(07-13-2019 06:42 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  These bowls have a lot of value to the P5 beyond their payouts. They allow the schools to pad their resume with "bowl game." The bowls usually don't whine too much about attendance. If you are 7 or 8 in the pecking order, you are not going to get a lot of attendance anyway. They allow additional practices. We can complain about Shreveport but these bowls fulfill a need (want?).

True. When you get to this level of bowl, the stadium is basically a TV studio. ESPN is producing a 3 1/2 hour live event which doubles as an advertisement for the host city. It's why Albuquerque has a bowl game on a cold Saturday afternoon in December, and why the state of New Mexico sponsors it.

Shreveport has a bowl game that has been sponsored by Poulan Weed Eater and Duck Commander. We may laugh at Shreveport, but we're talking about it. In this business, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

If ESPN ends up buying the bowl, it's even less risk for the organizers in Shreveport.

Bowls are exhibitions designed to generate tourism for the host city. They'd love to sell tickets and rent hotel rooms. If they can't do that, they'll take the 3 1/2 hours of exposure in hopes that someone will consider them for business or tourism at a later time.