If no NY6 then where?

[ericsaid]

No SBC team would choose the other 4 bowl tie-ins over the NOLA bowl which is what the CUSA champ has the option to do.

9 out of 10 years this arrangement is favorable for the SBC champ, and based upon the current rankings it still is.

How would playing Marshall, other than for novelty, better than playing a SEC or ACC team in a bowl?

That's a matter of personal preference, but playing a 6-6 SEC/ACC team as our season finale isn't all that intriguing. We already have 2 P5 wins. A game against a CUSA (peer) champion would provide bragging rights for App and the SBC.

Sure, we all love to win games against the P5 but I refuse to buy into the narrative that ANY P5 game is better than a game against the G5, even if that G5 team is a quality "peer" of ours.

App, if they are in NOLA, aren't going to get a game against the C-USA Champion though. The Champion will likely try to take a bowl in an area they recruit and where the match-up is against a high visibility opponent. If they get a game against a 7-5 P5 team instead of App, they will take it. That leaves App with number 2 or number 3.

Would you rather play the number 3 C-USA team or number 5 ACC team? New Orleans may be a fine destination but the turnout for a game in Charlotte would be much higher and another win over a 5th place ACC team would provide more credence to App's progress from a national perspective than a win over FAU.

You say that with a lot of authority, but why wouldn't the CUSA choose New Orleans? One of the most likely conference championship games for CUSA at this point is La. Tech vs. Marshall. Southern Miss is also in the mix as well as FAI. Pretty sure La Tech recruits New Orleans area, as does Southern Miss. Marshall doesn't have lots of "local" bowls to choose from and frankly I think they'd love to play us. FAI might choose to go elsewhere closer to home. I think there is a significant chance we could get the champ.

Also, what makes you think we would get the #5 position from any P5 tie-in? My guess is that we would wind up lower in the pecking order but I'd love to hear your support for that number. To answer your question, I would be disappointed with playing the #3 CUSA team so I would rather play the #5 ACC, but that isn't the scenario I was discussing and isn't a likely one (my opinion).

The number was in relation to the only tie-in outside the Sun Belt that all parties involved and vested could make an argument for, other than the ACC and AAC, the Belk Bowl. Obviously it isn't going to happen but it's just for making an argument.

If you look at the C-USA bowl tie-ins, they get a P5 team and an AAC program. Depending on who the likely opponent is in either one of those bowls, and location, do you not believe that the first two programs would take a good long look at it to see who they would match-up with and the potential exposure that could provide? UAB chose the Boca Raton Bowl last season and i'm not sure if it was because of the AAC tie-in and they believed that they would play someone other than Northern Illinois or it had more to do with recruiting.

You have the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa against an AAC team. Then you have the Independence Bowl against an ACC team (likely Florida State). Depending on the Frisco Bowl tie in this year, Louisiana Tech could choose to go there due to their proximity to Texas.

If Louisiana Tech wins the conference, I could see them going to New Orleans but like Louisiana, i'm sure that they may go elsewhere considering they have the first pick. I couldn't see Marshall choosing New Orleans though App might make that an interesting choice considering the future scheduling and history.

FAU or Marshall would be ideal for different reasons if you have no other choice. Southern Miss doesn't move the needle much and despite Louisiana Tech's success and the bowl atmosphere that playing an in-state team would provide, neither do they. From a football player perspective i'm sure it doesn't matter who the opponent is because they have 5-0 on the line.

[MAD Doctor]

I wish the pathetic CUSA would man up and send their champion to New Orleans, whoever it is. They’d rather sacrifice their #2 or #3 and claim we couldn’t beat their best.

[t4pizza]

New Orleans Bowl plain and simple. Anything else means we didn't win the SunBelt. Look, I get people don't like our bowl tie in opponents but they are what they are. Just a couple of years ago we were all begging for a tie-in to the New Orleans Bowl for the SunBelt champ so they wouldn't just pic Louisiana again and again despite our better record. Now we have that and now we want more? I want us to go to the access bowl but if we don't our best option is the New Orleans Bowl because it means we won our conference. Not to mention, New Orleans is a fantastic destination that is easy and cheap to travel to for most of our fan base. There isn't another city that is better for a bowl game in my opinion.

