Hopefully we don't go back to the Bahamas bowl. I want to be able to go to a bowl this time. I hope we end in the St Peterburg's or Boca.

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

(05-14-2017 05:19 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

2 days before and 2 days after Christmas, both during working hours, not your best argument on that point. If we were not able to move to AFB, I doubt UNT would have gotten HOD.

(05-14-2017 05:32 PM)Doots4Dawgs Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 05:19 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

2 days before and 2 days after Christmas, both during working hours, not your best argument on that point. If we were not able to move to AFB, I doubt UNT would have gotten HOD.

I don't think so. I think it makes perfect sense that more people are going to be off work and at home on a Friday afternoon, two days before Christmas. While more people would be traveling on a Tuesday morning two days after Christmas.

As for who goes to the HOD, so far, history is on the side of North Texas. If LA Tech were to finish with a great record, I think it would probably work out like last season... C-USA would horse trade to land the Dawgs in another quality bowl. If North Texas continues to improve and finished with a 7 or 8 win season, I just don't see another C-USA team in the HOD. Just my take.

One thing I noticed is that both times that UNT went to the HOD, the opponent wasn't a P5.

So here's my take. If the opponent isn't P5, UNT goes. If it is, the west champ (or conference champ) will be there.

(05-14-2017 10:15 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  One thing I noticed is that both times that UNT went to the HOD, the opponent wasn't a P5.

So here's my take. If the opponent isn't P5, UNT goes. If it is, the west champ (or conference champ) will be there.

Yep.

(05-14-2017 05:19 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

Bless your heart. You REALLY believe that, don't you?

(05-14-2017 10:15 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  One thing I noticed is that both times that UNT went to the HOD, the opponent wasn't a P5.

So here's my take. If the opponent isn't P5, UNT goes. If it is, the west champ (or conference champ) will be there.

Exactly.

(05-16-2017 10:28 PM)HogDawg Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 05:19 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

Bless your heart. You REALLY believe that, don't you?

Yes.

(05-16-2017 10:32 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:28 PM)HogDawg Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 05:19 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 01:56 PM)Dawgxas Wrote:  

(05-11-2017 09:01 PM)Magic95Fan Wrote:  I dont think the HOD officials care very much about wins or championships. They seem to only care about rumps in the seats.

ESPN owns the Bowl and Tech is a better TV draw than UNT, UNT had the lowest rated bowl in HOD 2013 with 335k viewers. Tech vs Illinois and Tech versus a Navy had better ratings than UNT vs Army. More than makes up for the little economic impact an extra local 8k in fans

Those facts are misleading... The attendance for that game was 31,297, making it the second worst attendance in the bowl's history. Illinois is a lower level BIG10 program, so I understand them not bringing a large crowd. But Illinois is still a BIG10 program. So, they will garner BIG10 eyeballs from fans that support the conference. That is why the television rating were higher.

Navy has been a winner in recent year, and was ranked, although had another ranking been released before the bowl, they would not have. Again, your facts are misleading... the bowl was played on Friday Dec. 23rd at 2:30pm. People were home on Christmas vacation. Of course it had better television ratings. North Texas faced Army on Tuesday the 27th at 11am, when people were driving back from their Christmas vacation. LA Tech isn't some great draw for ESPN.

In 2013 North Texas got stuck with UNLV. Not exactly the big draw from the MWC, for attendance or television ratings.

ESPN has owned the bowl for a while now, and every time North Texas has been available, the HOD has selected the Mean Green. Last season, the HOD could have taken Southern Miss, or UTSA, over a 5 win North Texas team, but they didn't. Southern Miss got ULL in New Orleans, and UTSA was shipped out to Mew Mexico. You can't convince me that the Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Committee would pass on matching up North Texas with a BIG12 team this season. I believe the attendance and ratings could be among the highest outside of the P5 bowls.

Bless your heart. You REALLY believe that, don't you?

Yes.

That's so cute.

(05-14-2017 10:15 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  One thing I noticed is that both times that UNT went to the HOD, the opponent wasn't a P5.

So here's my take. If the opponent isn't P5, UNT goes. If it is, the west champ (or conference champ) will be there.

Your theory doesn't take into account all the factors.... The most important being that North Texas was not bowl eligible both times a P5 was available for the HOD. The simple fact is that so far the HOD has invited North Texas both times we were available. I don't need to propose a theory, I can stand by the facts.

(05-16-2017 10:40 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-14-2017 10:15 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  One thing I noticed is that both times that UNT went to the HOD, the opponent wasn't a P5.

So here's my take. If the opponent isn't P5, UNT goes. If it is, the west champ (or conference champ) will be there.

