CSNbbs

As seen in both the Trib and Star Tribune, the Big Ten now has five bowls lined up:

<a href='http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-050719bigtenbowls,1,7162971.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed' target='_blank'>http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-05...i-sportsnew-hed</a>



Big Ten locks up 5 bowl deals
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune staff reporter

July 19, 2005, 10:10 PM CDT

The Big Ten has two new bowl partners: The Champs Sports and Insight bowls.

The conference announced Tuesday it has signed four-year agreements with both, officially ending its associations with the Sun and Music City bowls after the 2005 season.

The Big Ten also announced four-year extensions with the Capital One, Outback and Alamo bowls. Last August the Big Ten signed an eight-year extension with the Rose Bowl through the 2013 season.

That leaves the Big Ten with six bowl tie-ins, and league officials are considering whether to sign up with a seventh bowl, as it has in some years.

The Motor City Bowl, which featured a Northwestern-Bowling Green matchup after the 2003 season, is among the possibilities for a seventh bowl.

The Champs Sports Bowl was a natural choice for the Big Ten because the game is played at Orlando's Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, also the site of the Capital One Bowl.

Starting with the 2006 season, those games will be played about a week apart, allowing the Big Ten to host what it is calling a "celebration of college football."

The Insight Bowl, played in Phoenix, will pit the Big Ten against a Big 12 foe.

"With a heavy concentration of Big Ten alumni in the states of Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, this bowl lineup is a natural fit for the conference and should provide some great matchups on the field," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.

The Rose Bowl will continue to host the Big Ten champion unless that team qualifies for the BCS championship game.

The Capital One gets the conference runner-up, the Outback hosts the No. 3 team and the Insight will get the No. 6 team.

The Champs Sports and Alamo bowls have a sharing agreement that calls for them to alternate the fourth- and fifth-place Big Ten teams over a four-year span.

tgreenstein@tribune.com


Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune

Red Black Wrote:As seen in both the Trib and Star Tribune, the Big Ten now has five bowls lined up:

<a href='http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-050719bigtenbowls,1,7162971.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed' target='_blank'>http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-05...i-sportsnew-hed</a>



Big Ten locks up 5 bowl deals
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune staff reporter

July 19, 2005, 10:10 PM CDT

The Big Ten has two new bowl partners: The Champs Sports and Insight bowls.

The conference announced Tuesday it has signed four-year agreements with both, officially ending its associations with the Sun and Music City bowls after the 2005 season.

The Big Ten also announced four-year extensions with the Capital One, Outback and Alamo bowls. Last August the Big Ten signed an eight-year extension with the Rose Bowl through the 2013 season.

That leaves the Big Ten with six bowl tie-ins, and league officials are considering whether to sign up with a seventh bowl, as it has in some years.

The Motor City Bowl, which featured a Northwestern-Bowling Green matchup after the 2003 season, is among the possibilities for a seventh bowl.

The Champs Sports Bowl was a natural choice for the Big Ten because the game is played at Orlando's Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, also the site of the Capital One Bowl.

Starting with the 2006 season, those games will be played about a week apart, allowing the Big Ten to host what it is calling a "celebration of college football."

The Insight Bowl, played in Phoenix, will pit the Big Ten against a Big 12 foe.

"With a heavy concentration of Big Ten alumni in the states of Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, this bowl lineup is a natural fit for the conference and should provide some great matchups on the field," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.

The Rose Bowl will continue to host the Big Ten champion unless that team qualifies for the BCS championship game.

The Capital One gets the conference runner-up, the Outback hosts the No. 3 team and the Insight will get the No. 6 team.

The Champs Sports and Alamo bowls have a sharing agreement that calls for them to alternate the fourth- and fifth-place Big Ten teams over a four-year span.

tgreenstein@tribune.com


Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune

Last year Big Ten - 7 bowl tie-ins, MAC - 2 bowl tie-ins. We only had more last year because of all the ineligible BCS teams. Welcome to the MAC. Bowls changed from rewarding teams that played well to who can make the most money, this swing happened many years ago.

The MAC should make a push for the Music City bowl. Nashville would be an easy trip for MAC fans to make.

Quote: league officials are considering whether to sign up with a seventh bowl, as it has in some years.

That falls under the assumption that the Big Tenleven can produce seven bowl elligible teams. As a conference, it may be benificial to not have the better teams be too good, as it could keep them from filling all seven bowl spots.

