Too $oon? Trying to avoid the burnout that following U.S. politics engenders (Trump’s groveling Asia trip, Roy Moore’s pedophilia, Michael Flynn’s shenanigans, Louis C.K. “issues,” etc.) I was struck this morning, when perusing the New York Daily News sports page, by the 2017-2018 College Football Bowl Game schedule. Starting on December 16th we will be inundated with 41 Bowl games. Earlier this year I wrote a Blast at the end of the last round of Bowl Games (Blast #111, January 3, 2017 --- Bread & Circuses? Nope, Bowl Games & Pizza --- you can find it in the Blast archives). That was a history of the whole Bowl Game phenomena and traced how advancing technology (air travel, cable television) brought corporate dollar$ with it and made Bowl Games an “investment” for sponsors. As a result, we get ESPN’s “Capital One Bowl Week” (which lasts about 10 days) and 41 games. What struck me, as I looked over this year’s schedule, was not the sheer number of games (which is stunning!) but how many athletic conferences have their tentacles in assured Bowl Game appearances. And there’s an interesting historical/sociological commentary buried in it, too. A quick glance at the schedule reveals the following conferences that are guaranteed multiple “invitations” to Bowl Games include: The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with at least nine (and possibly 11!); the Southeastern Conference with 9 (and possibly a 10th); the Big 10 with 4 to 6 bids; the Pacific Coast Conference (PAC-12) with 6 to 8 invitations; and the Big-12 (which only has 10 schools) with 6 or 7 games. Given the high profile of these conferences, one might be disturbed, but not shocked, by the multiple bids they receive. It probably means their lower ranked schools, with .500 records (or just below .500), will get a bid for Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl or the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl in Phoenix. More interesting, when closely examining the schedule, though, is that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) has EIGHT bowl bids for its schools. No one would fault you if you couldn’t rattle off the name of AAC teams. Currently, it appears the conference will send Memphis, Houston, SMU, Navy, UCF, USF, Temple (currently 4-5) and one of the following (3-6 record)teams: UConn, Tulane, or Cincinnati. Similarly, Conference-USA has SIX Bowl Game slots already lined up. These will go to North Texas State, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Florida Atlantic, Florida International University, Marshall, Western Kentucky State, and either Middle Tennessee State or Louisiana Tech (both 4-5 at the moment). Just to clarify, these two conferences have their designated slots in the following Bowl Games: the New Orleans Bowl, the Cure Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, the Frisco (Texas) Bowl, the Bahamas Bowl, the Birmingham Bowl, the Armed Forces Bowl, the Hawaii Bowl, the Military Bowl, and that Heart of Dallas Bowl. The two conferences face off against each other in the Boca Raton Bowl and the Gaspirilla Bowl (St. Petersburg). All the games occur between December 16th and December 28th. You may want to start marking your calendar. (The complete schedule is listed at the end of this Blast) You might also note that the Mid-American Conference will send FIVE teams to Bowl Games (probably Ohio, Toledo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Central Michigan) and the Mountain West Conference is guaranteed SIX Bowl bids (Fresno State, San Diego State, Boise State, Wyoming, Colorado State, and Utah State—5-5, or Air Force, 4-5). The Sun Belt will send FIVE teams to Bowls (Troy State, Arkansas State, Georgia State, Appalachia State, and Louisiana-Lafayette). That’s a lot of football, of course, but there’s one other Bowl Game that we should take note of and it’s played on December 16th, the first day of the Bowl Game schedule. This year the Celebration Bowl will be played at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta featuring the winners of the MEAC and the SWAC. Not familiar with those conferences by their initials/acronyms? That’s probably because, as noted in Wikipedia: The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, and in football, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision(FCS), still frequently referred to by its former designation of Division I-AA. Because they are in the Football Championship Subdivision --- a 13 conference group that includes the (abstaining to play) Ivy League --- they are eligible to participate in a Subdivision playoff and championship that is not sanctioned by the NCAA. Since there is little or no coverage of the FCS (formerly Division 1-AA), playing in the Celebration Bowl can be seen as an accomplishment, of sorts, I guess. I became a college football fan starting in 1962, when Oregon State's left-handed quarterback Terry Baker won the Heisman Trophy (and then went on to play on the school’s Final Four basketball team!). During those years there was still controversy over Black players (“Negroes”) playing in post-season college games in Alabama. I clearly remember controversy over the entire concept of letting a Black man play quarterback on a football team. So, televising the Celebration Bowl as part of the Capital One Bowl week probably reflects some sort of “progress” for our sports society, right? I think ESPN (2 & 3) broadcast the Division 2 and Division 3 championship series but it seems the subdivision only gets the Celebration Bowl. I guess that’s what the “celebration” is about? That's where we stand. Start stocking up on chips and dip and enjoy the games! (Starting December 16th) See you on January 9th. (When it's finally over) Bowl Game Schedule (with sponsors noted) Saturday, Dec. 16 Noon Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl ABC 1 p.m. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl ESPN 3:30 p.m. Las Vegas Bowl ABC 4:30 p.m. Gildan New Mexico Bowl ESPN 8 p.m. Raycom Media Camellia Bowl ESPN Tuesday, Dec. 19 7 p.m. Boca Raton Bowl ESPN Thursday, Dec. 21 8 p.m. St. Petersburg Bowl ESPN Friday, Dec. 22 12:30 p.m. Bahamas Bowl ESPN 4 p.m. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl ESPN Saturday, Dec. 23 Noon Birmingham Bowl ESPN 3:30 p.m. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl ESPN 7 p.m. Dollar General Bowl ESPN Sunday, Dec. 24 8:30 p.m. Hawaii Bowl ESPN Tuesday, Dec. 26 TBD Quick Lane Bowl ESPN TBD Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl ESPN TBD Cactus Bowl ESPN Wednesday, Dec. 27 1:30 p.m. Independence Bowl ESPN 5:15 p.m. New Era Pinstripe Bowl ESPN 9 p.m. Texas Bowl ESPN Thursday, Dec. 28 1:30 p.m. Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman ESPN 5:15 p.m. Camping World Bowl ESPN 9 p.m. Valero Alamo Bowl ESPN Friday, Dec. 29 1 p.m. Belk Bowl ESPN 4:30 p.m. Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl ESPN 8:30 p.m. Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic* ESPN Saturday, Dec. 30 Noon TaxSlayer Bowl ESPN 12:30 p.m. AutoZone Liberty Bowl ABC 4 p.m. PlayStation Fiesta Bowl* ESPN 8 p.m. Capital One Orange Bowl* ESPN Monday, Jan. 1 Noon Outback Bowl ESPN2 12:30 p.m. Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl* ESPN 1 p.m. Citrus Bowl ABC 5 p.m. College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual* ESPN 8:45 p.m. College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl* ESPN Monday, Jan. 8 8 p.m. College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T
1 Comment
Senor Honez
11/11/2017 12:19:30 pm
Ahhhhh, i mourn the demise of the much-beloved BEEF O’BRADY BOWL, now the Bitcoin Bowl (St.Petersburg, FL, Dec. 21.
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