With the exception of ESPN, can networks create Bowl Games?

Mets82

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Original poster
Apr 5, 2008
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I ask this because if NBCSN,CBSSN, FOX/FX or NBC wanted to stick it to ESPN and get some traction, can they create a bowl game if they wanted to? Lets say Turner decided to bring back the Copper Bowl (Even though the game is something else now). They want the name to be the Copper Bowl, can they create it if they want? Didnt ESPN do that? They do control some of the minor bowls, right? Or if CBSSN said to themselves we need more programming, more viewers, etc. can they outbid ESPN for a bowl game?
 
ESPN didn't create any bowl games, they simply outbid other networks. When the contracts are up other networks are free to bid for them. Simple, really...
 
I realize it's only a hypothetical question, but why would anyone (including the sports networks) want even more bowl games?
 
I say some network creats an NIT analog to these bowl games and invite teams to play in a real tournament with a real winner! Remember the NIT used to be the premier B-ball tourney before the NCAA got their head out of their rear end
 
cosmo_kramer said:
ESPN didn't create any bowl games, they simply outbid other networks. When the contracts are up other networks are free to bid for them. Simple, really...

I think ESPN are partial creators of several bowls. I know they are here in Birmingham anyway. Local sports talk shows here talk about this every year at this time. Without ESPN there would be no bowl here.
Judging by the attendance, not many know that it exist.:)

http://www.bbvacompassbowl.com/quick-facts.php
 
What I was trying to say, and maybe,I worded it wrong, was that how much control does ESPN have over the bowl games. I say this because I remember reading about how they are in charge of some of the lesser bowl games. I was wondering would CBS or NBC have that same type of power. Mentioned above is about how when the bowl contracts are up, the networks can bid on them freely. It just seems a little odd that the same bowl games are on ESPN and have been for years.
 
Im kind of sentimental about the bowl games and I'll tell you why. You look at today's bowl game, the BBVA Compass Bowl between SMU and Pittsburgh. Now, you know that a team like SMU is not going to play for the BCS title game but the Compass Bowl was there BCS title game.
 
do we really need anymore games involving 6 win teams?

too many "bowl" games already

I've been saying for years that a .500 team should not go to a bowl game, actually playing 12 games now they should all have at least 8 wins to get to a bowl game.

Hopefully if there were not enough teams eligible, bowl sponsers would see that there are too many and whittle them down to what the eligible teams amount to over a 5 year span they should get a good idea of the number normally needed.
 
I agree. I think they should limit it to at least 7 win teams an do away with some bowls. I enjoyed a lot of the games, but you could tell some games shouldn't have been played.

I'm not sure but I don't think they had enough bowl eligible teams this year. ucla had to get an exemption to play in a bowl, since losing the PAC 12 title game put them below .500 or at .500

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ESPN didn't create any bowl games, they simply outbid other networks. When the contracts are up other networks are free to bid for them. Simple, really...

Not really. ESPN, Inc. owns seven bowl games. Gildan/New Mexico, Beef O Brady's/St. Petersburg, Maaco/Las Vegas, Sheraton/Hawaii, Meinike/Texas, Bell Helicopter/Armed Forces, and BBVA Compas/Birmingham. The TV rights are not bid, the entire bowl belongs to ESPN, which pays rent to the stadium, etc. Judging by the attendence ESPN only purpose in these ventures is a TV show. The stadiums are serving more or less as studios.

ESPN also owns six "exempt" early season basketball tournaments (teams can play in such a tournament and the games count on the records, but not against the NCAA limit of 28 games in the regular season), the Hawaiian Islands Invitational (semi-pro soccer tournament), the MEAC/SWAC Challenge ("HBCU" football game in Orlando), the Warrior Classic (college lacrosse tournament), the National Golf Challenge (club pro tournament), and the "Bracket Busters" basketball tournament.

www.espnplus.com/football.php

As to the OP's question, any person or group could start a bowl game, but you need an NCAA license. The NCAA grants liscenses every four years, next time to apply would be for the 2013 season (some games would be in 2014). The application requires the owner to guarentee the payout with corporate wealth or a bond (if you remember the long-forgotten Cherry Bowl, they sold about 30 tickets and the two teams ended up not getting paid, so they put in a rule) and show a business plan as far as workers, stadium plan, all of that. The NCAA has stated that it would not grant more liscenses unless the number of teams in Division I-A increases (thus increasing the number of bowl eligiable teams).
 
