For the last two seasons, Cyclone fans have sat on Twitter, worried, as bowl selections neared.
"Anywhere but New York," you asked the football Gods.
Your worries of a 6-6 Iowa State team being sent to the Bronx for a bowl game will no longer be valid starting in 2014 Cyclone Nation.
On Monday, the bowl announced that from 2014-21, it would host a team from the Big Ten as well as the ACC in its game that is played inside of Yankee Stadium. The move makes total sense for both of those leagues too. The ACC is an obvious fit geographically and the Big Ten is obsessed with being relevant in the New York market.
From the Big 12’s standpoint, the Pinstripe Bowl is all of the above: Cold, a long ways away and most importantly, expensive.
The Big Ten’s recent additions of Rutgers and Maryland to its league made this fit work. Don’t forget about Penn State already being there too.
Having said all of that, I really enjoyed covering Iowa State’s berth in the Pinstripe Bowl two years ago. In fact, the staff that the Yankees put together for that game was second to none. For real – just from my standpoint and what I do, that group put the Insight and Liberty Bowls to shame.
And I think that most people who went to New York to Iowa State enjoyed the experience. Once at least.
That’s the thing about this bowl game. You want to go do it the first time. You want to experience it one. But not ever again. And if that is a league’s mentality about a bowl game, it is probably best for both sides to move on.
Every party involved (Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and the game itself) is in a better spot because of the move. Good work administrators.
Lots O’ Links
*** A fantastic and witty column on transfers and college basketball by Bobby La Gesse. — Ames Tribune
*** David Ubben & I agree on the Pinstripe Bowl decision. — ESPN.com
*** TCU is ready to compete for a Big 12 title writes Stewart Mandel. — Sports Illustrated
*** Talk of a potential NCAA split has been out there for years. Andrew Logue takes a closer look at the theory in this column. — Des Moines Register
*** Cyclone hoopster Melvin Ejim is trying out for Team Canada in the World University Games. — Des Moines Register
*** Oklahoma State’s defense just got a lot better in 2013. The Cowboys have scooped up a three-year starter, cornerback Tyler Patmon, as a transfer. Where is Patmon from? That’s right. Kansas. It’s the Jake Anderson rule striking again, this time in football. — The Oklahoman
*** The heat is on in Austin. If you like reading about the University of Texas underachieving in pretty much everything, you’ll love this column written by Mike Finger. — San Antonio Express
*** David Ubben analyzes Phil Steele’s All-Big 12 Teams. — ESPN.com
