So It Begins… Tomorrow will be the last LA Bowl

[Dawgg]

It’s been announced this will be the last LA Bowl. It was started in 2021 with a five year contract and that contract will not be renewed. It’s owned by the same company that owns and operates SoFi Stadium, so it’s not one of the “ESPN Events Bowls”.

Don’t know if it’s indicative of things to come or if it’s specific to the LA Bowl. From what I was reading, there were logistical issues with hosting the game at SoFi. Apparently, housing two NFL teams means they had to have the game immediately after the college season ended because the NFL had to have the ability to flex some games to Saturdays after the college regular season ends.

Having it a week after the participants are announced was specifically hard on schools and fans.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

It’s been announced this will be the last LA Bowl. It was started in 2021 with a five year contract and that contract will not be renewed. It’s owned by the same company that owns and operates SoFi Stadium, so it’s not one of the “ESPN Events Bowls”.

Don’t know if it’s indicative of things to come or if it’s specific to the LA Bowl. From what I was reading, there were logistical issues with hosting the game at SoFi. Apparently, housing two NFL teams means they had to have the game immediately after the college season ended because the NFL had to have the ability to flex some games to Saturdays after the college regular season ends.

Having it a week after the participants are announced was specifically hard on schools and fans.

Sounds like it’s going away because it’s a pain in the asş logistically.

 

[patdog]

In other news, something called the LA Bowl ever existed. **

yeah, I don’t think this will be the first one to fold. Nobody cares any more.

 

[Dawgg]

In other news, something called the LA Bowl ever existed. **

yeah, I don’t think this will be the first one to fold. Nobody cares any more.

You don’t remember their first mascot, the vomiting camel, Jimmy Camel?

 

[Pars]

Oh no not the storied LA Bowl

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Total irrelevance.

At this point, non-playoff bowls would be better off to just choose from a list of opt-in programs, ranked by some level of computer poll, with some concern given to geography, for the fans. Basically, if you want the extra practice and game, sign up, no matter the record. Bowls will then select you based on that ranking until the spots are gone. Total exhibition, and everyone is clear on it.

Better than all this terrible conference tie-in, etc.

 

[Perd Hapley]

In other news, something called the LA Bowl ever existed. **

yeah, I don’t think this will be the first one to fold. Nobody cares any more.

This was my reaction. I thought this was the new name of the Independence Bowl, or perhaps the new name of the Senior Bowl***

 

[MSUDOG24]

Pretty good match up tonight and I'm still a big bowl guy. I'll be watching to help me make it to 9 and our game (that is well into the past my bed time zone )

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

LA Bowl is Spanish for "the bowl"

 

[RocketDawg]

LA Bowl is Spanish for "the bowl"

La bowla. Or El bowlo.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Solution:

• Move the bowls to August.
• Everybody gets to play in a bowl, so now there are more, including sites in the North. Everybody gets 13 games.
• However, "bowl games" are no longer separate entities with 7-figure executives, but just neutral site games run by the conferences.
• Postseason is for the playoffs only, preferably expanded to at least 16.
• End the playoffs by January 1 or the first Saturday of January.

 

[patdog]

You don’t remember their first mascot, the vomiting camel, Jimmy Camel?

It’s hard to see how a bowl with that didn’t survive. **

 

[Pars]

LA Bowl is Spanish for "the bowl"

LA Quinta Spanish for “behind the Waffle House”

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Solution:

• Move the bowls to August.
• Everybody gets to play in a bowl, so now there are more, including sites in the North. Everybody gets 13 games.
• However, "bowl games" are no longer separate entities with 7-figure executives, but just neutral site games run by the conferences.
• Postseason is for the playoffs only, preferably expanded to at least 16.
• End the playoffs by January 1 or the first Saturday of January.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

We already have a bunch of neutral site games in big cities in August anyway. Why not just start naming those as "bowls," but with no opt outs and more advance notice for traveling fans, and let December be for the playoffs?

