The Importance of Bowl Games Diminishing with Announcement of Bowl No. 41 for 2015
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
On Thursday the NCAA announced the approval of the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl that will be spearheaded under the control of the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission. The approval puts the bowl into effect at the end of the 2015 regular season for a game to be played on Dec. 29 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.
The addition of the Arizona Bowl becomes the 41st bowl game for Division-I teams to participate in with two more being added to the schedule next season. Currently there are 127 active D-I teams meaning 82 teams get to play one more game while 45 go home at the end of 12 in 2015.
The Arizona Bowl will give Conference USA, Mountain West, and Sun Belt programs an additional location to shoot for when a team from one of the three conferences becomes bowl eligible after six wins. With teams from the Group of Five having more options for post season play, the level of play throughout the season should rise in the various conferences with something to fight for until the end of the season.
That’s the good news. The bad news is the level of play in all the bowl games dwindles dramatically. Most college football fans remember the fun of the first ever FBS College Football Playoffs featuring Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State while few remember Fresno State falling to Rice 30-6.
The extra game can do a lot for a young program on the rise giving additional practice time on the field with a meaningful game against good competition but the game can also mean seniors ready for the NFL Combine or ready to start their lives in the work force as an ever day Joe with diploma in hand play to not get hurt.
In the end, the bowl games are not going to slow down because there is too much money involved. The result is college football fans can get prepared for six more 6-6 teams battling it out for years to come.
The other sites approved by the NCAA in May included Orlando and Austin.
Photo credit: azbowlgame.com; NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
Photo credit: wku.edu; Conference USA map.