College Football Bowl Games: Conferences Looking At Dubai, Bahamas, Ireland And Other Destinations
By Ty Duffy
College football bigwigs feared a playoff would end bowl graft. Injecting more money into the system is doing the exact opposite. Pushes to raise the bowl win bar and to reduce the number of games, from 35, have been scuttled. Conferences are now considering adding more bowl games and, potentially, taking them abroad.
The “Power Five” conferences have, for the most part, shut out the “Group of Five” from their awesome postseason party. ESPN is reporting the “Group of Five” looks set to retort by throwing their own, in even cooler locations. The AAC wants to create its own bowl in Marlins Stadium, perhaps the one thing that could make that venue more depressing. The lesser conferences are also considering such exotic destinations as Ireland, Dubai, Nassau, Toronto and Little Rock.
International destinations could be a problem. It sounds cool to play a game in Dubai or Ireland. However, schools already can lose millions on these games playing domestically. It’s not clear how increasing travel costs to schools and fans enlivens an already fatigued system. That said, Nassau might be an upgrade over two games in Detroit.
Dubai specifically could present some political issues. That would mean playing in a country that (a) does not recognize Israel and bars Israeli citizens and (b) outlaws homosexuality. FIFA can get away with that. American colleges need to be more accountable.
[Photo via USA Today Sports]