You might be slightly missing the point. We are not going to go 12-1 with two p5 wins very often. It would be a shame to waste this year on that bowl against a 8-4 southern miss team. This is a special year and a unique opportunity to grab something bigger. That’s why people are frustrated. I liken it to being on the ncaa basketball bubble. Schools like ours aren’t there much

No, I get the point exactly. It is a bunch of people complaining that if we win the SunBelt and don't get the access bowl than we have to go to New Orleans against what we now perceive to be a below our level peer G5 team. It reeks of entitlement and sounds like we are a bunch of spoiled kids that are never satisfied with our gifts even though we asked for them and really wanted them badly just a year ago. If we don't make the Cotton Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl is are absolute best destination. Those are the rules we agreed to play by and we need to be happy with that situation. Now is not the time to try to change the rules that our conference provides for us. Those are off season decisions that must be made by the school Presidents that determine how the conference is run. Complaining just makes us sound like very sore winners.

[Seattleapp]

New Orleans Bowl plain and simple. Anything else means we didn't win the SunBelt. Look, I get people don't like our bowl tie in opponents but they are what they are. Just a couple of years ago we were all begging for a tie-in to the New Orleans Bowl for the SunBelt champ so they wouldn't just pic Louisiana again and again despite our better record. Now we have that and now we want more? I want us to go to the access bowl but if we don't our best option is the New Orleans Bowl because it means we won our conference. Not to mention, New Orleans is a fantastic destination that is easy and cheap to travel to for most of our fan base. There isn't another city that is better for a bowl game in my opinion.

You might be slightly missing the point. We are not going to go 12-1 with two p5 wins very often. It would be a shame to waste this year on that bowl against a 8-4 southern miss team. This is a special year and a unique opportunity to grab something bigger. That’s why people are frustrated. I liken it to being on the ncaa basketball bubble. Schools like ours aren’t there much

No, I get the point exactly. It is a bunch of people complaining that if we win the SunBelt and don't get the access bowl than we have to go to New Orleans against what we now perceive to be a below our level peer G5 team. It reeks of entitlement and sounds like we are a bunch of spoiled kids that are never satisfied with our gifts even though we asked for them and really wanted them badly just a year ago. If we don't make the Cotton Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl is are absolute best destination. Those are the rules we agreed to play by and we need to be happy with that situation. Now is not the time to try to change the rules that our conference provides for us. Those are off season decisions that must be made by the school Presidents that determine how the conference is run. Complaining just makes us sound like very sore winners.

Your response had nothing to do with what I said. You like New Orleans. Got it, but what I said about our season season and fans wishing we could parley it into a unique opportunity to play a better opponent is not being entitled. And no one is being a sore winner except maybe you. It’s funny to me that you have been one of the loudest drums banging about our being ranked but oddly don’t have the same “dreamer” mentality of wishfully playing a power 5 opponent in a bowl. Would rather play an 8-4 Florida Atlantic team in the bowl we were just in. And make no mistake. Any other year I’d agree with you. But not this year

[t4pizza]

New Orleans Bowl plain and simple. Anything else means we didn't win the SunBelt. Look, I get people don't like our bowl tie in opponents but they are what they are. Just a couple of years ago we were all begging for a tie-in to the New Orleans Bowl for the SunBelt champ so they wouldn't just pic Louisiana again and again despite our better record. Now we have that and now we want more? I want us to go to the access bowl but if we don't our best option is the New Orleans Bowl because it means we won our conference. Not to mention, New Orleans is a fantastic destination that is easy and cheap to travel to for most of our fan base. There isn't another city that is better for a bowl game in my opinion.

