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Bowl Games Provide Revenue...
- This year 28 bowl games will distribute more than $185 million to NCAA schools. More than $800 million has been paid out in just the past five years and the bowls will conservatively payout more than $2.1 billion over the next ten years.
- Almost all Bowl games are non-profit organizations. The more revenue the bowl brings in through ticket sales, sponsors, etc. the more money can be paid to NCAA schools.
Bowl Games Are Tradition...
- Bowl games have been a part of college football for 90 years. They have provided some of the greatest moments in college football history and add to the pageantry, color and excitement of the game. Bowl games are as much a part of the tradition of college football as any other aspect of the game. "I've followed college football ever since the late '30s, and it's always been decided by a vote. The best team over the course of the season wins, and I'm satisfied with that." -- Bobby Bowden, FSU Head Coach (Aug. 1, 2002)
- While there has been an increase in the number of bowl games, half of the bowls have been around for at least 14 years and 12 of these have been in existence for 25 or more years.
- The addition of bowl games has provided opportunities for more schools to participate in the bowl experience. That means more student athletes, coaches, cheerleaders, band members, halftime performers, administrators, alumni, college football fans and communities can be a part of this unforgettable experience. College football bowl games offer these people memories that can last a lifetime. This season about 5,600 student-athletes, 11,000 band members, 1,100 cheerleaders, 50,000 - 100,000 performers and millions of fans and community members were a part of this experience.
- "Fans and players consider the bowls a valuable part of the college football experience." - Pat Richter, Wisconsin Athletic Director (Aug. 1, 2002)
Bowls Benefit Communities...
- Bowl games generate an estimated $1.1 billion dollars worth of economic impact for their host communities each year. This does not include the value of exposure.
- Bowls benefit not only NCAA institutions but local causes and charities. Many bowls contribute in excess of $100,000 annually to charitable causes and host camps for disadvantaged youth. A small sample of charities benefiting include the Boys & Girls Clubs, numerous hospitals, YMCA, local education programs through elementary and high schools, college scholarship programs, the United Way, Make a Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Bowls Provide New & Unique Experiences...
- On their Outback Bowl trip football teams typically visit an Aquarium, a Hockey game, an Art Museum, the Gulf Beaches, Busch Gardens, a children's hospital and some even a Broadway show. This is but one example of the diverse experiences that the players can participate in during their bowl trip. Many of these students may never have a chance to do some of these things again. As coach Lou Holtz said: "If someone ever asks them if they have ever seen a Broadway show they can say they have."
- Players at the Holiday Bowl have lunch and tour an aircraft carrier. Imagine the insight these players have today as they watch these same men fight for freedom in Iraq. Players at the Fiesta Bowl participate in NCAA Yes Football Clinics, they visit the Alamo in San Antonio, tour historic Alcatraz in San Francisco, Disney theme parks in Orlando, experience a luau and visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and much more.
These things never would happen in a playoff setting -
ask the Final Four teams what they did do on their trips.
- Bowl games bring a measure of importance to the regular season not seen in other sports.
- The numerous upsets of November 2001 was a great example of this. Had all those teams being playing for was seeding for a playoff the outcomes would not have meant as much and the interest and excitement, likewise, would have not been as feverish.
- No other intercollegiate sport plays as few regular season games as football and every game means something, conference championships mean something. (This is different from basketball where you can lose a dozen games as long as you win in your conference tournament).
- "I've told college football coaches if they ever go to a national playoff system, they're ridiculous. The NCAA tournament has gotten to the point where nothing else counts any more other than to win the whole thing." -- Basketball Coach Lute Olson, Arizona (speaking to reporters prior to the 2001 national championship game)
- 79 (out of 117) different Division IA schools have participated in at least one bowl game in the past five seasons. A total of 56 schools will be a part of the bowl experience this season and 28 teams will finish their season as a bowl champion.
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