(07-23-2019 02:29 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(07-23-2019 09:20 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  The Independence is merely being forced by the marketplace to be what it was created to be. The first five games were Southland champ vs independents, mostly regional independents with the sole exception of Syracuse.

The leadership figured out they could get notoriety from also-rans from the big conferences and changed the game's focus to that but the creation of more and more games pushed them further and further down the also-rans list.

The proposed deal if it happens will suck the life from the game, the people in the area do not care about western teams. A good friend is a sponsor and his happiness with the game depends on how many of his clients call seeking freebies from the bundle of tickets he receives as sponsor to give away.

Oregon State vs Utah State isn't filling the stands with curious locals and isn't filling hotels with traveling fans. The leadership is just going to grasp for P5 to the bitter end.

AAC, Sun Belt and CUSA could give Shreveport fans who can travel, will take a hotel room and show up but the bowl is unlikely to ever jump on that train early enough to get a high pick position. ODU vs Appalachian State is no better than Oregon State vs Utah State for the community.

Exactly. Look at the First Responders Bowl. It doesn't do well unless it has a regional team involved. The Indy should have seen the writing on the wall and gone for a P5 vs local G5 game or looked to lock up two of the best G5's selections from the the AAC, CUSA, and SB for its game. Either of those would have probably done pretty well. Now they are likely stuck with also rans as I dont think the Pac12 is coming. They might be able to land a 1 year each BYU/Army tie---but thats about the best they can hope for.

Local economies play a large part. It seems as if the I bowl was only able to secure desired sponsorships for P5 matchups. However, it'd be really interesting to see economic impact studies of those vs. local/regional G5 games.