Blast #326

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                                           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.
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                    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