Can anyone explain how the Big East plans to full fill their obligations to these bowls?
As I understand it, Toronto has 4th or 5th dibs on a Big East team. Understood.
Then B'ham has dibs on a BE team as does MCB IF Big Ten can't come up with a team (with more BCS bowl bids most likely 2 Big Ten teams will be going BCS for the forseeable future).
Simply, who gets BE #5 - would it be Birmingham or MCB???
I'm sure Chryst wouldn't be disappointed. :shhh: to see BE #5 go to MCB and thereby vacating a slot in B'ham for the MAC.
MAC would hit the magic number of 4 bids... ;-)
I believe the BE has tie in with the Houston bowl, Tire Bowl, Insight.com Bowl, Gator Bowl, MCB and the BCS. Unless the Toronto Bowl pays big money, I don't see it leap froging any of these bowls unless the Houston Bowl goes under. I think the BE also has a rotating slot with the Sun Bowl and possibly the B'ham bowl.
If my information is correct, the BE will have potentially 9 bowls for 8 teams. I really don't know how this will work out for the Toronto Bowl. I guess it is possible that the BE never sends a team to Toronto and the MAC will get at-large opponents every year until the BE possibly expands.
This could be horrible for the Toronto bowl because likely at-large teams will come from the Sun Belt or WAC.
The B'ham bowl is a C-USA vs BE/MAC set-up right now. Similar to the Toronto Bowl, I doubt the BE ever fills this bowl. This could forever be a MAC-C-USA match up.
I seriously doubt the B'ham Bowl or the Toronto bowl will survive, unless the Houston Bowl dies. Local interest in both games will probably be pretty low, especially if the games feature MAC/C-USA/WAC/Sun Belt teams. Also, the 4th MAC team and the 7th C-USA team (Except if the C-USA team is UAB or Southern Miss) will have trouble drawing fans to the game. How many fans will drive to B'ham to see a 6-6 C-USA from Texas watch a 7-5 MAC team from Michigan? Not many.
Supply is now greater than demand, eventually some bowls will die off and we will reach our bowl equilibrium of 20-25 bowls.
emu steve Wrote:Can anyone explain how the Big East plans to full fill their obligations to these bowls?
As I understand it, Toronto has 4th or 5th dibs on a Big East team. Understood.
Then B'ham has dibs on a BE team as does MCB IF Big Ten can't come up with a team (with more BCS bowl bids most likely 2 Big Ten teams will be going BCS for the forseeable future).
Simply, who gets BE #5 - would it be Birmingham or MCB???
I'm sure Chryst wouldn't be disappointed. :shhh: to see BE #5 go to MCB and thereby vacating a slot in B'ham for the MAC.
MAC would hit the magic number of 4 bids... ;-)
Didn't you hear? It was changes from the BE #5 to Sun Belt #2. This is good for Toledo, they may not get blown out in a bowl game.
I am still mad at Toledo for making me look like an idiot for hyping Toledo at work IN CONNECTICUT for the UConn game and then Toledo falls flat on their face. Now Toledo fans know why I continually bash your OOC and bowl blowouts.
but this could become a "Big East expansion" thread.
I wonder if this isn't a prelude to BE expansion?
I'll admit that I don't have the intelligence :shhh: to predict how the BE will evolve over the next 5 to 10 years with so many non-FB schools in the mix. Two conferences? One a non-FB conference?
I'll try to get some definitive info on how these bowls might play out.
BTW, the Houston Bowl IF it survives is B12 vs. C-USA/BE (those conferences will rotate every other year).
The B10, except for being 'numerically challenged' (it should be B11), is stable. Something to be said for stability.
Best rumor I can think of for the B10 is that OSU will apply to join the NFL.
I don't agree with much of Jack's post. In it, I detect a bit of arrogance about the Big East's position in the grand scheme of things. We aren't talking about his daddy's Big East any longer.
