Will Bowls be Dead in 2024?

[carvers4math]

Bowls are dead now unless you have a gimmick.

Maybe they should all be breakfast foods? Change it to the Orange Juice Bowl? An edible Donut Bowl trophy? Hamann Bacon Bowl?

I used to love the bowl games. Happy today is Cyclone hoops and the NFL. The only playoff team that isn’t nauseating is Washington. With NIL as it has evolved and the ability to change teams whenever, college football is just an inferior product to the NFL with no salary cap and lots of unrestricted free agents.

 

[Marcelason78]

First step should be- get rid of all the cold weather bowls.

 

[clonedude]

The only bowl game I've watched from start to finish this year is ISU's. Most of them haven't even been good games for one thing... and most just aren't intriguing enough with so many opt outs, injuries, etc.

I'd rather watch a show on Netflix.

 

[Drew0311]

The name of the bowl used to be the important thing. Orange, Rose and all of that. Now the name of the bowl is worthless. It’s just where do we get to play and who are we playing for our post season reward.

 

[legi]

That’s not happening, the NFL needs the development these guys go through in college for them to be able to play immediately in the NFL

The NFL has it pretty good. They get a developed product for free. NFL should be paying football schools some serious money for this, but zero chance it actually happens.

 

[HFCS]

Bowl games are like the NIT. The NIT exists, but it really does not matter to anyone beyond the fans of the teams playing. Seems about the same for the bowls. If the players don't play, then fans are not going to care very much.

Then again, let's see what the ratings are for this bowl season compared to previous seasons. If people are willing to watch, then games will continue.

The Europa League is basically an NIT to the highest levels of pro soccer. It doesn’t mean the world to the prestige clubs who make it in down cycles (and they will prioritize their domestic regular season in terms of resting players) but to the equivalent of say G5 or Vanderbilt or ISU it means a lot, probably more than their domestic regular season.

 

[ISUTex]

How does playing in a playoff game enhance your draft status a lot more than a bowl game and not carry the risks that a bowl game has. Using the same logic, why wouldn’t a no. 1 pick in the draft opt out of a playoff game for a 12th seeded team?

Why would a projected top 5 pick even play one game the entire season? They're basically all exhibitions. It's not the NFL playoffs for crying out loud.

 

[HFCS]

I do wonder though…say you are a first round pick and your team is 5-4 with three games left. Essentially the final 3 games are meaningless because you can’t make the playoffs. Those guys going to play the last three games ? That situation is coming.

NIL (and even scholarship) should get yanked if a player sits regular season without an injury. Eventually that will happen.

We have a handful of things that make this pro sports without the aspects that make pro sports work. Pro sports aren’t comprised of 100% one year free agents who don’t even have strong contracts.

 

[AllInForISU]

Make the bowls immediately (1 to 2 weeks) after the regular season and pay the players who participate. More money for the winners.

It eliminates the weird transfer portal situation and rewards the players who play.

 

[ISUTex]

Give 20 grand to every player who suits up for the winning team in a bowl. 10 grand to the losers. Put it in their NIL contracts that they have to play in their bowl game. Playoffs? Same deal. Maybe they get 50 grand per win per round, and 25 grand if they lose. National champs get an extra 50 grand per player. Players and coaches will also be able to switch teams at half or after every round. College athletes, fans, media companies, coaches, presidents and AD'S are all greedy *************. Give them the only incentive they care about. Cash. We could even throw in live in game gambling on the jumbo trons. The players, coaches and fans can bet on the timeout and half time entertainment. Average Joe's kicking field goals for El Caminos? Guessing which team cup has the pea underneath after they're scrambled? No. Well sometimes. Think bigger. Convicted murders and child molesters fighting to the death. Maybe they fight live on the 50 yd line. Maybe they fight on Zoom from a prison cell. Whatever works. All the money for the players' prize purses will come from collective donations and % of fans' gambling winnings of course. The NCAA and conferences/schools get to keep all of the revenue from TV, tickets, parking, etc. Better start saving your money folks. This is going to be great! It's what's best for the student athlete after all.

 

[Clonefan94]

As long as the cities/sponsors see value in bowl games, they will continue.

I don’t understand some people’s infatuation to kill off the bowls. Who cares? There is plenty of **** on TV I don’t care about, in fact most of tv I never watch, I don’t go out of my way to say it should be eliminated.

As I said, if the money is there, they will continue and teams will continue to play in them if they are offered a decent payday to do so. It’s a decent little reward for the players and fans who like to travel.

