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Now that the St. Pete Bowl - or if you prefer The Beach Bowl - is officially set for this December - still to be determined on either the 20th, 22nd or 23rd and the payout has not been decided yet - here’s some other Big East bowl news to share with you about the upcoming season.
Big East bowl lineup: Here’s the official 2008 Big East bowl lineup according to Big East associate commissioner Nick Carparelli.
Champion (BCS)
Second selection (Gator/Sun) Gator gets first choice of either Big 12, Big East or Notre Dame; if Gator picks Big 12 team, Sun must take Big East team or Notre Dame
Third selection (Meineke Car Care)
Fourth selection (International). Yes, that’s right International is fourth.
Fifth/sixth selection (Papajohns.com and St. Pete) The bowls share this pick and work together to chose teams that will be most attractive to both bowls.
Seventh selection (Texas)
Life’s a beach for Bulls: As I wrote last month, if the University of South Florida doesn’t win the 2008 Big East title, the Bulls likely would be the obvious choice for the first Beach Bowl in Tropicana Field.
The good news for Bulls fans: at least the bowl wouldn’t want a USF-UCF rematch in St. Petersburg.
Remember after the Big East champion, the remaining bowls make its selection based on who they want. It doesn’t matter what place a team finishes, as long as the team is within one conference win, meaning a bowl can pick a 3-4 Big East team over a 4-3 team.
So if USF does not have two more Big East wins than the league’s fifth place team (where St. Pete picks), then the Bulls could fall to the St. Pete Bowl.
Of course if USF finishes second in the Big East and is nationally ranked and there are no other ranked teams, USF could end up in El Paso again or at the Car Care or Papajohns. But if it’s a logjam in the middle of the pack in the Big East - as it has been the past three years - then USF will Reach the Beach (a very good The Fixx album for you old-timers).
Goodbye Houston? The Texas Bowl in Houston has the seventh selection from the Big East - “as of today,” Carparelli told me - but that could change. Don’t be surprised if the Texas Bowl opts out of its Big East contract for 2008 - it was the final year anyway - and seeks a conference with a better geographical fit.
“I don’t think it [the Houston Bowl] is a priority,” Carparelli said. “But if they stay in our lineup, that’s fine too.”
Even if Houston remains a Big East bowl in 2008, the Big East’s 2009 bowl lineup will be: BCS, Gator/Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, St. Pete and Papajohns.com
After 2009, the bowl contracts expire with each conference, meaning you could see a free-for-all with bowls changing conference affiliations. The Papajohns.com upgrading from C-USA to the SEC on Wednesday is one example. And yes, Notre Dame remains eligible for any Big East bowl (other than the Big East champion BCS slot).
Other Big East notes: Notre Dame AD Kevin White was quoted recently by the South Bend Tribune after the Rutgers-Notre Dame series was squashed. “So we just moved on,” he said. “I think we had somebody else in 10 seconds.” White declined to name the school until contracts are signed, but he did say it was another Big East school, the South Bend Tribune reported. I checked with USF officials and it is not USF. Best guess here is that it’s Syracuse. ... Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk’s second appeal for a medical hardship waiver to get a sixth year was denied by the NCAA Wednesday, but he still has another appeal remaining, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. If Mauk is granted the appeal, the Bearcats will be one of the Big East’s top clubs. Last year, Mauk threw for 162 yards and three TDs and rushed for 75 yards in Cincy’s wild 38-33 win at USF.
Posted by Chris, Atlanta on 05/02 at 12:24 AM
What selection does the Papajohns get out of the SEC?
Posted by Brett McMurphy, on 05/01 at 11:03 AM
James, the International Bowl gets the fourth pick because that was the pick it was awarded when it joined the Big East lineup. They have a contract, so you can’t all of sudden bump them back to the sixth pick. The same as you couldn’t give St. Pete Bowl No. 2 pick ahead of Gator/Sun, who have contracts for second pick. As far as Papajohns.com getting SEC team, ESPN probably did it because B’ham is in the heart of SEC country. Remember in two years, I think you’ll see Big East go after another conference for St. Pete game - maybe a higher SEC team or an ACC team?
Posted by Michael Harding, Lakeland, FL on 05/01 at 08:03 AM
Ben Mauk needs to let it go.
Posted by James, San Antonio TX on 05/01 at 12:00 AM
Couple questions about the bowl setup. First, why was the Intl bowl placed ahead of the PJ.com bowl, since the PJ is against a BCS opponent and the intl is not. And second, since ESPN controls both the Birmingham and St Pete bowls, why didn’t the BE push for the St Pete bowl to be against a BCS (SEC) opponent instead of B’ham bowl. St Pete is a much more desirable location in winter, and has more long term potential, so it would seem the BE/ESPN would try to negotiate that into a BCS/BCS bowl before the PJ.com bowl. It sure would benefit USF if the St Pete game was against a BCS team. Thanks.
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Posted by Brett McMurphy, on 05/02 at 01:00 PM
Chris, Papajohns.com gets No. 9 from SEC. If SEC doesn’t have nine bowl-eligible teams, then the bowl would chose from other available teams in other conferences