The Big 10 announced agreements with a bunch of bowls yesterday. I think 5 bowls were mentioned plus the BCS. No mention of the Sun Bowl, Music City Bowl or Motor City Bowl.
Anyone know where the Big 10 fits with that.
Looks like the Motor City could still be No. 7. I guess the dream of moving up is dead.
Big Ten locks up 5 bowl deals
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune staff reporter
July 20, 2005
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.
How is another bowl in Orlando "a natural" for the Big Ten? It's already bad enough that the bowl tie-in system gives fans only a handful of possible bowl destinations, now the chances of going to Orlando are doubled.
Oh wait, I forgot that I wish ill will and pestilence upon all fans of the major conferences.
Enjoy yet another trip to Orlando Big Ten Fans.
This sucks.
Could the Big Ten have any higher concentration of alumni than within a 1/2 day's driving distance of the Motor City Bowl or a day's
driving distance of the Music City Bowl?Seems they are trying to avoid
any bowl games with Mid-Majors.
it really is sad that there is this glass ceiling the MAC and other conferences have seperating themselves from the other conferences. If a couple MAC teams could just break into a few larger bowls, more of the nation would be exposed to teams of the MAC, well a few of them at least! And who knows more kids may grow up as fans of mac teams like a lot of us grew up as fans of big 10.
Boca Rocket Wrote:Could the Big Ten have any higher concentration of alumni than within a 1/2 day's driving distance of the Motor City Bowl or a day's
driving distance of the Music City Bowl?Seems they are trying to avoid
any bowl games with Mid-Majors.
Boca:
I think it's a combination of disdain for the mid-majors, who they feel are beneath them, and the location, which they also find undesirable. Having been to the MCB, I think it's a great experience, but as a great author once said of the rich, "they are different than you and I."
Boca Rocket Wrote:Could the Big Ten have any higher concentration of alumni than within a 1/2 day's driving distance of the Motor City Bowl or a day's
driving distance of the Music City Bowl?Seems they are trying to avoid
any bowl games with Mid-Majors.
I don't blame them, the Big 5 conference have to do what is in there interests.
Looking at MAC, Big East, CUSA, or MWC schools......some of these schools average 40k+ but that represents all their support.
Several Big Ten schools average 75k+ with two to three times as many people who would go to the stadium if they could find a ticket.
cmufanatic Wrote:it really is sad that there is this glass ceiling the MAC and other conferences have seperating themselves from the other conferences. If a couple MAC teams could just break into a few larger bowls, more of the nation would be exposed to teams of the MAC, well a few of them at least! And who knows more kids may grow up as fans of mac teams like a lot of us grew up as fans of big 10.
I think the answer for the MAC is to line up more bowl match ups with CUSA, WAC, Big East, SBC........undisirable bowls but they do the job.
:snore:
Another day another missed opportunity.
Kit-Cat Wrote:I think the answer for the MAC is to line up more bowl match ups with CUSA, WAC, Big East, SBC........undisirable bowls but they do the job.
Undesirable bowls? Is there such a thing? I wonder if Akron would have found any bowl invitation undesirable. And even though it wasn't their first choice, I'm betting Huskie fans considered the SV bowl more desirable than sitting home.
I too am disappointed!
But let's wait a bit. I think the Big 10 deal with some of these Bowls is alternating, i.e., the Big 10 will not play in all of them every year.
The whole Bowl structure is becoming more and more complicated. The Gator Bowl, for example, during the next 4 years will have the ACC versus either the Big 12 (guaranteed 2 appearances), the Big East, or Notre Dame.
Since we have heard nothing yet about the Big 10 and the Motor City Bowl, I'm hoping something is still in the works.
Also, there are still some Bowls scrambling to deal with being dropped by the Big 12, the Big 10, etc.
GT/Cuse fan who found his way here boning up on the bowl changes in general.
Has there been any consideration for trying to match the MAC champ against the WAC champ? Seems the MWC/CUSA match-up in the Liberty may return pending the Bowl Committee's enthusiasm with the lower level SEC or ACC sides being offered. Chatter among some CUSA and MWC fans suggests at least the champ vs champ concept adds flare and, hopefully, $ to the pot. I tend to agree that so long as the "mid-majors" send their conference champ to play BCS conf. member #5, 6, 7... then they're feeding the image that they're not good enough. Perhaps if the Liberty does dismiss the CUSA champ as some have theorized, then maybe a MAC/CUSA game in the Houston or Independence Bowl?
Obviously existing contracts and bowl relationships are in play but I'd love to see the likes of BGSU, Toledo and the rest match-up against Boise St., Utah or USM should the right bowl package come along.
Gunner Fan:
Interesting scenario. Memory tells me that the MAC agreed to send its champion to the Motor City Bowl. Not sure what it would take to make your suggestion pan out.
Motor City bowl might as well go after B-E 2/3-ND. Pay B-E side what Librty bowl pays, If B-E does't get Liberty bowl, there chasing bowls that pay minimun
templefootballfan Wrote:Motor City bowl might as well go after B-E 2/3-ND. Pay B-E side what Librty bowl pays, If B-E does't get Liberty bowl, there chasing bowls that pay minimun
If the MCB would be willing to pay what the Liberty bowl pays, something tells me we wouldn't be having this discussion because the Big Ten would be locking up the MCB with either their 5th, 6th, or at least 7th team.
Don't fault the Big Ten here, because it is about payouts. If their is fault, my guess is that the MCB can't raise the money needed to have a good payout.
rocketfootball Wrote:Don't fault the Big Ten here, because it is about payouts. If their is fault, my guess is that the MCB can't raise the money needed to have a good payout.
I have some doubts.
I think RF is right about the money. Bowls are about money and little else. One of the other things they are about is getting the fans and alumni to a nice, warm site for a bowl game which is something Detroit is not likely to provide, global wraming notwithstanding. Make it a 3 mil. bowl and it will get more respect. Not easy to do, though. We flatter ourselves if we think it's because the BCS conferences are afraid of us. They just want more money and to keep the alums happy with a trip to Florida, Arizona, or California.
axeme Wrote:One of the other things they are about is getting the fans and alumni to a nice, warm site for a bowl game which is something Detroit is not likely to provide, global wraming notwithstanding.
This is sort of where I'm going.
My guess: Even if the Motor City would have matched a bowl ahead of it in the order, it may not have been picked -- EVEN though it would have meant more money in the pockets of the Big Ten than the bowl it was matching.
Schadenfreude Wrote:axeme Wrote:One of the other things they are about is getting the fans and alumni to a nice, warm site for a bowl game which is something Detroit is not likely to provide, global wraming notwithstanding.
This is sort of where I'm going.
My guess: Even if the Motor City would have matched a bowl ahead of it in the order, it may not have been picked -- EVEN though it would have meant more money in the pockets of the Big Ten than the bowl it was matching.
I'd wager it's not a cut-and-dried situation that can be attributed to one thing. Rather, I'd say it's a combination of these three variables in varying degrees...
1) Detroit: Let's face it, Detroit in December is not exactly a tourist destination. I got flamed when I was less-than-effusive about the city in general after the 2003 MCB, so I'll just stick with saying that the weather isn't that attractive to a conference when they have options in warmer climes.
2) Payout: Yes, the money is a factor, though not necessarily the biggest.
3) Opponent: Again, if given a choice between playing a team from a BCS conference or a "mid major," they are going to choose the BCS conference team. Be honest, wouldn't you rather play a BCS conference team?
It's not a simple as addressing any one of those, IMO. Rather, it's a combination of the three.