A change of Cotton Bowl Classic's address

11:52 PM CDT on Monday, May 28, 2007
By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News
ccarlton@dallasnews.com

Faced with its biggest challenge since its founding by J. Curtis Sanford, the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic made a key choice this spring.

Bowl officials could have launched a 21st-century multimedia campaign, complete with high-tech presentations, trumpeting their move to the Cowboys' new stadium for Jan. 2, 2010, and their interest in joining the Bowl Championship Series.

Instead, Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker and his staff chose the personal touch. They started crisscrossing the country – conference by conference, even school by school – to spread the news about what the move to their new home in Arlington means.

The goal: raise awareness so that if the BCS adds to its lineup after 2010, the Cotton Bowl will be positioned to join the party.

When Southern California football coach Pete Carroll started quizzing Baker about the $1 billion stadium earlier this month, Cotton officials realized they had made the right decision.

"We want to tell them about our future, how positive it looks," Baker said. "We're a whole new entity that they really haven't considered yet."

Within weeks of announcing the game's move to Arlington, Baker attended the NCAA Final Four for the first time in 12 years, shaking hands and renewing acquaintances in Atlanta. He also briefed Notre Dame officials who came to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame ceremonies in April.

And in early May, the Cotton Bowl got a plum opportunity to tell its story to Pacific-10 football coaches and athletic directors. In some ways, it previewed what the Big 12 heard last week in Colorado Springs, Colo., and what the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten will hear later.


TOM FOX / DMN
The first Cotton Bowl Classic in the new stadium in Arlington will be Jan. 2, 2010. The Pac-10's spring meeting is normally reserved for bowls that have conference tie-ins. But commissioner Tom Hansen and Baker are longtime friends, and the Cotton Bowl had hosted the Pac-10 runner-up in the 1990s.

Some in the room, like Arizona coach Mike Stoops and Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, already had first-hand knowledge of the Cotton Bowl. Others wanted to know more.

Carroll, no stranger to big games or big stadiums, quizzed Baker about the capacity and the suites. A question followed about the enormous replay board.

Forecast: warm and dry
For some, it was nice knowing that the game would no longer be at the mercy of the Texas weather.

When Bellotti brought Oregon to the 1996 Cotton Bowl, the temperature was a balmy 70 on New Year's Eve. Then on game day, the temperature plunged 40 degrees and the rain came down sideways.

"With that type of a facility, their stadium will match the hospitality and just the great time people have there. In my opinion, it would be in line to host all of the major games that would occur," Bellotti said in a phone interview.

"The Cotton Bowl made my coaches and my players feel the most special of any bowl we've been to. I'll say that on record. It did a tremendous job of making the experience one that we'll remember forever."

When it comes to the game and weather, Cotton Bowl and Notre Dame officials have a memory of their own: the school's stirring 1979 win over Houston.

Every time Joe Montana's comeback victory got mentioned over the years, people thought of the icy weather that gripped Dallas that day.

Now, no apologies are needed.

Like Carroll, Notre Dame is used to big venues. And the Irish have a vote in the BCS process, just like the six BCS conferences.

"Not being privy to the details, but certainly judging by the scope of the project, it's not your average stadium," said John Heisler, a Notre Dame senior associate athletic director.

It's hard to overestimate the lure of the stadium or the excitement it has created.

Last week, the NFL chose the Cowboys' stadium to host Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

Two days later, the Big 12 awarded its championship game to Arlington for 2009 and 2010.

Momentum is already building.

"I think everybody recognizes it will be a very outstanding facility, so that's an added plus," said Hansen, who remembers the stadium questions that dogged the Cotton and other bowls during the BCS bowl selection process eight years ago.

"The Cotton, I think no doubt, was hurt by the stadium it was using," Hansen said. "I think everybody in college football will be aware of the stadium move, and that will add a certain cachet."

BCS competition
Conventional wisdom has the Cotton Bowl at the top of the list of BCS contenders, along with Atlanta's Chick-Fil-A Bowl and Orlando's Capital One Bowl.

The positioning and quiet lobbying and relationship-building might not mean anything if the BCS doesn't change its lineup or add a bowl, possibly by ending the double-hosting format. The championship site now hosts a second game a week earlier, straining city and bowl personnel.

Current BCS coordinator Mike Slive, the SEC commissioner, told his fellow commissioners to consider the future at their meetings this spring.

All the Cotton Bowl can do is tout its biggest asset, which just a few months ago was its biggest liability.

"I do sense that there is a lot of interest, there's a lot of curiosity, there definitely is a buzz about the new facility," Baker said. "Whether that translates into changes, I don't think anyone can predict that."

The lack of a concrete timetable was one reason Cotton Bowl officials decided on the slow-and-steady approach. They didn't want to be too early or too late with an advertising blitz.

"We understand we have no control over the process," Baker said. "We can do all this and the system can remain exactly the same. We're OK with that. We understand the system, and that may happen."

SPREADING THE WORD
Some of the key dates for AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic officials this spring and summer. They also plan to meet with the commissioners of the Big East, the Atlantic Coast Conference and several non-BCS conferences.

April 17 –Briefed Notre Dame officials in Dallas

May 2 –Spoke to Pac-10 athletic directors and football coaches in Phoenix

May 21-22 –Addressed Big 12 meetings in Colorado Springs, Colo.

