Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Partners with New Bowl Game
August 18, 2006 | Football
Aug. 5, 2006
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - There are at least three and maybe four bowl opportunities for Mid-American Conference football teams this season.
It was announced in late April that the NCAA had approved the International Bowl to be played in Toronto's Rogers Centre on Jan. 6. The game will match a MAC team against the No. 5 team in the Big East.
"The challenges are enormous when you create something new," said Don Loding, who is working with Ken Hoffman, the executive director of both the International Bowl and the Motor City Bowl. "There are many, many details in the first year. But all the pieces are coming together very well."
BG head coach Gregg Brandon likes the new bowl game.
"The league continues to improve with increased exposure TV-wise and addition of bowl games. It's become a very attractive conference," Brandon said.
The Rogers Centre is the building formerly known as Skydome. It hosts Toronto Blue Jays baseball games and Toronto Argonauts football games. There is also a hotel in the building.
"Toronto is geographically central to the member schools for these two conferences," said Nick Carparelli, associate commissioner of the Big East Conference. "Our coaches, athletics directors, and presidents all find Toronto and the Rogers Centre to be an ideal location for a new game."
The International Bowl joins the Motor City Bowl in Detroit's Ford Field on Dec. 26 and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 7 as games with an automatic tie-in with the MAC.
Rick Chryst, the MAC commissioner, said both division champions from the conference would be guaranteed a spot in the post-season. He added the Motor City Bowl has the first selection from the MAC followed by the GMAC Bowl and the International Bowl.
"The Motor City Bowl has always honored the on-field results of the conference and the GMAC Bowl has helped build the identity of MAC football in the South," Chryst said.
The MAC is the backup conference for the new Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl scheduled for Dec. 23. The game matches a Conference USA team against a Big East team. If the Big East cannot fill all of its bowl spots, the MAC could send a team to Birmingham.
There are 64 bowl slots this season and teams are bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. Teams can count one game against a Division I-AA team as part of its 6-6 record.
Loding said having experience in getting the Motor City Bowl started is an important factor for the management group of the International Bowl.
"This isn't a group trying to learn the bowl business by any means," Loding said. "We're certainly calling on all that experience and all that background ... That's a very big plus in our favor.
"We've worked very closely with the MAC in the Motor City Bowl for many, many years and in recent years have developed quite a relationship with the Big East," Loding added. "So many things have fallen in line, that we are very, very fortunate."
BG-UW on TV: Bowling Green's game with Wisconsin will be televised by WNWO-TV in Toledo, which is channel 2 on the local Time-Warner cable system.
MORE TV: The MAC has control of 69 games, including the conference championship game, this season for television. A total of 50 games are to be televised commercially with the other 19 controlled by XOS and streamed online. That allows the 69 games to be available for replay.
The MAC has 19 appearances scheduled for ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 and another 15 on ESPNU.
However, when two MAC teams play each other that counts as two appearances, Chryst said.
There is also a possibility that the MAC will help fill the Sunday night football void on ESPN after that network lost its NFL contract, Chryst said.
Miami hosts Northern Illinois on Sunday Oct. 8 in a game to be televised by ESPN.
RADIO VOICE: Cal Bowers, a four-year letterman for the Falcons between 1992-95, has joined Bowling Green's radio broadcast team as an analyst.
Bowers was a three-time MAC all-academic selection with the Falcons and a team captain in 1995.
ATTENDANCE: The NCAA has changed its attendance requirements for Division I-A football.
Now schools must average 15,000 actual or paid attendance once every two years to retain I-A status. Chryst said all the MAC schools currently qualify.
