Bye, bye bowl games

[HRE Otto IV]

those games are all part of the playoff package from now.

Part of the appeal of the Bowls for me is the tradition. You take that away when you pretend a playoff game is a Bowl.

 

[Bayside44]

Players should get a piece of the post season pie.

There's nothing stopping bowls from offering NIL type stuff to players.

 

[Hoo's That]

{snip}

So bottom line is, 4 more bowl games become part of the playoffs and there will be 4 less bowl worthy teams available for bowls to choose from. With the dreck available today for the lowest bowls to choose from, maybe the 4 weakest bowls are discontinued?

The 4 "weakest" bowls probably involve conferences and schools that won't ever be in the playoff. They won't go away. Maybe the 4 weakest that only involve P4 conferences? But, then again, they probably involve schools that are unlikely to ever make the playoff.

 

[JustPherU]

Part of the appeal of the Bowls for me is the tradition. You take that away when you pretend a playoff game is a Bowl.

Why?
Super Bowl is a playoff game.What takes the tradition away?

 

[upperdeck]

you will have some years where the playoff in the rose bowl will be B10 vs? there is no more pacX until they figure that out.. so tradition is gone anyway..

 

[Millhouse]

With the playoffs coming and the tendency of players to skip bowls, the bowl system is a waste of time. There's so much money involved for the players that it needs to go the way of all-star games. For instance, why would a LQA risk getting hurt when his whole team is basically in the portal.

What do the playoffs have to do with us playing usf?

 

[sufandu]

There is a ripple. What is the draw of the NY6 if the games feature teams all outside the Top 10? The Rose Bowl loses meaning if it isn't B1G #1 vs PAC #1, or at least #2s. Now the B1G will send #5 there? The Orange Bowl will feel a lot less important if it is ACC #3 when it used to be ACC #1. So all of the top Bowls which used to be bigger games are now mid tier games. The mid tier games are now joining the lower tier with the other way too many games.

And if the Bowl are tied in as the playoff games, they aren't really Bowls are they? I hate that for the current 4 team playoff the pretend they are Bowls. It isn't. It is a neutral site playoff game.

But, like I said, even the big bowls that didn't have an influence of the NC were "meaningless" decades ago. When we played Florida after the '98 season it was meaningless. Same when we played Kansas St. after '97 or Colorado after '92. I'm not saying I've been against them. I like seeing my team play one last game. But from the standpoint of meaning anything to others, most haven't for a long time, really ever. Expanding the playoff doesn't really change that.

 

[sufandu]

Part of the appeal of the Bowls for me is the tradition. You take that away when you pretend a playoff game is a Bowl.

I can understand that, but conference realignment and player opt outs have killed tradition more than the playoff. Even without the playoff the Rose Bowl wouldn't exist in its traditional state anymore.

 

[sufandu]

Why?
Super Bowl is a playoff game.What takes the tradition away?

That's not an apples to apples comparison. The Superbowl isn't about tradition. Heck, the Rose Bowl existed before the NFL.

 

[Sudano]

With the playoffs coming and the tendency of players to skip bowls, the bowl system is a waste of time. There's so much money involved for the players that it needs to go the way of all-star games. For instance, why would a LQA risk getting hurt when his whole team is basically in the portal.

Especially right after you lose your nationally televised bowl game 45-0. Totally agree.

 

[JustPherU]

That's not an apples to apples comparison. The Superbowl isn't about tradition. Heck, the Rose Bowl existed before the NFL.

I agree, but what tradition are they taking away?

 

[Col. Bleep]

Thanks for the interesting comments here.
I'm not really a football fan but I do enjoy the business of sports.

To that end...if there's money to be made then it seems bowl games will continue.
For schools that means TV money.
For TV it's a recognition that live sports is one of the few types of programming that still can generate a sizable audience.
But will TV be willing to pay for 4th rate games without any stars?

It would seem that schools will have to act to ensure having a decent team.
That could mean signing their athletes to contracts in which they agree to play the entire season.
And it could mean bowl payouts directly to athletes.

Amateur college sports increasingly will cease to exist...at least when it comes to major colleges.

 

[sufandu]

I agree, but what tradition are they taking away?