In the past couple of years the MAC has been a stronger football conference than CUSA, but that will not continue if CUSA continues to have more bowl tie-ins than we do. This has to be a priority for Rick Chryst. It is not the only criteria that should be used to evaluate his effectiveness, but it is part of how he should be evaluated.

Perhaps Jim Phillips and the other ADs can help him out with this.

DiehardHuskie Wrote:The MAC should make a push for the Music City bowl. Nashville would be an easy trip for MAC fans to make.

In a different thread I had already noted that the ACC has the lock on that one already. That is what is so frustrating. The MAC stands idly by and does nothing to secure spots. It even looks like the Big 10 might pull out of the Motor City Bowl and that that leaves the MAC with who as an opponent, just an at large team from the Mountain West or Sun Belt who didn't get a bowl?

Add to that the possibility that with the auto industry doing pretty lousy lately, and who knows if the bowl count drops further yet. Motor City and GMAC bowls seem to me tied to the auto industry, and therefore their future existence. I don't know what to think about the MAC performance in getting bowl tie ins. It just is not looking good to me right now.

Rich Chryst couldn't run a used car lot, let alone a major athletic conference. One of these days the MAC Presidents are going to get wise to the fact that they need a serious upgrade in commissioner. Two bowls (both marginal at best) is a joke at this stage. But hey, I guess we have the Toronto Bowl concept to fantasize about ( ).

Anyone know what the MAC commissioner gets paid in comparison to AD salaries ?

No they have six with a possibe 7th:

"That leaves the Big Ten with six bowl tie-ins, and league officials are considering whether to sign up with a seventh bowl, as it has in some years."

niu85alum Wrote:Rich Chryst couldn't run a used car lot, let alone a major athletic conference. One of these days the MAC Presidents are going to get wise to the fact that they need a serious upgrade in commissioner. Two bowls (both marginal at best) is a joke at this stage. But hey, I guess we have the Toronto Bowl concept to fantasize about ( ).

I actaully agree with ALum! Chryst has done very little to substantially move the conference forward. All these changing bowls and we get nothing? WTF is he doing? He needs to get off his a$$ and get to work. Alum: THis is why we need out of the MAC. Most MAC schools like him. As long as that is the case, he will stay on. I think fans from the other MAC schools accept this because it is better than what the MAC has ever been in the past without realizing we are just spinning our wheels in mud(we will make some progress forward but then just slide back into the rut). Basically getting nowhere fast.

HuskieFan84 Wrote:Anyone know what the MAC commissioner gets paid in comparison to AD salaries ?

Mid-American Conference Richard Chryst $192,500

This was what Chrysts salary was in 2002-2003. That is the latest I found on my quick search. I would assume that it is probably in the 205-210,000 now.

RobertN Wrote:

niu85alum Wrote:Rich Chryst couldn't run a used car lot, let alone a major athletic conference.&nbsp; One of these days the MAC Presidents are going to get wise to the fact that they need a serious upgrade in commissioner.&nbsp; Two bowls (both marginal at best) is a joke at this stage.&nbsp; But hey, I guess we have the Toronto Bowl concept to fantasize about (&nbsp; ).

I actaully agree with ALum! Chryst has done very little to substantially move the conference forward. All these changing bowls and we get nothing? WTF is he doing? He needs to get off his a$$ and get to work. Alum: THis is why we need out of the MAC. Most MAC schools like him. As long as that is the case, he will stay on. I think fans from the other MAC schools accept this because it is better than what the MAC has ever been in the past without realizing we are just spinning our wheels in mud(we will make some progress forward but then just slide back into the rut). Basically getting nowhere fast.

You're assuming, based on no actual knowledge of such, that the MAC isn't trying to get more bowl bids. Considering Rick Chryst frequently mentions wanting to secure more bowl bids for the MAC when interviewed, I have a hard time believing that *nothing* is being done.

NIUJDK Wrote:[That is what is so frustrating. The MAC stands idly by and does nothing to secure spots. It even looks like the Big 10 might pull out of the Motor City Bowl and that that leaves the MAC with who as an opponent, just an at large team from the Mountain West or Sun Belt who didn't get a bowl?

Don't assume that the MAC is sitting idly by, because that just isn't the case. I know there are many people who'd like to run Chryst out on a rail, but I'm not one of them. While he hasn't been perfect, he has done a good job.

