Last week, it was reported that the NCAA was green-lighting three new college football bowl games. With the addition of games in Austin, TX, Orlando, FL and Tucson, AZ there are now 42 bowl games. Stretching from mid-December and concluding with the National Championship in early January, the bowl season provides college football fans with four extra weeks of games. But do we really need this many, and more importantly, can the FBS afford them all?
Everyone Gets a Trophy
Well almost everyone that is. With 42 games now on the books, it will take 84 teams to fill those games. That’s 84 out of 128 teams. Yes, two thirds (well 65.5%) of the universities playing major college football will now find themselves participating in a postseason game. Many feel the system, which requires just six wins for eligibility already rewards too many mediocre teams. Adding three more games virtually assures every Tom, Dick and Harry that reaches six wins will have a postseason home.
While critics say there are too many games, proponents of the new games have a different view. Organizers will point the new opportunities that these games provide for all involved. From the senior football player who gets to put on his pads for one last time to the coach who may have saved his job by reaching that bowl game. For the players, coaches and fans the pros of extra bowl games far outweigh the cons.
Extra Cost
While fans and players are excited about the possibility of reaching an extra game, administrations take a different approach. Don’t get me wrong, administrations are just as happy as the fan base, if not happier but their excitement is met with caution. Administrations and athletic departments must find a way to pay for the extra cost that will be incurred with an extra game. From travel, to lodging, to meals, to ticket sales and everything in between, cost must be factored in. When the totals are added, some universities can find themselves hundreds of thousands dollars in the red by the time bowl season wraps up. Any athletic director will tell you the exposure of playing on national television in a bigger stadium is worth it, but do they really mean it?
Let’s be honest, at the end of the day, and more than anything, it is the money matters. The three new bowl games, which will be filled by teams from the Group of Five, will help boost the local economy that they are held in, but will they help the two teams playing on the field boost their bottom line? Ticket sales are main drivers of revenue for the two universities participating. The bowl will sell a ticket allotment to each university and it is then up the university to sell enough tickets to its fan base to cover the cost. This is the great conundrum that smaller athletic departments face. How can they sell enough tickets to the fan base, especially given that a majority of bowl games are played far away from campus? Taking the Tucson game for example, which pits the Mountain West against Conference USA, an athletic department from C-USA which is predominantly based in the south east will be forced to sell tickets to a game that could end up being over a thousand miles away from some campuses. While no school will turn down a bowl invitation, it is easy to see why schools so often find themselves behind the eight-ball on finances pertaining to playing in a bowl game. As you can see, several bowls experienced attendance drops in 2014.
Chart and attendance figures courtesy of CBSsports.com
Extra Income
While universities are often saddled with the burden of the extra cost associated with bowl games, there are still plenty of people turning a profit. After all, there wouldn’t be a game if there was no money to be made. ESPN, which just yesterday purchased the Bahama’s Bowl, bringing the World Wide Leaders total to 12 games which they own, will broadcast 39 of the 42 games. CBS Sports Network will broadcast two of the new games, it was announced the network will have the rights to the Arizona Bowl in Tucson and the Cure Bowl in Orlando. CBS also has the rights to the Sun Bowl which airs on New Year’s Eve. The new games have given CBS the opportunity to add it to football line and generate more revenue through ad dollars for the network.
While bowl attendance was down 4% for the 2014 season according to CBSsports.com, ratings were up. ESPN reported that bowls on their network through New Year’s Day drew an average rating of 3.4, compared to 3.2 the season before. Higher ratings mean more advertising dollars will pour into the networks. But the networks aren’t the only jumping on the bowl game bandwagon. Corporate America has taken notice and the major brands have started to pay big bucks for naming rights to some of the games. The Associated Press reported in December of 2014, that its experts estimated that college football’s top bowls could fetch between $25-$30 million for naming rights. While the three new games won’t sell their naming rights for that much, you can still bet they will rake in substantial compensation from some of the top companies in the US.
What’s Next
Given all of the money that is made, it’s hard to see the growth of the bowl system slowing down anytime soon. In fact there are currently reports that a bowl game could be played in Australia following the 2016 season. Combined with the American public’s thirst for football, more games seem to be almost a certainty. The only question now is, can the universities continue to operate at a loss?
Feature photo via KT King/flickr
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