The Rest of College Football

[WM Wolverine]

Figures reported a couple weeks ago was upwards of $400k for M's marching band in Dallas.

[whodean]

You've not shared any facts at all that support your argument.

"Economic Impact"

Bowls exist as tourism vehicles, hence the "nobody but the Bowl makes money" is false.

[Tony G]

Fans of those teams do, and that is what matters for the $$$, both from attendance and TV.

I wonder how much Vegas and the Mob make from gambling on bowl games?

[hack]

Tony is right; we haven't factored in the under-the-table economy. Think of the (mobsters') children!!!

[hack]

whodean at least we're making progress. You've gone from ``Bowls are good for pretty much everyone involved'' to ``a lot of people'' to ``more than nobody''. But if you insist that the bottom line is money, then you'd have to consider that, presuming the studies mentioned here are true, mediocre CFB teams are subsidising the tourism sectors of 30 local economies, and outside the BCS bowls the economic impact that has come about from that de factor subsidy is no greater than a rounding error. If the goal is to make money, then I've great faith that a better way to do it is possible.

[Tony G]

BTW, the superbowl, the grand daddy of the them all had 90 million bet on it. Still looking for an attempt to sum up the college games

[Tony G]

[Tony G]

How much money is bet on March Madness? It’s tough to say exactly since so much of it is done illegally through local bookies or through online sportsbooks, but we do know the Vegas casinos earn about $100 million each spring. Some guess that number reflects as little as 1%-4% of the total amount of gambling done in the United States.
NCAA tournament brackets pools alone see Americans risk around $3 billion annually, and that doesn’t even count the numerous contests put on by businesses that do not require an entry fee, but will payout prizes to winners in hopes of getting people to their stores.

[whodean]

whodean at least we're making progress. You've gone from ``Bowls are good for pretty much everyone involved'' to ``a lot of people'' to ``more than nobody''.

semantics.

My point is "no one but the Bowl makes money" isn't true. Possible money losers are only a few of the schools, all the other stakeholders profit.

if you insist that the bottom line is money

I don't, there are many other advantages to the Bowls mentioned above, my reference was only to the financial "bottom line"

[Mackenzie]

Read an article which stated Western Michigan lost $300,000 playing in the 2008 Texas Bowl against Rice. That's a lot of money for a school like Western. Something not right in a public university having to loose money to support the economy of a state half-way across the country.

[hack]

Far beyond the role of a public university, certainly.

[hack]

You did insist that the bottom line is money: ``Fans of those teams do, and that is what matters for the $$$, both from attendance and TV.'' But looking back in this thread, you have insisted on a whole bunch of things -- whatever works to support the bowl system, regardless of where the money falls, whether anyone apart from you and some other diehards care, and whether it makes sense for universities to, through their athletic programs, subsidize one sector in 30 American cities. Also, UM fans are spoiled, you say. So it's clear -- you like the bowls. That much, we do know.

[whodean]

I like college football, Bowls included. There is a role for the Bowls in College Football and I don't think any of them should be done away with unless they no longer serve their function of being a tourist attraction and generating publicity and excitement for football programs. I guess if we ever get to a 64 team playoff there will be no need for Bowls (and we all know that will never happen).

``Fans of those teams do, and that is what matters for the $$$, both from attendance and TV.''

was in response to

Does anyone get excited to see who is the better of the Big 12 #7 and the Big East #5 (or whatever)?

Fans getting excited isn't only about the bottom line, the Bowls are tourist events.

Also, UM fans are spoiled, you say.

Context is important, in terms of Bowl games, yes M fans expect a good Bowl, and it seems like from this line of debate don't respect fans of other programs' perspective.

[WM Wolverine]

It looks like along with a playoff, the movers and shakers in CFB would like to setup a lot of other top bowl games (~10 games) instead of relying on tie-ins. I don't like this but its one of the options on the table.

[drok]

I'm having a hard time understanding why us as college football fans give a rats ass about whether Jacksonville or whatever godforsaken bowl town is able to rake in tourism dollars. I'd much rather see those dollars that WE are spending go back to our team's bottom line than some idiot in a yellow jacket making 6 figures for providing a place to have a game that most don't care to watch in a half empty stadium that is a money loser for most teams involved. Keep the matchups that are interesting and scrap the rest.