Your theory doesn't take into account all the factors.... The most important being that North Texas was not bowl eligible both times a P5 was available for the HOD. The simple fact is that so far the HOD has invited North Texas both times we were available. I don't need to propose a theory, I can stand by the facts.

Then I guess we don't know what would happen in that instance. You have your belief. I have mine.

USM was going to be playing ULL in N'awlins. If that matchup wasn't available, USM would have been picked ahead of NT for HOD.

Sent from my SM-G930R7 using CSNbbs mobile app

You guys are all over the map in talking about these bowl lineups. A key factor last year was the fact that the Heart of Dallas Bowl traded out the C-USA position for the Armed Forces Bowl. The bowls agreed to this for matchup purposes and to sell tickets.

What was likely going to happen had that trade not occurred (and I bet even some wkcc fans don't even know this)...

1. Bowl eligible teams in the league got the preference on which bowl they wanted over 5-7 teams.
2. wkcc was very interested in the Hawaii Bowl. If wkcc went to Hawaii, La Tech was going to go to Boca (they didn't want to go back to Dallas) and Middle Tennessee was going to go to HOD.
3. In the end, wkcc favored the matchup with Memphis over Hawaii, so C-USA worked out a trade with AFB and HOD that would allow C-USA to be in both bowl games and MT went to Hawaii. When C-USA traded out of the HOD Bowl it actually left an open spot, because the Big 12 was unable to fill the Armed Forces Bowl, so C-USA traded an empty bowl slot. ESPN and the bowl operators favored this option, because they did not want a potential 10-win Navy team that won the AAC West playing a 5-7 team. For ESPN, it was about matchups and it came with the added benefit of putting North Texas in a bowl close to home where they could sell tickets.

So, the facts are this. There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, but there is some truth to both sides (to a degree), but it was not just a situation that HOD favored one C-USA team over the other. The truth is if they had it their way they wouldn't take any of us if they could avoid it.

(05-17-2017 11:39 AM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  You guys are all over the map in talking about these bowl lineups. A key factor last year was the fact that the Heart of Dallas Bowl traded out the C-USA position for the Armed Forces Bowl. The bowls agreed to this for matchup purposes and to sell tickets.

What was likely going to happen had that trade not occurred (and I bet even some wkcc fans don't even know this)...

1. Bowl eligible teams in the league got the preference on which bowl they wanted over 5-7 teams.
2. wkcc was very interested in the Hawaii Bowl. If wkcc went to Hawaii, La Tech was going to go to Boca (they didn't want to go back to Dallas) and Middle Tennessee was going to go to HOD.
3. In the end, wkcc favored the matchup with Memphis over Hawaii, so C-USA worked out a trade with AFB and HOD that would allow C-USA to be in both bowl games and MT went to Hawaii. When C-USA traded out of the HOD Bowl it actually left an open spot, because the Big 12 was unable to fill the Armed Forces Bowl, so C-USA traded an empty bowl slot. ESPN and the bowl operators favored this option, because they did not want a potential 10-win Navy team that won the AAC West playing a 5-7 team. For ESPN, it was about matchups and it came with the added benefit of putting North Texas in a bowl close to home where they could sell tickets.

So, the facts are this. There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, but there is some truth to both sides (to a degree), but it was not just a situation that HOD favored one C-USA team over the other. The truth is if they had it their way they wouldn't take any of us if they could avoid it.

TIBL is correct. This was a very advantageous year for us bowl wise. There were some back room dealings that pretty much got everybody what they wanted. UNT got to play close to home against Army, Tech got a Top 25 team within driving distance, WKU got a Florida Bowl against a quality team. It was a good year all around.

(05-17-2017 11:39 AM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  You guys are all over the map in talking about these bowl lineups. A key factor last year was the fact that the Heart of Dallas Bowl traded out the C-USA position for the Armed Forces Bowl. The bowls agreed to this for matchup purposes and to sell tickets.

What was likely going to happen had that trade not occurred (and I bet even some wkcc fans don't even know this)...

1. Bowl eligible teams in the league got the preference on which bowl they wanted over 5-7 teams.
2. wkcc was very interested in the Hawaii Bowl. If wkcc went to Hawaii, La Tech was going to go to Boca (they didn't want to go back to Dallas) and Middle Tennessee was going to go to HOD.
3. In the end, wkcc favored the matchup with Memphis over Hawaii, so C-USA worked out a trade with AFB and HOD that would allow C-USA to be in both bowl games and MT went to Hawaii. When C-USA traded out of the HOD Bowl it actually left an open spot, because the Big 12 was unable to fill the Armed Forces Bowl, so C-USA traded an empty bowl slot. ESPN and the bowl operators favored this option, because they did not want a potential 10-win Navy team that won the AAC West playing a 5-7 team. For ESPN, it was about matchups and it came with the added benefit of putting North Texas in a bowl close to home where they could sell tickets.

