Ask The AD

[The Niz]

http://bgsufalcons.cstv.com/genrel/111307aab.html


Ask the ad: Bowl Games/BCS


Preetty good answer to a good question. You can tell he has a lot more to say than what he stopped with.

[hammb]

Good stuff from the AD. I like how he cleared up Bowls "as money making ventures."

Perhaps not on this site, but throughout sports media it seems to be the prevailing thought that a bowl game comes with a nice paycheck. I think Christopher is a lot closer to the truth in saying that most bowl games are losing ventures in the black & white dollars & cents. Some of that cost is alleviated, however, by gaining A) Exposure, and B) Those extra practices to improve the team going forward.


Personally when you're talking about the bowls that the MAC plays in that extra practice time is the most valuable part of the equation. The exposure is nice, but the Motor City Bowl is basically considered a national joke.

Good answers from Mr. Christopher, I'd be interested to hear ALL of what he has on his mind on this issue

[jpfalcon09]

Great question and a great answer. I'm glad GC was able to dispell the myth about bowls being money making machines. Many fans forget the tied in costs of travel and the allotted tickets given to a school and just assume that whatever money the bowl brings in goes directly to the schools competing. IMO, this is why the playoff format should be placed in D-1 football, to encourage teams to compete for that extra home revenue, to most likely cut down on costs, and teams would have no problem selling the tickets. Hell, corporations could even tie in their sponsorship for games to increase revenue for the networks who will broadcast the games.

I'm also happy GC addressed the fact that the non-BCS schools get a royal screw job. It's almost laughable that such good non-BCS teams like Boise State and Hawaii will never get the rights to play in a huge bowl game unless they're in the Top 12. It's a disturbing trend that has polluted college football with nothing but big reputation schools going to games they have no business being in. I know a playoff system will never be implement in D-1A, but I think for college football it would increase their revenue greatly and give "non-BCS" schools a chance at something great.

[The Niz]

You can tell by the first two sentences what he really wants to say, but he restrains himself.

[Falconboy]

Those reasons GC mentioned about how any bowl we could qualify for would be a major money losing venture is reason enough not to want a bowl this year. Unless we're playing in the Motor City Bowl which can't happen unless we are able to win the East AND win the Mac Championship , we aren't gonna have enough fans that want to travel 500-600 mi. to see us get drilled by a far superior opponent. I just don't see the advantages of us getting a bowl this year. The extra 15 practices isn't enough for us to lose money on and look silly on national tv. Pardon my bluntness , but thats just the way I see it.

I wanna see our best teams play in bowls that have legitimate shots of beating our bowl opponents so that being on tv actually helps us and so that a greater majority of fans will actually want to travel a ways to see the game.

[transfer2BGSU]

Those reasons GC mentioned about how any bowl we could qualify for would be a major money losing venture is reason enough not to want a bowl this year. Unless we're playing in the Motor City Bowl which can't happen unless we are able to win the East AND win the Mac Championship , we aren't gonna have enough fans that want to travel 500-600 mi. to see us get drilled by a far superior opponent. I just don't see the advantages of us getting a bowl this year. The extra 15 practices isn't enough for us to lose money on and look silly on national tv. Pardon my bluntness , but thats just the way I see it.

I wanna see our best teams play in bowls that have legitimate shots of beating our bowl opponents so that being on tv actually helps us and so that a greater majority of fans will actually want to travel a ways to see the game.

OK, so Falconboy is out. Who wants to go bowling?

[TG1996]

Those reasons GC mentioned about how any bowl we could qualify for would be a major money losing venture is reason enough not to want a bowl this year.

"Major"? Don't put words in his mouth. He admitted that the low level bowls are break even or money losing ventures. Yes, we might (or even probably would) lose money by going to a bowl game, but the exposure is valuable, regardless of the final score. People hear about Bowling Green, they know who Bowling Green is.

In the early part of the decade, UT was going to bowl games regularly, and they can brag about that to would-be recruits, and only MAC fans remember that they got bitch-slapped by Boston College and embarrassed themselves with personal fouls late in the game. To anyone else, all they have to hear is "UT went to XX bowl games in the last 5 years". Beats the hell out of waiting for the "perfect" opportunity for a bowl game and then living with the stat "BG hasn't been to a bowl game in XX years".

With the exception of maybe the Rutgers prediction, who says we'd be playing a "far superior" team anyway? I don't think Memphis is "far superior", or Southern Mississippi is "far superior", or Indiana or Northwestern or whatever 7th level B10 team (though CMU likely has the MCB wrapped up, I'd say, anyway). It's not like they're gonna throw Kansas or USC in the International Bowl. We'd be most likely playing a MAC-ish team, or a low-level BCS conference team that we've proven (this year, even!! MSU, anyone?) that we can hang with.

And besides, if we're so crappy that going and getting blown out in a bowl game would be a waste of time, wouldn't that 15 extra practices be useful down the road? Ya think?

