Over the next couple of weeks we'll see attendance numbers come in for the "other bowls". For App to have leverage for a "better bowl" we're going to need to show better ticket sales and better TV ratings than other teams. We can begin to speculate how App Nation would have traveled if we had gotten chosen for a different bowl game.

We have to take into account day of the week, travel distance, and which team we replace? For example, I think we'd pack the Belk Bowl. The question is would we buy more tickets than Arkansas? And would more people tune in on a Thursday at 5:30 to watch us play Va Tech?

Today's Miami Beach Bowl is a great example. The stadium is empty, albeit a Monday afternoon game a long way from Boone. It's an 11.5 hour drive, and Miami is a lot more expensive than Montgomery. I think we'd do better than Central Michigan and Tulsa, but I don't know that we'd bring any more fans than we did to Montgomery.

Bowl schedule and desitionation:
Tuesday 12/20: Boca Raton Bowl 10 hour drive
Wednesday 12/21: Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego)
Thursday 12/22: Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise)

Friday:
12/23: Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Armed Forces Bowl (Ft. Worth)
Dollar General (Mobile)

Saturday:
12/24: Hawaii Bowl

12/26: Independence Bowl (Shreveport)
St. Petersburg Bowl
Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit)

12/27: Military Bowl (Annapolis) 6.5 hour drive
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Holiday Bowl (San Diego)
Cactus Bowl (Phoenix)

12/28: Pinstripe Bowl (NYC)
Russell Athletic Bowl (Orlando)
Foster Farms Bowl (Santa Clara, CA)
Texas Bowl (Houston)

12/29: Birmingham Bowl
Belk Bowl (Charlotte)
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio)

Friday:
12/30: Sun Bowl (El Paso)
Liberty Bowl (Memphis) - 9.5 hour drive
Music City Bowl (Nashville) - 6.5 hour drive
Arizona Bowl (Tucson)
Orange Bowl (Miami)

Saturday:
12/31: Citrus Bowl (Orlando)
Taxslayer Bowl (Jacksonville)

Monday:
1/2: Outback Bowl (Tampa)
Cotton Bowl (Dallas)
Rose Bowl (Pasadena)
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans)

So are we considering all bowls, or just those that actually had the option to take us?

EastHallApp wrote:So are we considering all bowls, or just those that actually had the option to take us?

I was looking at all of them yet to be played (minus the CFP games).

Not a chance I would be at the Miami bowl, Poinsettia, Idaho Potato, Bahamas Bowl,Hawaii Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl, ok that's enough.
There would be more that I wouldn't than would. I have gotten to the point where I HATE to fly ( used to fly 125-150 thousand miles a year ) so I peg it by a 10 ? hr drive. Montgomery was 9 1/2 for me.

I found some early attendance numbers today.

I've organized them into 3 groups based on whether I think we could beat the attendance of the current teams. My ratings are based on the difficulty of travel, date, my perception of fan base travel and general fan interest. I didn't look at the TV audience. I welcome your thoughts.

