So far Iowa State, Baylor, UCF, Florida State, Auburn, Rutgers, Kansas, Temple, Notre Dame have declined bowl invitations (and possibly others that I am not aware of). Several were 5-7 that were invited because others had declined, but the question still remains. Is this the beginning of the end for bowl games?
Has the Death of Bowl Games Begun?
- Thread starter lionnusmb
- Start date
Let's all hope so!! Burn it all down, and start over!
I'm guessing something related to bowl games will eventually be added to a player's contract.
Absolutely it’s begun. They make no sense anymore and the games are terrible. Attendance at most of these will be terrible too.
Yeah... I hope attendance is terrible... and all these corporations and ESPN, or whoever, loses a ton of money.
ESPN shooting themselves in the foot trying to have their cake and eat it too when expanding the playoff.
Best way to fix this is beak conferences down in pods. Winner of pod is automatic qualifier. Expand playoffs to 24. Get rid of the stupid ESPN selection playoff committee. Get rid of conference championship games as well. They make no sense when there’s 18 teams in a conference.
I enjoy going to the games when it's a good destination, and they typically do really well for TV because there's nothing else going on. Usually when Iowa State is in a bowl, it's our most viewed game all year.
Also like ending the season on a W and getting a trophy.
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It sure as hell feels that way.
I would argue that this HAS to happen.
Can't work in an era where coaches leave before the season ends and apparently players can opt out despite being paid for a full season. Fix those things, then create a new selection system so we aren't going to the same couple of bowl games every time around, and they could survive.
But the truth is they're relatively cheap TV products and they're good background noise during all the holiday goings-on so they'll probably survive even if nothing changes.
But the truth is they're relatively cheap TV products and they're good background noise during all the holiday goings-on so they'll probably survive even if nothing changes.
This feels like the beginning of some sort or reckoning with the bowl system. It started with the player opt outs, now full teams don't want to play. I just don't see where bowl games have any meaning going forward with the expanded playoff. Especially when the players aren't incentivized ($) to participate.
K State and Iowa State have more legitimate reasons to decline than Notre Dame. That is flat out taking your ball and going home.
Back to the thread title, I thought the same thing when the ND news came out. When sponsors become uncertain their investment is going to pay off with good product on the field and eyeballs on the TV, I suspect you'll start to see some of them back out.
I'm personally of the opinion that they've become too watered down and they're not the reward/attraction they used to be. Of course, the playoff has a huge impact on this.
A lot of people have long been warning that this "playoff or bust" mentality across the sport is going to have negative consequences and I think we're starting to see more of that play out right now.
Back to the thread title, I thought the same thing when the ND news came out. When sponsors become uncertain their investment is going to pay off with good product on the field and eyeballs on the TV, I suspect you'll start to see some of them back out.
I'm personally of the opinion that they've become too watered down and they're not the reward/attraction they used to be. Of course, the playoff has a huge impact on this.
A lot of people have long been warning that this "playoff or bust" mentality across the sport is going to have negative consequences and I think we're starting to see more of that play out right now.
Did Baylor, UCF, Kansas State and Kansas each get the $500K fine too?
Probably mentioned already, but they may need to create NIL bowls like the Vegas players era tournament to keep players and teams from opting out.
Maybe they could also make it a 16 team playoff and make requirements of 7 wins to be bowl eligible? Basically weeding out a bunch of bowls?
It’s hard to believe five days ago I was pissed about the liberty bowl potentially being an option at eight and four.
Now we have no team, no bowl and being 500k for not going
Maybe they could also make it a 16 team playoff and make requirements of 7 wins to be bowl eligible? Basically weeding out a bunch of bowls?
It’s hard to believe five days ago I was pissed about the liberty bowl potentially being an option at eight and four.
Now we have no team, no bowl and being 500k for not going
If college had a sensible design/structure like the NFL, I would get more excited for the playoffs (i.e. it would actually be a playoff and not an invitational). However, usually I don't watch them, and I think they significantly devalue the regular season games (especially at the beginning of the year).
The whole regular season was basically a playoff in the past. Now when Texas plays Notre Dame week 1, it doesn't really matter unless the game is a blowout or something.
I've sort of insulated my viewership to primarily Big 12 games at this point.
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Yes and why not?
In the Olden Days, we had the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl. Period.
Now, it's every corporation that wants to put its name on something.
Enough is enough, and good on the schools that refuse to shill for corporations.
In the Olden Days, we had the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl. Period.
Now, it's every corporation that wants to put its name on something.
Enough is enough, and good on the schools that refuse to shill for corporations.
Bowl game payouts would be smart to be divided into player performance bonuses for appearing and money awarded to the school for participating. We'd cut the number of bowl games in half and ensure players want to participate. I wouldn't be surprised if that gets incorporated before the next round of bowl contract renewals in 2027.
