CSNbbs

Conference USA and the GMAC Bowl are taking a one-year vacation from each other.

Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-PicayuneThe New Orleans Bowl tie-in with Conference USA and the Sun Belt won't be affected by the new deal that has the GMAC Bowl and C-USA parting ways.

The Mobile, Ala.-based bowl announced earlier this week that a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference would replace the C-USA representative in this season's game to be played on Jan. 6.

A team from the Mid-America Conference will fill the other bowl slot.

C-USA has had a team in the GMAC Bowl in all 10 years of its existence. The bowl had its pick of teams from the league other than the champion which goes to the Liberty Bowl.

"After 10 years, its time to refresh things," C-USA associate commissioner Alfred White said. "We have the ability to do some other things this year and wanted to take advantage of it. We're still talking to the GMAC folks and hope to sign a deal with them for 2010-2013."

http://blog.nola.com/tulanebeat/2009/05/...tment.html

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I have to wonder... if Gmac managed to jump up a spot with acc to #8.... acc drops emerald.. if they would want some kind of hybrid agreement with cusa/mac. possibly even with another bowl involved.. 2 years mac.. 2 years cusa in each. kind of like the gator sun deal with BE and B12. to me esp with smaller bowls getting a bigger mix of schools is a good idea.

MOBILE, AL.- GMAC Bowl president, Jerry Silverstein announced today that the 2009 GMAC Bowl game will feature a new conference participant, the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 11th Annual GMAC Bowl Game will be held on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. C.S.T. and will feature an ACC team and the first selection from the Mid-American Conference. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN.


"We are very pleased to have the ACC as part of the GMAC Bowl.” said Jerry Silverstein. “We’ve all been working very hard to make this happen and feel it will be a tremendous boost for the bowl game and the city.”


Since 2005 when they became a 12-team conference, the ACC has sent more teams to bowl games than any other conference. Of those 12 teams last year, 10 were bowl eligible. Virginia Tech beat Boston College 30-12 in the 2008 Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game then went on to defeat Cincinnati 20-7 in the January 2009 Fed Ex Orange Bowl.


The 12 ACC teams include Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.


“We are very excited that the GMAC Bowl is joining our line-up of post-season bowl partnerships,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “Jerry Silverstein and his staff, in conjunction with the entire City of Mobile, have done a great job of putting on a first-class bowl for many years and we look forward to this opportunity.”


“We’re so pleased that the ACC – an automatic-qualifying BCS conference -- thought highly enough of the GMAC Bowl to add it to its football bowl schedule,” said Jim Fleck, GMAC’s director of Global Marketing. “We’re excited about the addition of the ACC since they have so many great schools up and down the coast, from Boston College to the University of Miami. Adding the ACC to the lineup will definitely elevate the Bowl’s stature, as well as viewership. We’re proud to welcome them on board. We look forward to another great game this January."


“Mid-American Conference student-athletes and our fans have enjoyed a long relationship with the GMAC Bowl and the city of Mobile” said MAC Commissioner, Jon Steinbrecher. “The city and organizing committee provide a first-class environment and the ancillary events make it a festive week in a historic setting.


“This match up marks the first time in history that a MAC school will play a team from the ACC in a bowl game and makes all three of our contracted bowls with a member from the BCS' automatic qualifying conferences. The opportunity will give our schools another chance to prove themselves against the best competition possible.”


“We appreciate all that everyone associated with the GMAC Bowl has done for the MAC. The MAC is a proud partner with the GMAC Bowl and look forward to this continuing relationship,” said Steinbrecher.


“We have enjoyed a great eight-year relationship during our ten-year agreement with GMAC, and are looking forward to the future. The GMAC Bowl is proud to have earned the reputation of being one of the best post-season bowl games. We are very happy to have received the positive feedback from past bowl teams and the desire of those teams to come back to Mobile. That’s a huge compliment to us and the City of Mobile. We welcome the ACC and the MAC and are looking forward to showing them a great time in Mobile.” says Silverstein.


The MAC has played in eight GMAC Bowls and boasts an impressive 5-3 record (.625), including #14 Miami’s 49-28 victory in 2003 over Louisville in Ben Roethlisberger’s last game quarterbacking the RedHawks. Over the eight-year relationship the MAC has sent six (6) different schools to Mobile – Marshall (2001-02), Bowling Green (2004, 2008), #12 Ball State (2009), #14 Miami (2003), Ohio (2007), and Toledo (2005).


The MAC now faces the ACC, Big Ten (Motor City Bowl) and Big East (International Bowl) in its three contracted bowl appearances.


Ticket prices and availability for the 2009 GMAC Bowl Game will be announced at a later date. For more information, please call the GMAC Bowl at 251-635-0011.

http://mac-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?D...ID=3740037

KC, the statement by Mr. White did not deal with this season. CUSA is working on a deal for the period between 2011-2013. You have jumped the gun on this from the beginning based on wishful thinking.

KC keeps on haten'. I hope KC is in marketing, 'cause he can blow the smoke! After all he is from OU, they do like their mary jane in Athens.

(05-22-2009 07:36 AM)TopCoog Wrote: [ -> ]KC, the statement by Mr. White did not deal with this season. CUSA is working on a deal for the period between 2011-2013. You have jumped the gun on this from the beginning based on wishful thinking.

MOBILE, Ala. -- A team from the Atlantic Coast Conference will face the top selection from the Mid-American Conference in the GMAC Bowl this season.

The ACC will send its ninth pick to Mobile.

The new agreement was reached after the ACC's contract expired with the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The ACC will take the place of Conference USA, which has sent a team to the GMAC Bowl in each of the 10 years the game has been in existence.

GMAC Bowl president Jerry Silverstein said Monday if fewer than nine ACC teams are bowl eligible, the Mobile game can pick an available bowl-eligible team from any another conference.

The game is scheduled to be played Jan. 6.

The MAC has tie-ins to two other bowls, the Motor City Bowl in Detroit and the International Bowl in Toronto.

The new deal with the GMAC Bowl gives the Mobile-based game the first selection of MAC teams in the 2009, 2011 and 2013 seasons.

The Motor City Bowl gets the second pick in those seasons and first selection in 2010 and 2012.

International Bowl has the third selection.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4180328

There is more to it than that.

should be a good match up this year.. likey will be Mac champ vs a Sunbelt #3.

(05-22-2009 07:40 AM)SVHerd Wrote: [ -> ]KC keeps on haten'. I hope KC is in marketing, 'cause he can blow the smoke! After all he is from OU, they do like their mary jane in Athens.

Kc, "Haten'"?! Smoke?! mary jane?!

It all makes sense now, you're from Haiti?