Bowl Game Free Agency going to be much worse soon

Assuming BYU can get to bowl games in the future, BYU's bowl situation is going to get much worse.



This was the conversation on ESPN 960 with Ben Criddle and Brett McMuphy of ESPN.



This year, as with last year, BYU is bowl free agents. That means they aren't contracted with any given bowl and so could potentially have multiple bowl games invite them and then pick the most attractive offer. This is possible because not all bowl games currently have contracts with conferences and choose among available teams. Other times bowl games who are contracted with conferences find that the conference cannot fulfill their contract because they don't have enough bowl eligible teams.



In the upcoming bowl agreement however, the NCAA has mandated that all bowl games must be affiliated/contracted with two conferences. That means there will no longer be any higher tiered bowl games that will have the option of picking a free agent team.



Assuming BYU has future years that they are not contracted with a bowl game, and are going into bowl season as a free agent the only bowls that could invite them would be the bowls that have open spots because their affiliated conference can't fill their spot. Of course conferences will fill in the best bowls and only the lowest tier bowl games will be available.

I'll worry about bowls the next time we are eligible.

hawkwing wrote:

In the upcoming bowl agreement however, the NCAA has mandated that all bowl games must be affiliated/contracted with two conferences. That means there will no longer be any higher tiered bowl games that will have the option of picking a free agent team.

Is this verbatim? So not a conference and a team? Will BYU then always be locked out of bowl contracts by rule? (Granted, contracting with a single team was risky, and BYU's claim on mitigating that risk through a decade-long bowl streak is spectacularly finished.

hawkwing wrote:

Assuming BYU can get to bowl games in the future, BYU's bowl situation is going to get much worse.

....

Assuming BYU has future years that they are not contracted with a bowl game,

I'm both nodding and shaking my head at the truth of how you start and end.

Ugh.

Crimson, that was the question I had after listening to the interview and it wasn't entirely clear if a bowl game could contract with an independent team to fulfill the requirement to require conference affiliation. The ton of the conversation indicated that it was and that BYU would probably be better set having a bowl contract rather than relying on the mercies of whatever bottom-tier bowl had an opening, so that's how I'm taking it.

Next month, the Football Oversight Committee will makes its recommendation on the maximum number of bowl tie ins a conference can have.



Depending on that recommendation, there could an upheaval in the post-season landscape.

So bowls cannot contract with a third league as a backup? That would be great for BYU.

Also I hear 3 more bowls are being added.



https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/06/11/report-three-new-bowl-games-could-be-added-in-2020-with-chicago-and-myrtle-beach-in-the-mix/

Commoner wrote:

Next month, the Football Oversight Committee will makes its recommendation on the maximum number of bowl tie ins a conference can have.



Depending on that recommendation, there could an upheaval in the post-season landscape.

My guess is the number will be similar to however many bowls are currently contracted to SEC teams.

I saw the list somewhere. The SEC and other P5 got another bowl slot. PAC12 said no team with 5 wins would be allowed to go to a bowl. That is good for the Y.

scott715 wrote:

I saw the list somewhere. The SEC and other P5 got another bowl slot. PAC12 said no team with 5 wins would be allowed to go to a bowl. That is good for the Y.

Especially if they win 6 games or more this season!

https://lawlessrepublic.com/2018/06/12/bowl-games-coming-benefit-byu-football/



Here's the article.