This bowl replaces a bowl that existed earlier in the season but was taken off the calendar for COVID-related reasons. (The Redbox Bowl in San Francisco, because they suspected, perhaps correctly, that people who have no connection to the Bay Area wouldn’t be willing to travel on no notice and put up with San Francisco’s COVID restrictions, which are much stricter than most everywhere else.)
I think the proper way to look at this is that when the season started, this bowl existed, and every bowl-eligible team would have gone to a game. This game simply restores the status quo.
I also think that if we want to say this bowl was “created for” anyone, it was actually created for the organizers of the Hawaii Bowl. At 6-7, Hawaii was ineligible unless all 6-6 teams were spoken for. One of the last 6-6 teams could have been shipped to Hawaii to play Memphis while another sat home, but the COVID restrictions in Hawaii are even more severe than the San Francisco ones that prompted cancellation of the Redbox Bowl. Unless Hawaii was in the Hawaii Bowl–which is the default for that game–it was going to be played in front of empty stands and be a massive loss for the organizers. Restoring the original bowl calendar allowed all 6-6 teams to go to a mainland game, opening up a slot for Hawaii to play at home in the Hawaii Bowl and sell a lot of tickets.
Agree that the impetus for the NCAA to OK the Frisco event was to get Hawaii into their primary bowl. But Hawaii won’t sell many seats. The decrepit Aloha Bowl was condemned and torn down. The Rainbow Warriors are playing in a small (9,000 seats) on-campus soccer stadium this season.
The NCAA also avoided having to say “we don’t like you” to a single team and university and thereby greatly embarrassing that program - which was probably going to be either UNT or us.
And they also avoided the LIU issue altogether which could have sent WVU and Miami to the end of the line of 6-6 teams, leaving Miami on the outside looking in and making the Mountaineers the 84th choice of teams.
Interesting that they rested their decision on the fact that the previously approved bowl in San Francisco was canceled and created a new temporary bowl in Frisco - ironically another disparaging name for Baghdad by the Bay. The result is basically granting UNT one final home game.
$615 RT per ticket airfare from ILM or MYR to DFW on 12/22-12/24. We’ll be watching at home on the sofa this bowl season. Was hoping for something like the Lending Tree experience in 2019. Oh, well. Maybe next year! Go RedHawks!
Maybe this should be “The Ultimatum Bowl” - Chuck wins or we have a cheaper buy out? You absolutely cannot lose this OOC game and have a losing season Chuck!
Having said that I wish you and the team the best of luck.
Looks like they’ve been averaging about 6K to the soccer stadium, which is probably 5500 more than Miami or North Texas v. Memphis would have been. It’s something, anyway.
What do you call someone who graduates last in their class from Med School?
Doctor.
Miami is going bowling. The seniors get an extra game. The program gets a bowl game to our record. I get to watch Miami play football one more time this season. It would be nice if it was a more “prestigious” game. Sure, but it’s still better than not having one more game.
“Miami hasn’t beaten an FBS opponent outside the MidAmerican Conference since 2011.”
What’s been known to us for years is now a growing national storyline in college football. The demons must be exorcised in Frisco on December 23. This story MUST NOT be allowed to carry over into next season.
I was a little surprised to see our OOC futility mentioned by so many previews of the bowl match up w North Texas. It’s embarrassing to see in print so hopefully this gives Chuck some added incentive to “get the monkey off his back” in the Frisco Football Classic.
It will be hard to fuel enthusiasm for next season if we continue the futility streak by losing to what is basically another mediocre program - a 6-6 CUSA team. If we do, “the streak” - like the number of times “Old Crimson” has appeared at GameDay - will be the focus of coverage of Miami football when we kick off the season at Kentucky on Labor Day weekend. It simply has to end now!
New here, first post… be gentle please Been living in Dallas the last 20 yrs, stoked for Miami to finally play a game that I can actually get to without tons of effort/cost. Unfortunately there’s not much of an alumni base here so it will definitely be a sizable Mean Green crowd. But the upside of Miami playing a “road” game here against UNT is the potential exposure to football crazy Texas high school kids who have little insight to Miami’s long football tradition and academic standards. Wondering how much effort will the staff place on increasing exposure and recruiting while in this part of the country, or if they even target Texas kids these days?? Every quality high school kid I know wants to play at the next level around here
Been living in Dallas the last 20 yrs, stoked for Miami to finally play a game that I can actually get to without tons of effort/cost. Unfortunately there’s not much of an alumni base here so it will definitely be a sizable Mean Green crowd. But the upside of Miami playing a “road” game here against UNT is the potential exposure to football crazy Texas high school kids who have little insight to Miami’s long football tradition and academic standards. Wondering how much effort will the staff place on increasing exposure and recruiting while in this part of the country, or if they even target Texas kids these days?? Every quality high school kid I know wants to play at the next level around here