So, the facts are this. There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, but there is some truth to both sides (to a degree), but it was not just a situation that HOD favored one C-USA team over the other. The truth is if they had it their way they wouldn't take any of us if they could avoid it.

That's not what happened at all. The 2016 Armed Forces Bowl was scheduled to have a Big12 team face an AAC team. The Big12 just couldn't fill the spot. C-USA had an extra bowl team over the 6 bowls they were scheduled, and filled the BIG12's spot with LA Tech. The HOD didn't have to trade anything.

I'm fairly sure your statement about the bowl eligible teams getting preference is inaccurate too. I'm almost certain UTSA, who not only beat North Texas in the regular season, but also finished with a better record, would have taken the HOD over the New Mexico Bowl, if they had the chance.

I think some of your statements may only be adding to the "misinformation" on this thread.

The conference dictates that 7-5 or better teams be slotted before 6-6 teams, and NCAA rules state all 6-win or better teams must be slotted before 5-7 teams. This does not mean that 7-5 teams get to choose before 6-6 teams, just that no 7-5 team will stay at home while a 6-6 team goes bowling.

Only the conference champ gets to pick their bowl. WKU chose Boca because it was the best for them. After that, the conference and its bowl partners work together to create the best possible situations and match ups.

Tech went on the record late in the season in saying it wanted the HOD. Besides the nearby location, Tech wanted to face a P5. However, when it started to become apparent that 4 B1G teams were going to the NY6, everyone realized that the B1G wasn't going to be able to fill the HOD. In 2015, the Big XII couldn't fill it, but the HOD tracked down an extra Pac-12 team (UW). In 2016, there were no extra P5s (the B1G, Big XII, and Pac-12 all had fewer teams than bowls, and the SEC and ACC had just the exact number). So it was obvious there would not be a P5 in the HOD. Similarly, the Big XII wasn't going to be able to fill the AFB.

So a trade occurred. C-USA's spot in the HOD, which by all indications was going to go to Tech (see below), was instead given to the AFB so that Tech and Navy could play. Remember that because North Texas was 5-7, every single 6-6 or better team had to be slotted first. Once that was done, since UNT had the best APR, they got to pick from what was left. That meant either the HOD vs Army or St Pete vs Miami (OH). They obviously chose HOD. That left the 2nd best APR 5-7 team (Miss St) to choose St Pete.

Tech's AD stated that he knew we weren't going to the HOD once 4 B1G teams were officially slotted in the NY6. His statements imply that had the B1G sent a team to the HOD, Tech would have gone.

Had the trade not occurred, Tech would have played Army in the HOD. Once all 6-6 or better teams were slotted, UNT would have had to choose from the AFB vs #25 Navy or the St Pete Bowl vs Miami. They'd likely have chosen AFB. So we would have had Tech vs Army and UNT vs Navy. All involved parties realized that Tech vs Navy and UNT vs Army would provide better matchups, and thus the trade occurred. Considering that Tech-Navy was won on a last-second field goal and UNT-Army went to OT, I'd say the trade worked perfectly.

TL;DR: The HOD didn't choose UNT, UNT chose the HOD.

(05-17-2017 07:39 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  

(05-17-2017 11:39 AM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  You guys are all over the map in talking about these bowl lineups. A key factor last year was the fact that the Heart of Dallas Bowl traded out the C-USA position for the Armed Forces Bowl. The bowls agreed to this for matchup purposes and to sell tickets.

What was likely going to happen had that trade not occurred (and I bet even some wkcc fans don't even know this)...

1. Bowl eligible teams in the league got the preference on which bowl they wanted over 5-7 teams.
2. wkcc was very interested in the Hawaii Bowl. If wkcc went to Hawaii, La Tech was going to go to Boca (they didn't want to go back to Dallas) and Middle Tennessee was going to go to HOD.
3. In the end, wkcc favored the matchup with Memphis over Hawaii, so C-USA worked out a trade with AFB and HOD that would allow C-USA to be in both bowl games and MT went to Hawaii. When C-USA traded out of the HOD Bowl it actually left an open spot, because the Big 12 was unable to fill the Armed Forces Bowl, so C-USA traded an empty bowl slot. ESPN and the bowl operators favored this option, because they did not want a potential 10-win Navy team that won the AAC West playing a 5-7 team. For ESPN, it was about matchups and it came with the added benefit of putting North Texas in a bowl close to home where they could sell tickets.