You might be slightly missing the point. We are not going to go 12-1 with two p5 wins very often. It would be a shame to waste this year on that bowl against a 8-4 southern miss team. This is a special year and a unique opportunity to grab something bigger. That’s why people are frustrated. I liken it to being on the ncaa basketball bubble. Schools like ours aren’t there much

No, I get the point exactly. It is a bunch of people complaining that if we win the SunBelt and don't get the access bowl than we have to go to New Orleans against what we now perceive to be a below our level peer G5 team. It reeks of entitlement and sounds like we are a bunch of spoiled kids that are never satisfied with our gifts even though we asked for them and really wanted them badly just a year ago. If we don't make the Cotton Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl is are absolute best destination. Those are the rules we agreed to play by and we need to be happy with that situation. Now is not the time to try to change the rules that our conference provides for us. Those are off season decisions that must be made by the school Presidents that determine how the conference is run. Complaining just makes us sound like very sore winners.

Your response had nothing to do with what I said. You like New Orleans. Got it, but what I said about our season season and fans wishing we could parley it into a unique opportunity to play a better opponent is not being entitled. And no one is being a sore winner except maybe you. It’s funny to me that you have been one of the loudest drums banging about our being ranked but oddly don’t have the same “dreamer” mentality of wishfully playing a power 5 opponent in a bowl. Would rather play an 8-4 Florida Atlantic team in the bowl we were just in. And make no mistake. Any other year I’d agree with you. But not this year

I bang the drum about being ranked because we deserve to be ranked. It is that simple. I will also bang the drum about us getting into an Access Bowl, because we are deserving under the rules. However, to whine and moan about wishing we had a better bowl tie than our conference does is just entitlement pure and simple. Do I wish the Sun Belt had a stronger bargaining power when we agreed to the bowl tie-ins and was able to get better quality opponents? Of course I do. But we didn't and so we don't. Therefore, without a Cotton Bowl bid, the New Orleans Bowl is absolutely the best we can hope for in the current set up and it doesn't make it a waste of a great season just because you or others don't perceive our opponent as worthy. That is the part that sounds like sore winners. It is very much akin to the P5 looking down their nose at lowly G5 teams, or FBS to FCS, etc. Whatever CUSA team that we play is a peer G5 team and I look forward to dominating them and continuing to show the country what we are. If you can't see that your viewpoint that 'our potential opponent isn't worthy of our competition and we should have a better quality opponent to play otherwise our special year is wasted' is an entitle viewpoint than I just don't know what to say.

[JMappfan5]

" If you can't see that your viewpoint that 'our potential opponent isn't worthy of our competition and we should have a better quality opponent to play otherwise our special year is wasted' is an entitle viewpoint than I just don't know what to say."

That's the same way that Toledo fans felt and verbalized!!! Glad we kicked their pompous asses! Getting to New Orleans will be an honor that this team has earned and I will not denigrate our opponent. I, too, will be disappointed if we don't get to the Cotton Bowl. But this has been an amazing ride during our FBS years and especially this season. 1-0 baby!!!

[WVAPPeer]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

[shortfatoldapp]

Quit with the entitlement BS! A team has a GREAT year, it should be deserving (you want to call it entitlement) of a better bowl, or a least a better opponent. You only get so many "football year's" and a great year should be rewarded appropriately!

[ericsaid]

New Orleans Bowl plain and simple. Anything else means we didn't win the SunBelt. Look, I get people don't like our bowl tie in opponents but they are what they are. Just a couple of years ago we were all begging for a tie-in to the New Orleans Bowl for the SunBelt champ so they wouldn't just pic Louisiana again and again despite our better record. Now we have that and now we want more? I want us to go to the access bowl but if we don't our best option is the New Orleans Bowl because it means we won our conference. Not to mention, New Orleans is a fantastic destination that is easy and cheap to travel to for most of our fan base. There isn't another city that is better for a bowl game in my opinion.

