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View Full Version : The Bowl Boondoggle



JohnStOnge
December 21st, 2008, 09:58 AM
Good two article series on what a crock the bowl system is. First article:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-bowls121808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

"The simple explanation is that the BCS is a cartel and the bowls are a costly but important way to block the NCAA’s central office from participating. The NCAA has nothing to do with major college football’s postseason; it doesn’t even officially recognize a champion.

Adopting a playoff system would be vastly more profitable, but doing so would likely require the NCAA to run the event.

The conference commissioners would be dealing with a bigger revenue pie and even larger shares for themselves and their conferences. But they’d have to give up the cutting knife. "

The second article is about the fallacy of thinking that the middle and lower levels bowls benefit participating schools:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news;_ylt=Ah2Mcq35PNXFAP_aKUJnWfYcvrYF?slug=jo-bowlfacts121908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

"San Jose State, in a proposal certain to lose money, offered to take $250,000 and game tickets as payment to play in a contest that ranks right up there with its automotive cousin, the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

No dice.

Florida Atlantic agreed to forego cash and accept as compensation some 16,000 tickets, the majority of which will go unsold – for the right to spend the holidays in Detroit. Merry Christmas, Owl fans! Your team will be playing Central Michigan on Dec. 26 at Ford Field and your school will be scrambling to stay out of debt.

Yet in the world of college football, this deal does not qualify as insane. Fact collides with fallacy when it comes to common assumptions about bowl games and their often-cited benefits."

catamount man
December 21st, 2008, 10:14 AM
I watched maybe a grand total of 30 minutes yesterday and that was with 4 bowl games. Just not interested in lower tier FBS bowls at all. Other than the NFL, football season, to me, is over. Time to concentrate on WCU basketball and football recruiting.