 

[AlaCyclone]

I love Bowl Games. Always have and always will. However, something does need to change to kick it up a notch for the non-Playoff Bowls. The NY6 Bowls will be stronger than ever as part of the 12 Team Playoff.

As for the rest, I like several ideas already expressed with a little lemon twist:

I would have a few of the select historical Bowls like the Citrus, Sun, Gator, Liberty, Holiday, ReliaQuest, etc. have a day to themselves on or near NYE / NYD depending on how the Playoff schedule is staggered with Winner and Loser pay.

Then, with the other P4 Bowls like the Alamo, Las Vegas, Houston, Music City, Pop Tarts, Guaranteed Rate, etc. use Week 0 for some of them as an extra game not counting against the 13 game schedule for the 4 Power Conference teams. Let the host P4 Bowls choose who they want like the old Kickoff Classic, Pigskin Classic, etc. with Winner and Loser pay.

Finally, some of the Bowls that want to match-up Champions and other teams for the G5 Conferences like the Birmingham, Camellia, Mobile, Bahamas, Military, Frisco, Arizona, etc. etc. can be staggered through the Holiday season, as most of those teams will not have serious opt out issues with Winner and Loser pay.

It's a fluid working plan!

 

[LAClone]

Want a better bowl game? Have a better season, including non-con games. Until we raise our expectations and our standards we’re going to be stuck with these crap bowls, or none at all.

 

[Mr Janny]

As long as the cities/sponsors see value in bowl games, they will continue.

I don’t understand some people’s infatuation to kill off the bowls. Who cares? There is plenty of **** on TV I don’t care about, in fact most of tv I never watch, I don’t go out of my way to say it should be eliminated.

As I said, if the money is there, they will continue and teams will continue to play in them if they are offered a decent payday to do so. It’s a decent little reward for the players and fans who like to travel.

This. Bowls are mostly meaningless exhibitions that some players will prefer to opt out of, and they're also fun rewards for a good season that some players will look forward to playing in. They still get very good ratings. Sponsors make money. Why are we so convinced that things are broken with them?

 

[madguy30]

Want a better bowl game? Have a better season, including non-con games. Until we raise our expectations and our standards we’re going to be stuck with these crap bowls, or none at all.

ISU was 7-5 for both the Camping World and Cheez-It bowls which are both pretty good.

 

[Marcelason78]

This. Bowls are mostly meaningless exhibitions that some players will prefer to opt out of, and they're also fun rewards for a good season that some players will look forward to playing in. They still get very good ratings. Sponsors make money. Why are we so convinced that things are broken with them?

Bowls like the Quick Lane hosting a 5-6 team with 20,000 in attendance does make some bowl berths meaningless. Too bad the money has ruined the prestige.

 

[I-stateTheTruth]

I think the OP is underestimating the power of the Pop Tarts Bowl, the grandaddy of the breakfast convenience food bowls.

 

[Kinch]

Give 20 grand to every player who suits up for the winning team in a bowl. 10 grand to the losers. Put it in their NIL contracts that they have to play in their bowl game. Playoffs? Same deal. Maybe they get 50 grand per win per round, and 25 grand if they lose. National champs get an extra 50 grand per player. Players and coaches will also be able to switch teams at half or after every round. College athletes, fans, media companies, coaches, presidents and AD'S are all greedy *************. Give them the only incentive they care about. Cash. We could even throw in live in game gambling on the jumbo trons. The players, coaches and fans can bet on the timeout and half time entertainment. Average Joe's kicking field goals for El Caminos? Guessing which team cup has the pea underneath after they're scrambled? No. Well sometimes. Think bigger. Convicted murders and child molesters fighting to the death. Maybe they fight live on the 50 yd line. Maybe they fight on Zoom from a prison cell. Whatever works. All the money for the players' prize purses will come from collective donations and % of fans' gambling winnings of course. The NCAA and conferences/schools get to keep all of the revenue from TV, tickets, parking, etc. Better start saving your money folks. This is going to be great! It's what's best for the student athlete after all.

Kicking for El Caminos? Better make sure they have Astro turf in the back.

 

[Die4Cy]

I think the OP is underestimating the power of the Pop Tarts Bowl, the grandaddy of the breakfast convenience food bowls.

Tony the Frosted Flakes Tiger sponsors a bowl. So I'm not sure about this. But we are at least asking the important questions.

 

[Acylum]

CW thinks he has the cure by having the sponsors pay the players who actually play. I’d like to hear his definition of “play.” I could see 14 guys going down with a hammy on the first play from scrimmage.