So, the facts are this. There is a lot of misinformation in this thread, but there is some truth to both sides (to a degree), but it was not just a situation that HOD favored one C-USA team over the other. The truth is if they had it their way they wouldn't take any of us if they could avoid it.

That's not what happened at all. The 2016 Armed Forces Bowl was scheduled to have a Big12 team face an AAC team. The Big12 just couldn't fill the spot. C-USA had an extra bowl team over the 6 bowls they were scheduled, and filled the BIG12's spot with LA Tech. The HOD didn't have to trade anything.

I'm fairly sure your statement about the bowl eligible teams getting preference is inaccurate too. I'm almost certain UTSA, who not only beat North Texas in the regular season, but also finished with a better record, would have taken the HOD over the New Mexico Bowl, if they had the chance.

I think some of your statements may only be adding to the "misinformation" on this thread.

No, that is not what happened. I referenced the Big 12's inability to fill the bowl, but we do not have a secondary agreement with the Armed Forces Bowl if the Big 12 is unable to fill it. On the surface you probably think it's a matter of semantics if it's a trade or simply filling an empty slot but it isn't. Had Western chose the Hawaii Bowl, North Texas would not have been in the HOD Bowl.

Further, the fact that UTSA did not end up in the HOD vice New Mexico further proves my point that the bowl was traded. Had the bowl not been traded they likely would have preferred that over New Mexico but the HOD was never an option for them, because the league traded it for an empty slot. Another reason it wasn't available for them is La Tech was going to get first right of refusal and with no P5 they didn't want to go back. Middle Tenn would have had preference over UTSA due to a better record and the fact that ESPN was agnostic to MT or UTSA in Dallas. But that never came to be for the aforementioned reasons. The Armed Forces was doomed to have a 5-7 before the trade and ESPN did not want that. The only reason UNT WAS eligible for that particular bowl was because of the trade. It was viewed as a win-win for all involved (except for MT that got another OCONUS bowl game for the second year in a row).

(05-17-2017 07:57 PM)techdawg28 Wrote:  The conference dictates that 7-5 or better teams be slotted before 6-6 teams, and NCAA rules state all 6-win or better teams must be slotted before 5-7 teams. This does not mean that 7-5 teams get to choose before 6-6 teams, just that no 7-5 team will stay at home while a 6-6 team goes bowling.

Only the conference champ gets to pick their bowl. WKU chose Boca because it was the best for them. After that, the conference and its bowl partners work together to create the best possible situations and match ups.

Tech went on the record late in the season in saying it wanted the HOD. Besides the nearby location, Tech wanted to face a P5. However, when it started to become apparent that 4 B1G teams were going to the NY6, everyone realized that the B1G wasn't going to be able to fill the HOD. In 2015, the Big XII couldn't fill it, but the HOD tracked down an extra Pac-12 team (UW). In 2016, there were no extra P5s (the B1G, Big XII, and Pac-12 all had fewer teams than bowls, and the SEC and ACC had just the exact number). So it was obvious there would not be a P5 in the HOD. Similarly, the Big XII wasn't going to be able to fill the AFB.

So a trade occurred. C-USA's spot in the HOD, which by all indications was going to go to Tech (see below), was instead given to the AFB so that Tech and Navy could play. Remember that because North Texas was 5-7, every single 6-6 or better team had to be slotted first. Once that was done, since UNT had the best APR, they got to pick from what was left. That meant either the HOD vs Army or St Pete vs Miami (OH). They obviously chose HOD. That left the 2nd best APR 5-7 team (Miss St) to choose St Pete.

Tech's AD stated that he knew we weren't going to the HOD once 4 B1G teams were officially slotted in the NY6. His statements imply that had the B1G sent a team to the HOD, Tech would have gone.

Had the trade not occurred, Tech would have played Army in the HOD. Once all 6-6 or better teams were slotted, UNT would have had to choose from the AFB vs #25 Navy or the St Pete Bowl vs Miami. They'd likely have chosen AFB. So we would have had Tech vs Army and UNT vs Navy. All involved parties realized that Tech vs Navy and UNT vs Army would provide better matchups, and thus the trade occurred. Considering that Tech-Navy was won on a last-second field goal and UNT-Army went to OT, I'd say the trade worked perfectly.

TL;DR: The HOD didn't choose UNT, UNT chose the HOD.

"And then for us to really stay with our partnership with Conference USA, we really targeted North Texas to be in this game. The fact that they were so ‑‑ they are the number one team available from the APR standpoint, we couldn't be more ecstatic about that." -BRANT RINGLER Heart of Dallas Bowl Executive Director

http://www.theheartofdallasbowl.com/zhod...e-12-24-16