Increase in bowl games expected to be hot topic
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
The growing question of how many bowl games college football can support will be the overriding topic of debate when the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing subcommittee begins three days of meetings today in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"We are approaching our limit, according to the historical date we've seen," Dennis Poppe, NCAA managing director for football, said.
The 12-member committee, which includes Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano, associate athletic director at Hawai'i, is being asked to license a record 30 games for the 2005 season.
With 119 schools expected to field Division I-A teams in 2005, according to Poppe, it could be a tight fit if all 30 bowls were licensed. Last year, with 117 teams, 59 teams were bowl-eligible for the 56 available spots and teams were at a premium when Clemson and South Carolina were withdrawn from consideration after a regular season-ending brawl.
Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said: "I think there is a feeling that we have to be very careful that we have enough eligible teams available at bowl time. So, we're looking at it very carefully to make sure we are not placed in a situation where bowls don't have enough eligible teams."
All 28 existing bowls, including the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, plus two new applicants, the International Bowl in Toronto and the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego go before the committee for licensing.
With the possible exception of one or two of the four bowls — Las Vegas, New Orleans, Emerald and Silicon Valley — that were "certified with concern" by the committee last year after struggling to meet minimum requirements, all existing games are expected to receive routine relicensing.
Bowls are required to average 25,000 actual attendance or 70 percent of stadium capacity over a three-year period or risk losing their licenses.
The Silicon Valley Football Classic, which is affiliated with the Western Athletic Conference, is the most at-risk of the existing bowls after attracting 5,494 fans in 2004. It drew 18,000 in 2003.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said, "I believe the current bowl system can accommodate 30 bowls and 60 teams," and said the conference was going to bat on behalf of relicensing the Silicon Valley Classic and granting a new license to the Poinsettia Bowl.
The WAC, which sent its champion to the San Diego-based Holiday Bowl from 1978 to 1998, hopes to land a place in the Poinsettia Bowl, which would be operated by the same people.
The WAC, which has averaged four bowl-eligible teams per year over the past six seasons, has agreements with the Hawai'i, Silicon, MPC Computers and GMAC bowls.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
