It looks like this year’s arguable shafting (depending on your point of view) of Boston College and Georgia Tech will be less likely in the future, per this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. Key excerpt:
In the future, the Charlotte, Nashville and San Francisco bowls will tell the ACC which teams they want, the schools will tell the ACC which bowls they want, and ACC commissioner John Swofford and assistant commissioner Mike Finn will “go in a smoke-filled room” and make the final decisions, Cavalli said.
Personally, I find all approaches to the bowl selection situation filled with pitfalls, inadequacies, and nonsense. I do see some point, in that we’d all be highly pissed if the NFL or MLB had a rule requiring that at least one NY team participated in the playoffs, to ensure TV ratings (i.e., market forces). But then again, the bowls are “different” in that they are just glorified exhibitions, not meaningful post-season that is utilized in every other sport at every level above middle school.
The only true solution would be to have a 16-team playoff that EVERY major D-1 team could reasonably have a chance to make once in awhile (if they run their program right), and let the remaining bowls do whatever the hell they want (just like the NIT). But what about preserving beloved/antequated “traditions” like the Peach Bowl? Oh, wait, now it’s JUST the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Is the only argument left really “half the teams end as winners!” crap? More to come.