May 29-30 –SEC meetings in Destin, Fla.

July 23-25 –Big 12 football media days in San Antonio

July 25-27 –SEC football media days in Hoover, Ala.

July 29-Aug. 2 –Big Ten football media days in Chicago

THE MOVE
In February, the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic board voted unanimously to move the game from Fair Park – its home since the game's inception in 1937 – to the Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington, starting in 2010.

THE GOAL
The Cotton Bowl sees the new stadium's retractable roof as a key asset as the game seeks entry into the prestigious Bowl Championship Series. The current BCS contract expires after the 2010 season. As part of the BCS rotation, Arlington would be in line to host a college football national championship game.

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As I previously stated, this might be a great opportunity for Big East....to do a bowl deal with Big 12/Cotton with the champs of both conferences meeting here. The Big 12 has not been satisfied entirely with the teams sent by SEC; sometimes, SEC sends an outstanding team; sometimes, SEC sends a clunker as SEC jiggles its teams to meet all its bowl obligations. In addition, the Cotton Bowl now starts at 11AM because the SEC has a rule that two bowls featuring SEC teams cannot be telecast simultaneously. I think it is one of SEC's Florida Bowls that is causing the problem and that SEC/Florida Bowl has an afternoon time slot. All very interesting as we will see a riipple effect throughtout all the other various bowls.

Tallgrass Wrote:As I previously stated, this might be a great opportunity for Big East....to do a bowl deal with Big 12/Cotton with the champs of both conferences meeting here. The Big 12 has not been satisfied entirely with the teams sent by SEC; sometimes, SEC sends an outstanding team; sometimes, SEC sends a clunker as SEC jiggles its teams to meet all its bowl obligations. In addition, the Cotton Bowl now starts at 11AM because the SEC has a rule that two bowls featuring SEC teams cannot be telecast simultaneously. I think it is one of SEC's Florida Bowls that is causing the problem and that SEC/Florida Bowl has an afternoon time slot. All very interesting as we will see a riipple effect throughtout all the other various bowls.

I could see the possibility of bowls creating "trading teams" to prevent yearly matchups and to create interest.

The Big 12 vs the SEC is very attractive to television. If, as you suggest, the SEC is providing a team that is not attractive (or time), the bowl game could create a trading partner with the Gator Bowl (or any other Big East/Notre Dame bowl) to grab additional interest and television ratings.

Tallgrass Wrote:As I previously stated, this might be a great opportunity for Big East....to do a bowl deal with Big 12/Cotton with the champs of both conferences meeting here. The Big 12 has not been satisfied entirely with the teams sent by SEC; sometimes, SEC sends an outstanding team; sometimes, SEC sends a clunker as SEC jiggles its teams to meet all its bowl obligations. In addition, the Cotton Bowl now starts at 11AM because the SEC has a rule that two bowls featuring SEC teams cannot be telecast simultaneously. I think it is one of SEC's Florida Bowls that is causing the problem and that SEC/Florida Bowl has an afternoon time slot. All very interesting as we will see a riipple effect throughtout all the other various bowls.

I completely agree. The Big 12 has been a strong ally of the Big East. If rumors are true the Big 12 went to bat to help the Big East keep our BCS bid while we were down. And then we have had major affiliations with them, the Sun/Gator and Texas Bowls. It makes sense to hook up with them in the Cotton Bowl.

CatsClaw Wrote:I completely agree. The Big 12 has been a strong ally of the Big East. If rumors are true the Big 12 went to bat to help the Big East keep our BCS bid while we were down. And then we have had major affiliations with them, the Sun/Gator and Texas Bowls. It makes since to hook up with them in the Cotton Bowl.

I have also heard that the Commissioner of the Big 12, his name escapes me now, but none the less he did go to bat for us. At first I was strongly against the Cotton Bowl joining the BCS coalition but with the Rose Bowl's elitist attitude perhaps another BCS bowl partner, that doesn't think so highly of themselves, is exactly what we need.
If the Big East and Big 12 could some how form an alliance against the unholy Big Televen, SEC and ACC axis, it might benefit both conferences. It will be very interesting watching this develop.
CJ

CardinalJim Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:I completely agree. The Big 12 has been a strong ally of the Big East. If rumors are true the Big 12 went to bat to help the Big East keep our BCS bid while we were down. And then we have had major affiliations with them, the Sun/Gator and Texas Bowls. It makes since to hook up with them in the Cotton Bowl.

I have also heard that the Commissioner of the Big 12, his name escapes me now, but none the less he did go to bat for us. At first I was strongly against the Cotton Bowl joining the BCS coalition but with the Rose Bowl's elitist attitude perhaps another BCS bowl partner, that doesn't think so highly of themselves, is exactly what we need.
If the Big East and Big 12 could some how form an alliance against the unholy Big Televen, SEC and ACC axis, it might benefit both conferences. It will be very interesting watching this develop.
CJ

I think his name was Weiberg. I want to say Kevin Weiberg, I'm not sure. I agree though, the Rose Bowl has a holier then thou attitude towards all the other conferences, and the SEC is already an arrogant bunch. The Cotton Bowl wants to be part of the BCS BADLY, and the Big East and the Big 12 can use some juice when going up against the other BCS conferences. It makes a ton of sense!