Not really. ESPN, Inc. owns seven bowl games. Gildan/New Mexico, Beef O Brady's/St. Petersburg, Maaco/Las Vegas, Sheraton/Hawaii, Meinike/Texas, Bell Helicopter/Armed Forces, and BBVA Compas/Birmingham. The TV rights are not bid, the entire bowl belongs to ESPN, which pays rent to the stadium, etc. Judging by the attendence ESPN only purpose in these ventures is a TV show. The stadiums are serving more or less as studios.

ESPN also owns six "exempt" early season basketball tournaments (teams can play in such a tournament and the games count on the records, but not against the NCAA limit of 28 games in the regular season), the Hawaiian Islands Invitational (semi-pro soccer tournament), the MEAC/SWAC Challenge ("HBCU" football game in Orlando), the Warrior Classic (college lacrosse tournament), the National Golf Challenge (club pro tournament), and the "Bracket Busters" basketball tournament.

www.espnplus.com/football.php

As to the OP's question, any person or group could start a bowl game, but you need an NCAA license. The NCAA grants liscenses every four years, next time to apply would be for the 2013 season (some games would be in 2014). The application requires the owner to guarentee the payout with corporate wealth or a bond (if you remember the long-forgotten Cherry Bowl, they sold about 30 tickets and the two teams ended up not getting paid, so they put in a rule) and show a business plan as far as workers, stadium plan, all of that. The NCAA has stated that it would not grant more liscenses unless the number of teams in Division I-A increases (thus increasing the number of bowl eligiable teams).
The original statement was that ESPN created those games. How many of those did ESPN create??
 
I agree. I think they should limit it to at least 7 win teams an do away with some bowls. I enjoyed a lot of the games, but you could tell some games shouldn't have been played.

I'm not sure but I don't think they had enough bowl eligible teams this year. ucla had to get an exemption to play in a bowl, since losing the PAC 12 title game put them below .500 or at .500

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WOW,
Hadn't noticed that ...
UCLA was in the Pac 12 Championship game with a .500 record ?

Thats pathetic and a excellent reason to NOT have the "Glorified" Conference championship games, it's just to make more money anyways.

You get a team in the championship game for that conference that has a record much worse than others ...
Excluding UCS , Oregon and Stanford should have been the teams battling for the Championship in that division, and realistically they did, but your allowing a team to play in a championship game that hardly deserves it with Oregon a 8-1, 12-2 record against a UCLA team with a 5-4, 6-8 record.

This same thing happens all over in the Conference Championship games.

This is really sad ... :(
 
How many of those did ESPN create??

If Wiki is correct, all of them were founded by ESPN. For example, the Beef O Brady's is covered in this contemporary newspaper article from 2008:

NCAA approves St. Petersburg Bowl - Tampa Bay Times

The game — to debut at Tropicana Field between Dec. 20 and 23 this season — was approved by an NCAA subcommittee Wednesday afternoon in South Florida and will pit teams from the Big East and Conference USA. ESPN will own and operate the game as it does with five other bowls.

There is nothing stopping another TV network from forming a bowl.
 
If Wiki is correct, all of them were founded by ESPN. For example, the Beef O Brady's is covered in this contemporary newspaper article from 2008:

NCAA approves St. Petersburg Bowl - Tampa Bay Times

Wow, Learn something new everyday.

I would like to see Fox or some of the other networks get a couple of the bowl game rights. I enjoyed Fox's coverage of the Big 12 games this year and of the Cotton bowl. I'm losing more and more interest in espn's broadcasts. I turned the radio on and muted the espn crew many times this year.
 
Wow, Learn something new everyday.

I would like to see Fox or some of the other networks get a couple of the bowl game rights. I enjoyed Fox's coverage of the Big 12 games this year and of the Cotton bowl. I'm losing more and more interest in espn's broadcasts. I turned the radio on and muted the espn crew many times this year.

I agree. Other networks should get some bowl games and should not be monopolized by ESPN. But even if some more bowls were added, I dont really mind it. Like I mentioned before, for some of the lesser known schools like an Arkansas St., FIU or even a Purdue, the bowl game that they play is there BCS title game.
 
I think while part of this was addressed, others was not ...

I THINK you'll find that ESPN may have something to do with the early bowls ... the Networks really don't care about them, they are mostly minor bowls, so ESPN grabbed them, I have no problem with that.

Now as for the Major Bowls, they I would think the Networks are interested in them and they bid along with ESPN and ESPN has outbidded them for the MNC game as well.

I don't have a problem with them having them seeing they bidded for them.

If the Major Networks want them bad enough next time around, they will bid higher.

I just took a look back at the channels these bowls were on and was surprised to see that there were only 2-3 not on ESPN, I would have thought that the NY day games would,have been split up, the Rose has always been on ABC, then again ESPN is owned by ABC ... CBS had a game or two as well, but not many.