[Farm93]

A post-note to the bowl-tickets debate: Oregon students are apparently being screwed:
http://www.studentfreepress.net/archives/5444

Well sure.  I can\'t remember the last time I watched that BCS NCG and remember getting any shots of a student section.  So either the students have always been up in the Sky Tier type levels, or the BCS NCGs have not even had student sections.

I can\'t help but chuckle as everyone gripes about these bowls.  All of these things are decades in the making, and yet the posts on these boards act as if they just started happening.

The bowls are not a playoff system.  They select schools based on revenue maximization.  The BCS rules are designed to keep the US Gov\'t away.  If the Rule of 4 did not apply - Michigan State or LSU would be in the Orange Bowl.   If the AQs did not get automatic bids, Connecticut would not be in the Fiesta.  If the non-AQ rule was not in play Stanford MIGHT be in the Rose Bowl, but TCU would almost certainly not be in that bowl.

As long as the bowls have sponsors paying the bills and filling the stands, the bowls do not care about doing right by the alums and students.  The Orange Bowl has a new main sponsor - Discover Card.  And as long as Discover is happy and paying big money all is fine.  Stanford will not be there next year, but Discover will.  So pleasing the sponsor is far more important than pleasing Stanford or the Pac-10.

Same logic applies to Oregon and Auburn with the NCG.

The ADs, coaches and players don\'t really love going to Mobile, El Paso, Detroit, San Francisco or Boise.  It is all about the extra practice time and the team building that comes from the physical multi-day trip.  Most programs see a bowl game as a way to position themselves favorably for next year\'s preseason rankings and the recruiting trail.

[Farm93]

A post-note to the bowl-tickets debate: Oregon students are apparently being screwed:
http://www.studentfreepress.net/archives/5444

Well sure.  I can\'t remember the last time I watched that BCS NCG and remember getting any shots of a student section.  So either the students have always been up in the Sky Tier type levels, or the BCS NCGs have not even had student sections.

I can\'t help but chuckle as everyone gripes about these bowls.  All of these things are decades in the making, and yet the posts on these boards act as if they just started happening.

The bowls are not a playoff system.  They select schools based on revenue maximization.  The BCS rules are designed to keep the US Gov\'t away.  If the Rule of 4 did not apply - Michigan State or LSU would be in the Orange Bowl.   If the AQs did not get automatic bids, Connecticut would not be in the Fiesta.  If the non-AQ rule was not in play Stanford MIGHT be in the Rose Bowl, but TCU would almost certainly not be in that bowl.

As long as the bowls have sponsors paying the bills and filling the stands, the bowls do not care about doing right by the alums and students.  The Orange Bowl has a new main sponsor - Discover Card.  And as long as Discover is happy and paying big money all is fine.  Stanford will not be there next year, but Discover will.  So pleasing the sponsor is far more important than pleasing Stanford or the Pac-10.

Same logic applies to Oregon and Auburn with the NCG.

The ADs, coaches and players don\'t really love going to Mobile, El Paso, Detroit, San Francisco or Boise.  It is all about the extra practice time and the team building that comes from the physical multi-day trip.  Most programs see a bowl game as a way to position themselves favorably for next year\'s preseason rankings and the recruiting trail.