Ladd-Peebles Stadium - Home of the GMAC Bowl
From early season bowl news to players receiving some preseason award "watch list" recognition, there is plenty of football talk going around and we have the latest MAC related gridiron updates right here in our periodic "Notebook" feature.
Bowl Shuffle?
That changing landscape of the college football postseason bowl parade continues to have a potential impact on the Mid-American Conference with new bowls providing new opportunities but some current bowl alliances potentially seeing a shakeup.
As previously reported here, the Congressional Bowl was recently approved by the NCAA Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee with the MAC serving as a very realistic backup option for a game that is hoping to pit Navy against the ACC's ninth bowl eligible team. Considering that the ACC has never had more than eight bowl eligible teams, the MAC has a very realistic shot at securing a spot in the new Washington, DC based bowl.
But just as one opportunity opens up for the MAC, is another opportunity closing? It depends on who you talk to you, but the GMAC Bowl, which has had a relationship with the MAC since 2001, is exploring potential new conference alliances when its agreement with the MAC and Conference USA expires after the playing of the next game tentatively set for January 6, 2009.
The MAC has compiled 5-2 mark over its seven-year affiliation with the GMAC Bowl. Conference USA has had a team appear in the Mobile, AL based bowl every year since its inception in 1999.
Recently GMAC Bowl President Jerry Silverstein was quoted in the as indicating that the bowl game is actively exploring several options for future conference alliances. "We're talking to a lot of people and we'll probably make some changes," Silverstein told the Press-Register, adding "We hope to have some announcement to make probably in the next 60 days." Silverstein though indicated that no deals have been closed. "We're not dotting i's and crossing t's yet, but we're real close."
Shortly after the article appeared, Internet message boards were buzzing that the MAC was going to be losing its spot in the GMAC Bowl. But is it?
"To assume that discussions involving the future of the GMAC Bowl are occurring outside of the involvement of the MAC or Conference USA would be a mistake," Mid-American Conference Commissioner Rick Chryst told MAC Report Online. "We are very positive about our current relationship with the GMAC Bowl and believe there will be a continuing presence for the MAC in Mobile," added Chryst.
"Our relationship with the game is tremendous and the relationship we have with the title sponsor is outstanding," said Chryst who stopped short of speculating if the MAC will be guaranteed a spot in the bowl game beyond 2009 but was emphatic about the MAC's future postseason opportunities.
"The conference, from the presidents to the athletic directors and everyone involved, is absolutely committed to maintaining a minimum of three bowl tie-ins annually," said Chryst. The MAC currently has a guaranteed spot in the Motor City Bowl, International Bowl and GMAC Bowl.
One possible scenario, if there is a change, could include the MAC being part of a multi-tiered conference alliance with the GMAC Bowl. With its base in Mobile, AL the bowl folks are understandably looking to increase the "southern exposure" of the game. It would also be surprising if the bowl game, with its current deals nearing an end, did not investigate all future possibilities.
The GMAC Bowl's home, Ladd Peebles Stadium, is slated to as it becomes the home field for the South Alabama Jaguars as they enter the Sun Belt Conference which has likely sparked some of the speculation of possible new conference alliances with Silverstein mentioning the WAC and Sun Belt among potential new partners. Silverstein also speculated about a possible SEC alliance but that is not likely, acknowledging that the GMAC Bowl is a "mid-major" bowl. Not to mention that the SEC currently has nine bowl tie-ins.
With so many bowl opportunities now available, college football is likely to see more changes in the way bowl games structure their alliances with many of the bowls likely going away from direct conference tie-ins when new deals come up for negotiation. It is quite likely that many bowls will negotiate deals with more than two conferences at a time, or simply go the "at large" route, to ensure that it has several options and the MAC should be a player in such future negotiations.
Prior to the MAC's successful runs in the Motor City Bowl and the GMAC Bowl, the conference was nearly an unknown commodity in postseason play but the conference's demonstration of on-field competitiveness over the past decade in the postseason, and respectable television ratings, has elevated the MAC to become a regular, and respected, postseason presence.
The MAC's increased postseason profile, combined with more bowl opportunities than at any other time, will likely enable the MAC to continue to build future bowl relationships.
But don't write off the GMAC Bowl just yet.
MAC Players Earn "Watch List" Recognition
If it's spring, then that means it's also time for the annual stream of award "watch lists" and the MAC has a fairly solid representation among the early lists of candidates for postseason awards.
Below is a quick recap of the Mid-American Conference players named on some of the early "watch list" candidates released by award organizers.
Lombardi Award (best offensive or defensive lineman)
Five MAC players were named among 54 candidates for the postseason award name for the late Vince Lombardi:
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Robert Brewster
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OT
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Ball State
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Diyral Briggs
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DE
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Bowling Green
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Larry English
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DE
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Northern Illinois
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Daniel Holtzclaw
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LB
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Eastern Michigan
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Clayton Mullins
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LB
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Miami
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Rimington Trophy (top collegiate center)
The forty-four Rimington Trophy nominees included a pair of MAC centers:
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Alex Derenthal
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Temple
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Colin Miller
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Central Michigan
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Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
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Robert Brewster
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OT
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Ball State
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Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player)
The MAC received strong representation among the initial list of 88 candidates named by the Football Writers Association of America with seven candidates:
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Diyral Briggs
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DE
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Bowling Green
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Barry Church
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DB
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Toledo
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Larry English
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DE
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Northern Illinois
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Londen Fryar
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DB
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Western Michigan
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Daniel Holtzclaw
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LB
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Eastern Michigan
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Clayton Mullins
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LB
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Miami
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Andre Neblett
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DT
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Temple
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