You might be slightly missing the point. We are not going to go 12-1 with two p5 wins very often. It would be a shame to waste this year on that bowl against a 8-4 southern miss team. This is a special year and a unique opportunity to grab something bigger. That’s why people are frustrated. I liken it to being on the ncaa basketball bubble. Schools like ours aren’t there much

No, I get the point exactly. It is a bunch of people complaining that if we win the SunBelt and don't get the access bowl than we have to go to New Orleans against what we now perceive to be a below our level peer G5 team. It reeks of entitlement and sounds like we are a bunch of spoiled kids that are never satisfied with our gifts even though we asked for them and really wanted them badly just a year ago. If we don't make the Cotton Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl is are absolute best destination. Those are the rules we agreed to play by and we need to be happy with that situation. Now is not the time to try to change the rules that our conference provides for us. Those are off season decisions that must be made by the school Presidents that determine how the conference is run. Complaining just makes us sound like very sore winners.

If App goes 12-1 with two wins against Flagship P5 programs and a resume on par with those of the top of the AAC, shouldn't they be entitled to something better than 8-4 or 7-5 Marshall in New Orleans? A sense of entitlement would seem to suggest that you think you deserve something that you haven't earned.

I've also never heard someone say "sore winner". Fans aren't boasting about the prowess of the App State brand. We waited since 2007 for another P5 win. That included beat downs to LSU, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Clemson and Miami. A decent performance against a CFP bound Georgia team. And close called against Wake, Penn State, and Tennessee.

App finally got over the hump and beat UNC and USC, are in position for two ten win seasons in a row, and to win a conference championship. Yet App is relegated to playing in NOLA against the 3rd C-USA team. It's not a superiority complex so much as it is wanting to push the envelope of the current iteration of the App State football team that, by all accounts, is having a program defining season.

We don't know if this will be the pinnacle for the next decade or if this season is just another stepping stone to establishing consistent double digit win seasons. This run could be akin to 2005 to 2009 or 2019 could be the new 2009 where 2020 through 2025 see transition. There isn't a sense of entitlement so much as knowledge of how fleeting these types of seasons can be. Sue me for believing the Sun Belt erred in committing the Sun Belt Champion to NOLA while NOLA didn't request the same of the other conference tie-in. For all the things that the Sun Belt has done right, this is an error. It's an error because Cure will be moving to ESPN in 2020 providing the same exposure as New Orleans with a better tie-in (AAC). Yet, we don't know if NOLA has improved it's opposing conference tie-in or if the new team will be from the MAC.

Last point, Toledo fans were upset when they were matched up with App State after being 11-2. I don't think the App State football team will feel the letdown that Toledo experienced because there is still 5-0 in Bowls on the line. However, I think we now understand why Toledo felt that way; they understood that moment in time may have been the pinnacle for sometime and they felt they could play in a more desirable bowl. They had good reason to feel that way because in 2018 they went 7-5 and in 2019 they are looking at 6-6.

[ericsaid]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

The few - "Because uh...the App State....they go to NOLA and we should bow down to the league offices and say thank you!"

The majority - There is no good reason. The Sun Belt, if 6 teams are eligible, would be doing a disservice to their constituent members by not pushing App to a Bowl with a higher payout. Filling 5 existing bowls and sending App somewhere with a higher payout only increases the amount of money distributed to member schools of the Sun Belt. For the App administration and ESPN, it would seem wise as well. ESPN wouldn't be pushing App games to their linear network if there wasn't an audience. Attempting to work with all parties, assuming Louisiana could get New Orleans, would make sense.

[t4pizza]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

They wouldn't be looking because contractually we are tied to our bowls. All other bowls also have contractual tie-ins and most have contractual back ups in case the tie-in conference can't produce enough bowl eligible teams. The Belt commissioner has stated that the Belt has no waiver policy in place in order for a team (even if supported by the conference) to not go to a contractually tie-in bowl and seek another one. It is out of the Sun Belt, and our, hands. Now, considering that ESPN owns the vast majority of the bowls, the powers that be at ESPN could find a way to make an exception for the conference tie-ins. But I don't see that happening. If we try to change, we breach the contract, it is that simple. ESPN changing would also be a breach but since I imagine it would inure to the benefit of App (and the Belt), I am sure that our side would agree and not seek to maintain the contract for that year, although not sure what other conference contracts that action might breach.