The main big one that has been lost is the B1G vs PAC12 Rose Bowl. Aside from that is just the traditions of good teams playing a last game in the bowls, but as I expressed in other posts, there are a bunch of other forces outside of the playoff that have already killed most relevant traditions.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

The main big one that has been lost is the B1G vs PAC12 Rose Bowl. Aside from that is just the traditions of good teams playing a last game in the bowls, but as I expressed in other posts, there are a bunch of other forces outside of the playoff that have already killed most relevant traditions.

Expansion has screwed things up but so has the playoff. The last time an SEC champ played in the Sugar Bowl was January 1st 2018, and only once in the last 9 seasons. That is a damn shame to me. The Orange Bowl has had the ACC champ twice in the last 8 years, incidentally the last 2 years. The Rose Bowl has had the B1G champ 3x in the last 10 years.

 

[corpjet]

This has been discussed above but here it is in writing, economic and charitable impacts on the local community

 

[texascpa]

This has been discussed above but here it is in writing, economic and charitable impacts on the local community

Unfortunately, most fans view things through a very narrow prism (which is no different than other fanbases of media/entertainment/whathaveyou).

 

[JuiceMeUp]

I wonder if popular lower-level bowls would ever partner up to create a secondary playoff (since all the NY6 will be apart of the new CFP). Kinda like the NIT but for football, with the Idaho potato bowl and the Holiday Bowl all being apart of it. Can't tell if this is a genius or atrocious idea on my end lmao.

 

[kirbivore]

I've written before that the top draft picks and people transferring I understand sitting out a bowl game. But for the fringe NFL guys it might be worth it to get another good game on tape. The Tulane QB who's sitting out today's Military Bowl is a prime example of the later:

Pratt might bet the best quarterback in school history but is opting to sit out to prepare for the draft (and reportedly the Senior Bowl), although he is not considered a top prospect and is ranked as the No. 128 player in the class per the CBS Sports 2024 prospect rankings. Pratt was named the AAC's Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-AAC after throwing for 2,406 yards and 22 touchdowns and also was the team's second-leading rusher with 288 yards and five rushing scores. Pratt is the school record-holder with 9,603 passing yards and 90 touchdown passes overall.

Virginia Tech vs. Tulane Wednesday Military Bowl college football odds: Green Wave down star QB Michael Pratt, several other starters as spread balloons - SportsLine.com

Betting on bowl games is a completely different animal these days with so many players opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft or entering the tr...

www.sportsline.com

 

[SWC75]

This has been discussed above but here it is in writing, economic and charitable impacts on the local community

The ReliaQuest Bowl used to be the Outback Bowl and before that the Hall of Fame Bowl. It's winner has bene a ranked team 9 out of 37 times and it's loser 25 times. It has yet to pair two 6-6 teams that were 5-6 in the division or, (I am assuming), anyone whose coach has just been fired. It is a bowl for teams that deserve to be in a bowl.

ReliaQuest Bowl - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[HRE Otto IV]

This has been discussed above but here it is in writing, economic and charitable impacts on the local community

That is a big time Bowl game. How much impact do these little Bowls have? And these little Bowls tend to not be financially worth it for the schools. I would guess half the Bowls do nothing for the schools playing in them.

IMO the more exclusive making a Bowl is, the more attractive it will be to the players to play in and for the fans to show up to. When you have a million Bowls a player and fans will say been there done that, I'll skip this time.

If Bowls are used in the playoffs, you can have the next dozen or so Bowls be the only real Bowls. So the top 36 teams make the post season instead of 80 teams.

 

[KaiserUEO]

"At the end of the day, they are still fun for the players and many fans."


finish 11th in your division and think you deserve a bowl game ? right. didn't look like the players or fans had "fun"

You never played did you.

There are beer hockey leagues and beer lacrosse leagues.

There are no beer football leagues other than flag.

Unless one knows for sure they will get the chance suit up again, other than injury…you suit up and play.