As for the broken record 85alum continues to play slamming the concept of a bowl in Toronto, give it a rest. Let me ask you this, if the choice last year was between playing in a bowl in Toronto and sitting home, which would you choose?

Dan:

You and I must've cross posted.

Chryst has been making the rounds and pushing hard. But the BCS conferences continue to have all the leverage and that's just the way business is being done.

niu85alum Wrote:Rich Chryst couldn't run a used car lot, let alone a major athletic conference. One of these days the MAC Presidents are going to get wise to the fact that they need a serious upgrade in commissioner. Two bowls (both marginal at best) is a joke at this stage. But hey, I guess we have the Toronto Bowl concept to fantasize about ( ).

How about that Boise Bowl alum?

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:Dan:

You and I must've cross posted.

Chryst has been making the rounds and pushing hard. But the BCS conferences continue to have all the leverage and that's just the way business is being done.

Blame it all on the BC$ if you want but the fact is is that he has no leverage at all. How come Convict-USA isn't losing its bowls? They aren't in the BCS. Again, make all the excuses you want but the conference needs someone who is respected and has some leverage.

RobertN Wrote:

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:Dan:

You and I must've cross posted.

Chryst has been making the rounds and pushing hard. But the BCS conferences continue to have all the leverage and that's just the way business is being done.

Blame it all on the BC$ if you want but the fact is is that he has no leverage at all. How come Convict-USA isn't losing its bowls? They aren't in the BCS. Again, make all the excuses you want but the conference needs someone who is respected and has some leverage.

I agree that the MAC has been way behind CUSA, the WAC, and the Mountain West for almost a decade in pushing respect and a nationwide audience for their programs.

We are catching up but I feel it is because of the schools not a concerted effort of the MAC office.

RobertN Wrote:

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:Dan:

You and I must've cross posted.

Chryst has been making the rounds and pushing hard. But the BCS conferences continue to have all the leverage and that's just the way business is being done.

Blame it all on the BC$ if you want but the fact is is that he has no leverage at all. How come Convict-USA isn't losing its bowls? They aren't in the BCS. Again, make all the excuses you want but the conference needs someone who is respected and has some leverage.

Not to pick nits, but I don't think we've lost any bowls, either.

I know folks want to demonize or deify Chryst. It isn't always that simple. It's quite possible that there are better folks out there who would be interested in the job. But we saw in Chryst's predecessor that there are worse options out there.

I don't think Chryst is infallible, but since he's obviously not going to get bounced in the immediate future, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and continue to believe that he'll continue to move the conference forward.

When he goes on the sales presentations, why doesn't he take Phillips along with him? It seems to me that Conference USA has 5 bowl tie ins and we beat them every year in our bowl game.

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:

RobertN Wrote:

BGSUalum1987 Wrote:Dan:

You and I must've cross posted.

Chryst has been making the rounds and pushing hard. But the BCS conferences continue to have all the leverage and that's just the way business is being done.

Blame it all on the BC$ if you want but the fact is is that he has no leverage at all. How come Convict-USA isn't losing its bowls? They aren't in the BCS. Again, make all the excuses you want but the conference needs someone who is respected and has some leverage.

Not to pick nits, but I don't think we've lost any bowls, either.

I know folks want to demonize or deify Chryst. It isn't always that simple. It's quite possible that there are better folks out there who would be interested in the job. But we saw in Chryst's predecessor that there are worse options out there.

I don't think Chryst is infallible, but since he's obviously not going to get bounced in the immediate future, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and continue to believe that he'll continue to move the conference forward.

As I said in another post, I think many MAC fans see Chryst as doing a good job because the MAC has had some progress over the last 10 years(I have to admit there has been some). The problem is that progress has been slow and that has enabled others to gain faster than us. Meaning we really aren't much better off overall then 10 years ago. We are moving ahead but falling back at the same time.

As for bowls, you are right. We have not lost any bowls. The problem is we have not gained any. Hey, it is great that there 2 bowls. I can't deny that. However, how long do you think we will keep the GMAC? Are we really the best draw they can have? Would they go with a southern conference over us now that Marshall is gone? Is GMAC a part of GM? What if GM goes bankrupt? Same with the Motor City Bowl(I believe it is sponsored by all three "American" car companies) what if 1 or 2 of those declare bankruptcy? There go our sponsors. Who do you think will then sponsor the game? If they can't find a replacement it may end. If they find a smaller sponsor, the payout could be worse-hurting the School and the MAC financially.