C-USA running down into obscurity, so I guess there wasn't any reason to expect to keep this.

I honestly can't tell you what C-USA bowl is best after the HOD. They're all mediocre to garbage. Besides Armed Forces, this year we've got St Petersburg and Boca Raton against the American, New Mexico against the MWC, Bahamas against the MAC, and New Orleans against the Sun Belt. If you're JK/DB and (hypothetically) Rice wins C-USA this year, which bowl do you pick? Armed Forces for fan service in Dallas? Bahamas because we already got passports? Since we lost the Liberty Bowl, the answer was pretty clear cut: pick a Florida bowl if you recruit there (like Marshall and WKU and unlike Rice) or pick HOD if you want a chance at a P5 team. Now, we don't have anywhere particular to go. We already know the conference will ship us off to Hawaii or the Bahamas if we are bowl eligible and don't win the conference championship, but if we do win the championship, I don't see any remaining bowl distinguishing itself in any way for us.

If Army doesn't make a bowl, there's still a good chance that Armed Forces could be a P5 team.

This year, given that we play Army, I wouldn't want to play them again in Armed Forces. Any other year though, I would choose that game. I'd honestly probably pick Boca vs. AAC.

The FAU stadium is nice and its not a bad place to spend a few days in late December. Great beaches, lodging, and restaurants.

There is a good chance that the CUSA champion will not be a Top 50 team. Bad conference/bad bowls. I hardly matters which came first; it is a bad situation.

On the other hand, I doubt that we will get enough bad wins to be eligible for a bad bowl.

(09-14-2017 01:14 PM)temchugh Wrote:  There is a good chance that the CUSA champion will not be a Top 50 team. Bad conference/bad bowls. I hardly matters which came first; it is a bad situation.

On the other hand, I doubt that we will get enough bad wins to be eligible for a bad bowl.

Too bad. I want to go to the Armed Forces Bowl again badly. Had a blast last time.

(09-14-2017 01:39 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(09-14-2017 01:14 PM)temchugh Wrote:  There is a good chance that the CUSA champion will not be a Top 50 team. Bad conference/bad bowls. I hardly matters which came first; it is a bad situation.

On the other hand, I doubt that we will get enough bad wins to be eligible for a bad bowl.

Too bad. I want to go to the Armed Forces Bowl again badly. Had a blast last time.

Could have been at least 10 degrees warmer at kickoff, but otherwise, I agree!

(09-14-2017 06:13 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(09-14-2017 01:39 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(09-14-2017 01:14 PM)temchugh Wrote:  There is a good chance that the CUSA champion will not be a Top 50 team. Bad conference/bad bowls. I hardly matters which came first; it is a bad situation.

On the other hand, I doubt that we will get enough bad wins to be eligible for a bad bowl.

Too bad. I want to go to the Armed Forces Bowl again badly. Had a blast last time.

Could have been at least 10 degrees warmer at kickoff, but otherwise, I agree!

The New Orleans Bowl would be a good one for the destination and the short drive. Bourbon Street would be incredible after a bowl win.