First: Nine bowls for eight teams? That can't be right.
As far as the Houston Bowl: My guess is the only reason they held off until June is to give them a bit more incentive and time to try to pay their debts to last year's teams. If they couldn't get it together by now, they probably won't by June -- and then the axe will fall.
(Why else would the Birmingham and Toronto bowls have been approved?)
As far as the the chances of these new bowls making it...
The GMAC bowl has pitted the MAC against Conference USA for years, and it sells out every time, officially.
The Motor City has pitted some decidedly uninteresting teams against the MAC (Cincinnati twice, Connecticut once) and it more than survived. It has thrived.
Last year, the game claimed 50,000-plus for Akron versus Memphis (which, like Connecticut, is a program worthy of respect -- but unlikely to be confused with Notre Dame in Motown).
So why not Toronto?
In some ways, Toronto may have a better chance than Mobile.
Mobile is a decent, fairly warm place with very friendly people who roll out the welcome mat for ya. I had a blast down there in 2004.
But it isn't exactly a destination city.
Toronto is one of North America's great cities. And, unlike Mobile, it is a reasonable drive for most MAC fans.
I sense Toronto will be high enough in the pecking order to get a Big East team -- because, after all, look at the date they plan to play it. Jan. 6 -- right before the so-called national title bowl.
If the Big East is choosing between several minimum payout games, that wonderful television window is enough, alone, to elevate it above the others.
Obviously, we'll learn more as the days roll along. But I'm very optimistic about Toronto.
I'm GUESSING ESPN-RT got into B'ham late thinking Toronto might not be approved and Houston could fold. Surprise.
Then like the woman doing fertility she tried for one but got multiples.
I agree with Jack that the strongest bowls will survive and that cities, conferences, etc. better take care of their bowls or else we'll see bowls like startup companies - here today - gone tomorrow.
Bottom line: MAC deserves 3 or 4 bids and will get them. MAC/WMC/WAC/C-USA/SBC deserve a shot at BCS bid and gets it this year.
The bowl landscape is MUCH, much more fairer now then last year!!
I don't see where ANY conference (correct me if I'm wrong) will be treated unfairly in the upcoming bowl season.
Jack Burns Wrote:I believe the BE has tie in with the Houston bowl, Tire Bowl, Insight.com Bowl, Gator Bowl, MCB and the BCS. Unless the Toronto Bowl pays big money, I don't see it leap froging any of these bowls unless the Houston Bowl goes under. I think the BE also has a rotating slot with the Sun Bowl and possibly the B'ham bowl.
You are incorrect.
The Big East has......no insight bowl
1.BCS
2.Gator/Sun (ND takes a slot if bowl elgible)
3.Charlotte
4.Houston
5.Toronto
6.Brimmingham
I seriously doubt the Big East is a credible backup for the MCB or even an official one.
ND can plug up the #2 spot in most years, leaving the Charlotte as the #2 option for the regular Big East schools with Toronto stepping up to #4.
RobertN Wrote:I am still mad at Toledo for making me look like an idiot for hyping Toledo at work IN CONNECTICUT for the UConn game and then Toledo falls flat on their face. Now Toledo fans know why I continually bash your OOC and bowl blowouts.
That's nothing. In 2004 I told everyone that NIU had a great offense and that even without Garrett Wolfe you guys would score a lot and that AJ Harris was a very good running back. After you guys had 19 yards total offense in the entire 2nd half against our terrible defense, I got cracked on for weeks. You guys embarrassed the hell out of me with that pitiful performance, and at your home field no less.
People are not couting on the Houston Bowl, and if it does survive there is a good chance the MAC take the forefront in the Birmingham Bowl.
ND can take the gator/sun BE spot 2 of 4 years. Lucky for BE, ND will probably be BCS eligible over that time. The BE was also in contract thru 05 with MCB to take spot if B10 couldn't field a team. Don't know if that will continue.