Bowl talk...

[Schadenfreude]

But backing in -- and then losing -- would leave Bowling Green 6-6. The Falcons wouldn't even be eligible for a bowl game at that point, much less desirable.

Is that right? I thought the NCAA ruled a team must have a winning record in an 11-game regular season this year. I assumed a 6-5 team would be bowl eligible despite the outcome of a championship game. Does anyone know for sure concerning this season?

Next year however, a 6-6 team would for sure be allowed to get into a bowl game though, correct?

I'll stand corrected, but I think I've gotten this about right.

Previously, the rule was that 6-6 teams could go to bowl games if their league had a contract with a bowl game that could not otherwise be met. This was a temporary rule that went along with the decision to experiment with 12-game seasons, depending on how the calendar fell.

When the NCAA decided to permanently go to 12-game seasons, I believe they also got rid of that temporary rule.

As it stands, as far as I know, 6-6 does not qualify. The NCAA may come back to that rule and tinker with it. But I'm not aware that they have.

Another possibility is that a division champion could petition the NCAA for an exemption -- just as 5-6 North Texas did successfully in 2001 when they won the Sun Belt and Nevada did in 1992 when they won the Big West (the Wolf Pack lacked enough I-A wins).

But it would be a moot point. The MAC's bowl games would invite someone else.

[transfer2BGSU]

And don't forget the BcS boys passed a rule that one win against a I-AA could count each year towards bowl eligibility.

[UK Peregrine]

I'll stand corrected, but I think I've gotten this about right.

Previously, the rule was that 6-6 teams could go to bowl games if their league had a contract with a bowl game that could not otherwise be met. This was a temporary rule that went along with the decision to experiment with 12-game seasons, depending on how the calendar fell.

When the NCAA decided to permanently go to 12-game seasons, I believe they also got rid of that temporary rule.

As it stands, as far as I know, 6-6 does not qualify. The NCAA may come back to that rule and tinker with it. But I'm not aware that they have.

Another possibility is that a division champion could petition the NCAA for an exemption -- just as 5-6 North Texas did successfully in 2001 when they won the Sun Belt and Nevada did in 1992 when they won the Big West (the Wolf Pack lacked enough I-A wins).

But it would be a moot point. The MAC's bowl games would invite someone else.

Only a conference champion could apply for the waiver and not the runner-up if they lacked six wins and a winning record. That all makes much more sense now. Thanks.

[BelieveNBG]

I don't think you can be penalized if the 6th loss is due to a championship game, because this is an extra game. The bowl qualification is based on the regular season record.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

If we don't win out, I'm not sure we're more deserving of a bowl than the second place team from the west. If we lose both games (assuming the tiebreaker favors us) I'm positive we're not more deserving. And if I'm a bowl game trying to decide between us and Toledo or Northern, I would not pick us simply due to attendance. I'm not meaning to be a downer, I'm just looking at it from the bowl's perspective.

Hell, I'll take it if we can get in, but I'm not going to be whining if we don't in that scenario. Hopefully it will be a mute[sic] point. I've been very confident of the Toledo game all year simply because it's at home. I don't think we lose this game.

[Germainfitch1]

I really think that just having Omar on the squad will help us. He is a very marketable player.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

I really think that just having Omar on the squad will help us. He is a very marketable player.

Omar has really fallen off the national radar this year. If were at the same level he was around the Wisconsin game, I'd agree with you.

Bowls are all about selling tickets. Our attendance is abysmal, and I really think that hurts us more than the excitement this team and Omar can bring helps us as far as bowls go.

[Germainfitch1]

Where are we in terms of attendance in the MAC?

[Schadenfreude]

30.9.2 Contest Status. [I-A] A contest shall be certified only if it serves the purpose of providing a national contest between deserving winning teams. A “deserving winning team” shall be defined as one that has won a minimum of six games against Division I-A opponents and that has more wins than losses. Tie games do not count in determining a team’s won-lost record. Further, when forfeiture of a regular-season football victory is required by the Committee on Infractions, a conference or self-imposed by an institution as a result of a violation of NCAA rules, neither of the competing institutions may count that contest in satisfying the definition of a “deserving winning team.” (Revised: 10/18/89, 10/12/93, 4/20/99)

...

30.9.2.2 Waiver for Conference Champion. [I-A] The Management Council, by a two-thirds majority of its members present and voting, or a committee designated by the Management Council, may approve a waiver of the six-victory requirement to enable a conference champion to participate in a bowl game when the conference champion is scheduled contractually to participate in the game. (Adopted: 1/12/93, Revised: 10/28/97)

http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/ ... manual.pdf

pp 406-407.

[Germainfitch1]

Is it just regular season games?

[Schadenfreude]

Is it just regular season games?

I don't see anything in the bylaw that suggests they only mean regular season games.

[Germainfitch1]

i don't see anything that says they don't

[San Diego Falcon]

if they intended to exclude the conference championship game from the calculation of more wins than losses, it seems they would have added specific language stating so

since the language is silent, it seems that a 6-6 team that loses the conference championship game is not bowl-eligible

[orangeandbrown]

I agree. Championship games count--it could work both ways. Having said all that, I don't think we can count on any breaks this year...we have to get one of the MAC"s two berths to get to a bowl. I don't believe Omar helps at all. We wouldn't have been in a bowl last year if the number of eligible teams wasn't so low.

What's up with eligibility? Are conferences missing their target again?

[Germainfitch1]

if they intended to exclude the conference championship game from the calculation of more wins than losses, it seems they would have added specific language stating so

since the language is silent, it seems that a 6-6 team that loses the conference championship game is not bowl-eligible

if they intended to include the conference championship game in the calculation of more wins than losses, it seems they would have added specific language stating so

since the language is silent, it seems that a 6-6 team that loses the conference championship game is bowl-eligible

You are assuming something either way that is not directly stated.

The language is ambigius. Just like my spelling