Definitely No:
12/17: New Orleans bowl: S. Miss vs. ULaLa - we might out draw the fans from nearby Southern Miss, but Hattiesburg is less than 3 hours away. But for us to get chosen for this one, we all know it would mean ULaLa doesn't get chosen. Sorry, but I just don't see any way we bring more fans than they did. And I don't see it changing in the near future.
12/17: New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. UTSA
12/17 Las Vegas Bowl: Houston vs. SDSU
Wednesday 12/21: Poinsettia Bowl: BYU vs. Wyoming (San Diego)
Thursday 12/22: Idaho Potato Bowl: Idaho vs. Colorado State (Boise)
Fri 12/23: Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: E. Michigan vs. ODU 13,400
Fri 12/23: Armed Forces Bowl: La Tech vs. Navy (Ft. Worth)
Fri 12/23: Dollar General: Ohio vs. Troy (Mobile) 32,377 *** this is why bowl's pick teams with fan bases in their back yard! I don't think we could beat a 32K attendance since we would be the Sun Belt representative against Ohio.
24- Hawaii Bowl Hawaii vs. Middle Tenn State 20,327
Monday 12/26: Independence Bowl: NC State v. Vandy (Shreveport) 28,000
Mon 12/26: Quick Lane Bowl: Maryland vs. Boston College (Detroit) 19,000 ***hard to believe we would beat these numbers for a trip to Detroit the day after Christmas.
Tues 12/27: Heart of Dallas Bowl: Army vs. N. Texas ***hard to believe we would outdraw a Texas team in Dallas, and Army is going to draw well anywhere.
Tues 12/27: Holiday Bowl: Washington State vs. Minnesota (San Diego)
Tues 12/27: Cactus Bowl: Boise St. v. Baylor (Phoenix)
Wed 12/28: Russell Athletic Bowl: West Virginia vs. Miami (Orlando)
Wed 12/28: Foster Farms Bowl: Indiana vs. Utah (Santa Clara, CA)
Wed 12/28: Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Kansas State (Houston)
Thur 12/29: Alamo Bowl: Ok State vs. Colorado (San Antonio)
Friday 12/30: Sun Bowl: Stanford vs. UNC (El Paso)
Fri 12/30: Liberty Bowl: Georgia vs. TCU (Memphis) - 9.5 hour drive
Fri 12/30: Music City Bowl: Nebraska vs. Tenn (Nashville) - 6.5 hour drive - I know we'd travel well to Nashville, but the Huskers are legendary for their fans consistent travel. And no one's outdrawing Tenn in their own their own state!
Fri 12/30: Orange Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida State (Miami)
Saturday 12/31: Citrus Bowl (Orlando) LSU vs. Louisville
Sat 12/31: Taxslayer Bowl (Jacksonville) Ga Tech vs. Kentucky
Monday 1/2: Outback Bowl (Tampa) Florida vs. Iowa
Mon 1/2: Cotton Bowl (Dallas) W. Michigan vs. Wisconsin
Mon 1/2: Rose Bowl (Pasadena) USC vs. Penn State
Mon 1/2: Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) Auburn vs. Oklahoma

Maybe:
Tuesday 12/20: Boca Raton Bowl: Memphis vs. W. Kentucky 10 hour drive -- the Tuesday is a wildcard...would require 3 days off of work for most of us the week before Christmas. Hard to believe we would bring 8K+, but Boca Raton is a great place to spend a long weekend.
Tuesday 12/27: Military Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Temple (Annapolis) 6.5 hour drive +++will be worth watching the final attendance numbers to see...I'd like to think we could outdraw WFU.
Wednesday 12/28: Pinstripe Bowl: Pitt vs. Northwestern (NYC) - it's unlikely we would bring more fans than either of these teams, nor would we outdraw local interest.
Thursday 12/29: Birmingham Bowl: USF vs. South Carolina - We would likely outdraw USF, but it would be close.
Fri 12/30: Arizona Bowl: S. Alabama vs. Air Force (Tucson) - we wouldn't bring more fans than we did to Montgomery, but I think we'd out draw S. Alabama vs the AFA. Ironic side note, it would be USA versus the Air Force Academy.

Definitely Yes:
12/17 Cure Bowl: stAte vs. UCF - yes we'd have put more fans into Orlando. But fewer people would have seen the broadcast. It's a plus for fans going to the game, but a wash for the program when it comes to exposure. Plus for recruits seeing us in their home state, and player families traveling to see their sons play.
Monday 12/19: Miami Beach Bowl C. Mich vs. Tulsa - yes we would definitely bring more fans to this game...until you notice it's noon on a Monday. No one is watching this game on TV...NO ONE! I'd say we still outdraw either team, but would we bring more than the 8k +/- we brought to Montgomery. I say no.
Mon 12/26: St. Petersburg Bowl: Miami (OH) vs. Miss St 15,700 +++ Attendance is beatable, but St. Pete is a 10+ hour drive the day after Christmas. If we replaced Miami I think the numbers are better than 15K, but not by a lot.
Thur 12/29: Belk Bowl: Arkansas vs. Va Tech (Charlotte) - Razorback fans travel well, but I think we would show up in droves in our own back yard! Is the economic impact on Mecklenburg county as strong though? Many of us would either stay with friends and family or make it a day trip. Keep in mind the bowl games are more than just butts in seats for the game, but also the restaurant and hotel impact too. I'd still say we do better than Arkansas, but it's close.

So all of that to say, I think we would beat the attendance at 4 bowl games this year if we were chosen over other teams. But outside of the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, I don't think we would bring more fans than we did to Montgomery. And I'd go a step further and say I don't think the Cure, Miami Beach or St. Pete bowls are better bowls than the Camellia Bowl. A match up vs. Miss State and Va Tech are appealing, but the other teams are all yawners, especially compared to a 9-3 Toledo. Net answer, I think we were slotted in a good spot for our program/fan base.