[t4pizza]

Quit with the entitlement BS! A team has a GREAT year, it should be deserving (you want to call it entitlement) of a better bowl, or a least a better opponent. You only get so many "football year's" and a great year should be rewarded appropriately!

It isn't a matter of deserving, we play in a conference that is contractually tied to certain bowls. Whether we like it our not, we knew the rules and agreed to play by the rules and now because we are having a special season we want to change the rules to benefit us. Call me crazy, but that sounds like an entitled fan base to me. We will be rewarded appropriately if we continue to win, either a Cotton Bowl bid or the New Orleans Bowl, those are the options per the contracts of the conference and therefore it is an appropriate bowl.

[t4pizza]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

The few - "Because uh...the App State....they go to NOLA and we should bow down to the league offices and say thank you!"

The majority - There is no good reason. The Sun Belt, if 6 teams are eligible, would be doing a disservice to their constituent members by not pushing App to a Bowl with a higher payout. Filling 5 existing bowls and sending App somewhere with a higher payout only increases the amount of money distributed to member schools of the Sun Belt. For the App administration and ESPN, it would seem wise as well. ESPN wouldn't be pushing App games to their linear network if there wasn't an audience. Attempting to work with all parties, assuming Louisiana could get New Orleans, would make sense.

Nobody ever said we should bow down to the league and say thank you. Although, I for one am happy they changed the rule last year to mandate that the Sun Belt champ gets the Nola Bowl. It is just pointed out the the other scenarios are currently not in our control or even our conferences control. ESPN is the only party that could make any of these changes and I seriously doubt they could do it without breaching another contract with some other conference bowl tie-in but admittedly I don't know for sure because I haven't read any of those contracts. It is common knowledge though that bowls all have contractual tie ins and most have contractual backups so not sure how ESPN gets around it. This isn't 40 years ago where bowls went out and searched for teams to play against each other, all of these bowl match ups are predetermined and easily seen with a little research. Not sure why ESPN would want to make an exception, breach potentially multiple contracts just because App is having a really good year. There is a team that has a really good year every year and this stuff never happens.

[havefunkc]

Assuming we win out (last 2 games + SBCG), NOLA is the answer due to formal Sun Belt tie-in. Unless Boise St and/or AAC fail across the board, NY6 bowl is not in the cards this year - regardless of how special we as fans feel the team played this year. At this point - we are in the Sun Belt and those are the cards we have. Want better? Keep winning and get out of the Sun Belt... The Sun Belt loves the tie-in to New Orleans and will not give up the affiliation that was well established before we joined the conference.

Now, IF we go to and lose the SBCG, then Orlando is the destination. Sun Belt announced last year, loser of SBCG goes to Cure Bowl: https://katc.com/news/2018/11/27/sun-be ... cure-bowl/. I haven't seen anything changing that for this year...

Belk Bowl would be nice, but not realistic due to formal tie-ins with P5 (TV $). Then, of course, there is always the new Myrtle Beach Bowl coming 2020. Locally, that could be interesting...

[t4pizza]

Here is an article that shows all the bowl contractual tie ins. Some conference have secondary ties ins that allow the conference to send a team if the primary conference does not have enough eligible teams. The Sun Belt does not have any of these secondary tie ins. As everyone can plainly see from the list, there are no open landing spots reserved for teams that have special seasons.

https://collegefootballnews.com/2019/01 ... conference

Admittedly, there is an error on the Sun Belt section where is says the Nola bowl is against the MWC instead of CUSA even though under those respective conference it has it correct. I chalk that up to a typo.