And, defensive brainfarts aside, I'd like to give our coaches on the offensive side of the ball credit that in 3 weeks of extra practice and six weeks of preparation, they'd find a new part of the kitchen sink to throw on the table. A bowl game means little in the grand scheme of things, it's a reward. It's time for a triple-reverse flea flicker that Freddie Barnes throws back across the field to a tackle-eligible receiver and sh!t like that which has made this offense fun (and successful) at numerous times in the last 7 years.

I'm not asking everyone to be sunshine and roses about everything, but try pulling your head out of the mud once in awhile.

And if we're such a crappy tea

[Jacobs4Heisman]

The practices and recruiting edge are the big things for me with bowl games. You're right that nobody outside of die-hard MAC people will remember the results down the road.

Also, let's not forget the players. They put in an awful lot of hard work and sacrifice to play D1 football, and it's a great reward for them to go to a bowl game. I'm sure they won't miss Falconboy if he doesn't make the trip.

[Class of 61]

Good stuff from the AD. I like how he cleared up Bowls "as money making ventures."



Personally when you're talking about the bowls that the MAC plays in that extra practice time is the most valuable part of the equation. The exposure is nice, but the Motor City Bowl is basically considered a national joke.

Hambb, I went to the MCB vs. Northwestern...I sure as HELL didn't see that bowl game as a "national joke". Where did you get this from? The GMAC Bowl was poorly attended, admittedly due to abominable weather, but the MCB has consistantly drawn around 50K if I recall correctly. Hardly a "joke".

[San Diego Falcon]

I audited UC's financial statements the year they went to the Humanitarian Bowl (back when UC was in C-USA). They took a financial bath on that one.

[Dayons_Den]

Good stuff from the AD. I like how he cleared up Bowls "as money making ventures."



Personally when you're talking about the bowls that the MAC plays in that extra practice time is the most valuable part of the equation. The exposure is nice, but the Motor City Bowl is basically considered a national joke.

Hambb, I went to the MCB vs. Northwestern...I sure as HELL didn't see that bowl game as a "national joke". Where did you get this from? The GMAC Bowl was poorly attended, admittedly due to abominable weather, but the MCB has consistantly drawn around 50K if I recall correctly. Hardly a "joke".

Hammb isn't calling the MCB bowl a joke, he is saying the national perception of going bowling in beautiful downtown Detroit is a punchline. To many the idea of going to a bowl game means warm temperatures or at the very least an exotic locale which Detroit will never embody in December.

[San Diego Falcon]

So was it a national joke when the Steelers beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl in Detroit? Oh yeah, that's right - it was.

[tiznow]

So was it a national joke when the Steelers beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl in Detroit? Oh yeah, that's right - it was.

One for the thumb

[hammb]

Good stuff from the AD. I like how he cleared up Bowls "as money making ventures."



Personally when you're talking about the bowls that the MAC plays in that extra practice time is the most valuable part of the equation. The exposure is nice, but the Motor City Bowl is basically considered a national joke.

Hambb, I went to the MCB vs. Northwestern...I sure as HELL didn't see that bowl game as a "national joke". Where did you get this from? The GMAC Bowl was poorly attended, admittedly due to abominable weather, but the MCB has consistantly drawn around 50K if I recall correctly. Hardly a "joke".

Hammb isn't calling the MCB bowl a joke, he is saying the national perception of going bowling in beautiful downtown Detroit is a punchline. To many the idea of going to a bowl game means warm temperatures or at the very least an exotic locale which Detroit will never embody in December.

Bingo. I was at that game as well with a bunch of buddies and we all had a great time. It was a good, competitive game, and Ford Field is a pretty nice venue.

However, I've heard the game used as a joke MANY times by national media people. It's widely considered a joke for the reason Dayon's stated...it's in downtown Detroit. I think this is a nice stadium for a bowl game, but outside that Detroit has none of th extras that people think of for bowl games, specifically warmer weather. What's more is the fact that the other side of the tie in is the 7th place team in the Big 10, correct? It's widely considered a joke among all Big 10 fans (and other BCS conference fans) because it's one of those bowls that you go to when you're the worst team in the Big 10 that is eligible for a bowl game.

I've heard countless fans of OSU & UM say they'd never accept a bid to play there (although it would never come to that anyways).

Like it or not, on a national level the Motor City Bowl is a joke among a large percentage of the college football fanbase. That doesn't take anything away from how I feel about the game, nor how I feel about my experience there. Quite honestly, it's my favorite of our bowl game possibilities, because it's the one that I can feasibly attend.

I think the attendance figures at the MCB are largely helped by the fact that the auto industry seems to buy up a ton of tickets and offer them for cheap to their employees. I think that's great, and I think the MCB is looked at as a good place to go watch a good football game locally. From all accounts Detroit area people, even with no attachment to the teams playing, will come out to watch the MCB. I do think that's a great asset, but it doesn't do much to actually help the national perception of the game.

I just don't think the national media really looks as glowingly on the MCB as we do.

[RobbyFalcon]

I agree that the MCB, like a lot bowls that take place closer to Christmas than New Year's Day, isn't extremely prestigious in the eyes of a lot of sports fans. But what's it say about our favorite team if they can't even make one of small bowls? Let's get to a bowl and win the darn thing.

Go BG!