As we look toward the 2005 Football Season and are in the middle of a scheduling snafu with Temple, I thought that it may be interesting to highlight some offseason news on the ACC Championship and Bowl schedule.
===> ACC Championship Game:
The ACC’s first ever college football championship game, which will be aired on ABC on December 3, 2005 and played in Jacksonville (FL), will be sponsored by Dr. Pepper. ABC television negotiated the deal, but the ACC had the right of final approval of the title-game sponsor.
===> “Continental Tire” Bowl Renamed and Rescheduled
After three years, the Continental Tire Bowl has been renamed The Meineke Car Care Bowl. This year, the Carolina Panthers will be on the road at Atlanta on January 1 for the last game of the regular season. Therefore, this year’s bowl game has been confirned for an 11am kickoff on December 31st.
Anytime that a bowl gets to schedule a game closer to the turn of the year is good news for the bowl’s stature. This bowl has been has been blessed with exceptional weather in each of its first three years, which has helped it almost pack Bank of America Stadium for Virginia’s two appearances and Carolina’s loss to Boston College last year.
The match-ups the bowl has generated, and the proximity to Charlotte of the ACC schools participating has helped the bowl, but attendance for the future cannot be guaranteed to match the first three years. Having the benefit of scheduling at the New Year creates a situation where more fans of participating teams can make the trip in a much more convenient manner. Before it’s move to more national prominence, the Peach Bowl used to occupy the 11am kickoff slot on New Year’s Eve Day or New Year’s Day in most seasons.
===> Atlanta Bowl, II
The Atlanta Sports Council will not pursue a bowl game this season and instead opt to wedge itself into contract negotiations when most bowl contracts expire at the end of this season.
Under the original concept, the new bowl would have been considered a “step-below” the Peach Bowl and be played in the middle of the week prior to the Peach Bowl. It sounds like the bowl would be looking to compete with the Mieneke Car Care Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl (now Champps Sports Bowl). Initial talk has revolved around an ACC-Big 10 showcase for Atlanta’s 2nd game.
===> Gator Bowl Talk
Sounds like the Gator Bowl is talking to the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 about a post-season tie-in that would serve to replace the (not so) Big East. The Gator currently gets the ACC #2 vs the Big East #2 (or Notre Dame). If the Big East lost the $2 million Gator tie-in, they would be had pressed to make a case that they were significant enough to deserve a BCS bid.
===> National Bowl Picture
* The NCAA has certified 28 bowl games for the 2005-2006 season.
* The Silicon Valley Classic was not recertified by the NCAA.
* A new bowl game, the yet unsponsored Poinsettia Bowl, was approved by the NCAA and will become San Diego’s second bowl game each year. You could play EVERY bowl in San Diego as far as I am concerned. What a wonderful place.