 

[patdog]

We already have a bunch of neutral site games in big cities in August anyway. Why not just start naming those as "bowls," but with no opt outs and more advance notice for traveling fans, and let December be for the playoffs?

Or why not have both? Standard rule of if you don’t want to watch you don’t have to (and I very rarely do). I do think the bowls have been devalued enough the ncaa needs to just go ahead & make them exhibition games that anyone can play in.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

We already have a bunch of neutral site games in big cities in August anyway. Why not just start naming those as "bowls," but with no opt outs and more advance notice for traveling fans, and let December be for the playoffs?

Because teams aren’t going to play an exhibition game in August that might get a player hurt.

 

[Perd Hapley]

Solution:

• Move the bowls to August.
• Everybody gets to play in a bowl, so now there are more, including sites in the North. Everybody gets 13 games.
• However, "bowl games" are no longer separate entities with 7-figure executives, but just neutral site games run by the conferences.
• Postseason is for the playoffs only, preferably expanded to at least 16.
• End the playoffs by January 1 or the first Saturday of January.

Counterproposal - move them to the Spring. Let them take the place of the meaningless spring scrimmages.

Nobody will have critical players out there running a risk of getting hurt, but with all the opt outs that’s already happening now.

They’d still be based off results from previous season, but new recruits from HS and the portal would be eligible.

Do it right after March madness, and they aren’t competing with anything else in the sports world except early season MLB and late season NBA.

And the weather would be sooooo much better.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

You guys are trying to solve a problem that isn’t a problem other than what you’ve formed in your head. Non playoff bowl game tv ratings last year were up 14% with some bowls having multi year or ten year highs.

Until tv ratings dip it’s not going away.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

You guys are trying to solve a problem that isn’t a problem other than what you’ve formed in your head. Non playoff bowl game tv ratings last year were up 14% with some bowls having multi year or ten year highs.

Until tv ratings dip it’s not going away.

And, it's projected to rise again this year. Not double digits but strong single digit increase from last year. Last year there was an average of 2.7 million viewers in the 33 non playoff bowl games, with the Alamo bowl posting an all time record high. You get that many eyeballs on one program and I agree it ain't going away.

 

[Perd Hapley]

You guys are trying to solve a problem that isn’t a problem other than what you’ve formed in your head. Non playoff bowl game tv ratings last year were up 14% with some bowls having multi year or ten year highs.

Until tv ratings dip it’s not going away.

I think a lot of ratings depend on where the games fall relative to holiday schedules. Some years are going to be better than others. But in-person attendance has been a problem for a long time….and has shown no signs of getting better.

Football fans are going to watch football if its on, that’s not the issue. Those same fans are going to tune in if its the spring or August or mid-December or whatever.

 

[patdog]

I think a lot of ratings depend on where the games fall relative to holiday schedules. Some years are going to be better than others. But in-person attendance has been a problem for a long time….and has shown no signs of getting better.

Football fans are going to watch football if its on, that’s not the issue. Those same fans are going to tune in if its the spring or August or mid-December or whatever.

Thing is ESPN can show a game pretty much every night the last half of December every year and fill up a lot of otherwise pretty dead time pretty cheaply & get pretty decent ratings. Huge win for them. They don’t care if there’s 1,000 people in the stands or 100,000. Even if you moved it to August (when ESPN already has programming), it’d all be over in a few days.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Because teams aren’t going to play an exhibition game in August that might get a player hurt.

I'm not talking about exhibition games. I'm talking about games like the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, but more of them and label them as "bowl games."

You wouldn't see players opting out in those, just like you don't see opt outs in the current kickoff games.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I think a lot of ratings depend on where the games fall relative to holiday schedules. Some years are going to be better than others. But in-person attendance has been a problem for a long time….and has shown no signs of getting better.

Football fans are going to watch football if its on, that’s not the issue. Those same fans are going to tune in if its the spring or August or mid-December or whatever.