 

[qdawgg]

I've written before that the top draft picks and people transferring I understand sitting out a bowl game. But for the fringe NFL guys it might be worth it to get another good game on tape. The Tulane QB who's sitting out today's Military Bowl is a prime example of the later:

Pratt might bet the best quarterback in school history but is opting to sit out to prepare for the draft (and reportedly the Senior Bowl), although he is not considered a top prospect and is ranked as the No. 128 player in the class per the CBS Sports 2024 prospect rankings. Pratt was named the AAC's Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-AAC after throwing for 2,406 yards and 22 touchdowns and also was the team's second-leading rusher with 288 yards and five rushing scores. Pratt is the school record-holder with 9,603 passing yards and 90 touchdown passes overall.

Virginia Tech vs. Tulane Wednesday Military Bowl college football odds: Green Wave down star QB Michael Pratt, several other starters as spread balloons - SportsLine.com

Betting on bowl games is a completely different animal these days with so many players opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft or entering the tr...

www.sportsline.com

Actually I read all of that and I say, why would he risk anything to play one meaningless game? Anything the NFL needs to know about his ability, is on “tape”. One game in a bowl isn’t going to show them anything they don’t know, either way. Anything else they want to now they’ll find out at the combine.

 

[TheCusian]

Bowl games are where the inequity between players and the rest of the CFB rears its head. To a player, transfer portal and NFL dreams trump a game where everyone is making money but them.

If bowls offered NIL deal$, the equation would tilt back. But the leaches in charge of these things are too greedy.

 

[qdawgg]

As we keep moving closer to the NFL model this is one of the remaining things that make FBS football distinct. Not to mention it extends the entire season a month and makes for plenty of good games around Christmas time.

We’re actually moving further from the NFL model. The NFL would never allow what’s happening in CFB but they also have the ability to prevent it compared to CFB. The NFL does everything possible to make sure players stay on the teams they were drafted to, as long as possible. They understand that players moving from team to team, even every few years is a death sentence for building fan support. Which all equals $$$ in merchandising, sponsorships, advertising, etc.

CFB is doing the exact opposite. Players can leave to a new team after a year. In time, as a fan, I don’t see my favorite players play for multiple years. If I do, I’m lucky but I also don’t know if they will or not so the moderate fans have less reason to follow their favorite CFB teams compared to their NFL team.

Can you imagine if in the NFL, the playoffs started and 10 players chose not to play because they’re in a final contract year the following year and don’t want to risk injury. People would stop watching the NFL playoffs if half the games were played by QB’s who’d never taken a snap, a bunch of starters people want to see play are sitting out and it’s basically a pro bowl game.

CFB isn’t turning into anything like the NFL other than the concept of players getting paid. In almost every other way it’s the opposite of the NFL and I just don’t see how viewership and interest, long term, grows. The diehards will always watch. The on the fence fans and below will stop watching almost entirely when they tune in to bowl games and even the 12 playoff games are the equivalent of the 3rd game of the NFL exhibition games.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

We’re actually moving further from the NFL model. The NFL would never allow what’s happening in CFB but they also have the ability to prevent it compared to CFB. The NFL does everything possible to make sure players stay on the teams they were drafted to, as long as possible. They understand that players moving from team to team, even every few years is a death sentence for building fan support. Which all equals $$$ in merchandising, sponsorships, advertising, etc.

CFB is doing the exact opposite. Players can leave to a new team after a year. In time, as a fan, I don’t see my favorite players play for multiple years. If I do, I’m lucky but I also don’t know if they will or not so the moderate fans have less reason to follow their favorite CFB teams compared to their NFL team.

Can you imagine if in the NFL, the playoffs started and 10 players chose not to play because they’re in a final contract year the following year and don’t want to risk injury. People would stop watching the NFL playoffs if half the games were played by QB’s who’d never taken a snap, a bunch of starters people want to see play are sitting out and it’s basically a pro bowl game.

CFB isn’t turning into anything like the NFL other than the concept of players getting paid. In almost every other way it’s the opposite of the NFL and I just don’t see how viewership and interest, long term, grows. The diehards will always watch. The on the fence fans and below will stop watching almost entirely when they tune in to bowl games and even the 12 playoff games are the equivalent of the 3rd game of the NFL exhibition games.

Blocking transfers in conference fixes a ton of things. No one likes a move like Etienne from the Gators to Dawgs.

I think it’s gross that we have to play Joe Girard twice and possibly 3 times. There are 350+ other D1 teams I don’t want to see guys who start for us on the other sideline the next season.