But why move it and take a chance on a ratings dip? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Would have thought a better name would be El Bowl instead of trying to seem feminine.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

You guys are trying to solve a problem that isn’t a problem other than what you’ve formed in your head. Non playoff bowl game tv ratings last year were up 14% with some bowls having multi year or ten year highs.

Until tv ratings dip it’s not going away.

I don’t disagree completely, which is why I just want to make them relevant again.

 

[85Bears]

Best non playoff matchup this year is Vanderbilt vs Iowa , will be worth watching

 

[Dawgg]

I don’t disagree completely, which is why I just want to make them relevant again.

Yeah, but you think every game that doesn’t directly impact the CFP is meaningless and unworthy of being watched.

 

[LordMcBuckethead]

You don’t remember their first mascot, the vomiting camel, Jimmy Camel?

I like it, because it gives us more football.

 

[Baddog11]

“Logistical issues”?

how about nobody was there and they didn’t sell any hotdogs.

 

[8dog]

“Logistical issues”?

how about nobody was there and they didn’t sell any hotdogs.


View attachment 1076896

In person attendance is not relevant to these bowls. They get ESPN money, corporate sponsors, and force the schools to buy an allotment. They don’t’ really care if no one shows up b/c the bowl exec also gets his fat cut.

 

[johnson86-1]

Thing is ESPN can show a game pretty much every night the last half of December every year and fill up a lot of otherwise pretty dead time pretty cheaply & get pretty decent ratings. Huge win for them. They don’t care if there’s 1,000 people in the stands or 100,000. Even if you moved it to August (when ESPN already has programming), it’d all be over in a few days.

They don't care, but currently schools are having to buy a lot of tickets to basically give them away. Traditionally a lot of the smaller sponsors/contributors cared about attendance because they viewed it as economic development for the host city.

Not sure how the dynamics will work going forward. Bowls can't keep pumping out big money for unattended games, but I think a decent chunk of that is circular payment that comes right back to the bowl through mandatory purchases by the participating schools? I'm guessing more bowls will be like the ESPN owned bowls. Going to be all about TV money (not that TV money doesn't already drive it, but lots of local money is involved too right now). The schools basically won't make any money but ESPN will probably have to make sure they at least break even to keep big names going. The local contributions will be much smaller because they know there will be much less in it for the local businesses. It will be purely content production for ESPN. Fans that go will be hard core fans that just love live football, or people that like pairing a trip with a football game.

 

[Dawgg]

“Logistical issues”?

how about nobody was there and they didn’t sell any hotdogs.


View attachment 1076896

The participants are announced a week before the game, so any fans that went had to plan a trip to LA in less than a week, as did the team. That’s the “logistical issue”.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

They don't care, but currently schools are having to buy a lot of tickets to basically give them away. Traditionally a lot of the smaller sponsors/contributors cared about attendance because they viewed it as economic development for the host city.

Not sure how the dynamics will work going forward. Bowls can't keep pumping out big money for unattended games, but I think a decent chunk of that is circular payment that comes right back to the bowl through mandatory purchases by the participating schools? I'm guessing more bowls will be like the ESPN owned bowls. Going to be all about TV money (not that TV money doesn't already drive it, but lots of local money is involved too right now). The schools basically won't make any money but ESPN will probably have to make sure they at least break even to keep big names going. The local contributions will be much smaller because they know there will be much less in it for the local businesses. It will be purely content production for ESPN. Fans that go will be hard core fans that just love live football, or people that like pairing a trip with a football game.

It already is about the TV money, like @8dog says. And @Dawgg it doesn't really matter to me if they play them or don't I suppose. I'm just OCD and grew up in the old system where they mattered a lot (if only for momentum). I want all games to have national significance......but the game has changed. So watch or don't, whatever.

But when the money isn't right for the schools and they start opting out even more, thus making the TV money not good enough for the bowls because of the lesser schools attending.........then they will accelerate the end.

 

[Baddog11]

The same vendors weren’t coming back next year no matter what the execs decided to do.