[Seattleapp]

We get it. T4pizza LOVES New Orleans. He is defending us going to New Orleans like he’s on the sun belt board. Or he just likes bourbon street and can’t wait to go back. Either way you are still missing the huuuuge point that while the sun belt sends it conference champion, which is in North Carolina potentially, conference USA sends whoever. And that takes the luster off the matchup and in a lot of ways voids the entire New Orleans bowl game itself. I don’t think you are even reading anyone one else’s points of view before you say ridiculous things like “entitled fans”. It strikes me as odd that you lament all the reasons we should be ranked, of which there are many, but can also be debated, but don’t even want to entertain the notion of us at least wishing we could play in a bigger profile bowl this year should we end up 12-1. Calling the fans whiny and entitled for wanting that is not a great look.

[t4pizza]

There is no debate because we have a contractual bowl tie in, it is just that simple. Do I wish we had a better option, yes I do, but we don't. Do I understand wanting to play a perceived better quality opponent, yes I do, but we have no control over that. There is just no way to achieve what many wish we could. It is just that simple. I have read every post and assure you that I understand it all, I just realize that it is not possible with the current contractual tie ins. I am not saying that WANTING a better bowl game is entitled, I am saying that the attitude that our conference SHOULD be trying to get us a better game because we are having a special season and DESERVE it is entitled. And I am not defending us going to New Orleans, I am saying that I hope we go, if we don't get the Access Bowl, because that is absolutely the best option that is available to us and if we aren't there it is because we aren't Sun Belt champs and I don't want to see that day. There is a huge difference in debating a ranking system that is purely subjective versus a bowl tie in that is completely objective based on contractual tie ins. To me the bowl issue is just black and white with no grey area at all, but that is just how I see the world. The rankings on the other hand are almost all grey areas.

[EastHallApp]

Does everyone understand that the Sun Belt arranging the automatic NOLA tie-in (midseason, no less) was AS A FAVOR to App State? Like, this was something we almost certainly lobbied for so that we wouldn't get sent to Alabama for the fourth straight year?

The league, the NOLA Bowl, whoever... they can't just make CUSA do the same, especially with no notice. If they hadn't taken that step last year, the result would absolutely, 100% not be App State in some P5 bowl. It would have been us taking our Sun Belt title to Montgomery or Mobile, last year and (if we win it) again this year. We all get that, right?

Could they have made it instead that the winner gets its pick of the primary tie-ins? Sure, but where would you have rather gone than NOLA? To the Cure Bowl to play 6-6 Tulane so we can say we beat "an AAC team" in a game about 100 people watched on CBSSN?

As far as backing out of the primary tie-ins, the bowls do get some leverage here, too. If you're a bowl exec, and the Sun Belt says to you "We'd like you to agree to guarantee to take our champion, regardless of whether there's another team that would sell more tickets... oh, but if they happen to be particularly good, they can opt out and go wherever they want," how are you going to feel about that deal?

It just seems like ever since we joined the Sun Belt, people have posted about the bowl tie-ins as if they're set in stone for eternity, even as they've frequently changed. The SBC getting the automatic bid for NOLA was a boon for us for the next couple years. It doesn't lock the league into that arrangement forever, it was just a good stopgap measure to prevent its best program (read: App State) from getting screwed over every year until the contracts were up for renewal.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

The few - "Because uh...the App State....they go to NOLA and we should bow down to the league offices and say thank you!"

The majority - There is no good reason. The Sun Belt, if 6 teams are eligible, would be doing a disservice to their constituent members by not pushing App to a Bowl with a higher payout. Filling 5 existing bowls and sending App somewhere with a higher payout only increases the amount of money distributed to member schools of the Sun Belt. For the App administration and ESPN, it would seem wise as well. ESPN wouldn't be pushing App games to their linear network if there wasn't an audience. Attempting to work with all parties, assuming Louisiana could get New Orleans, would make sense.

This is what I'm thinking. I'd be happy with the NO Bowl, but if 6 teams are eligible and we can fill all our bowl slots for the SunBelt and there is a higher profile bowl in the southeast that wants us, this makes complete sense.

[ericsaid]

"Whining - moaning - whatever" --- My question (and I still don't believe I have seen an answer/opinion) IS - Why wouldn't the SB be looking for possible landing spots for a 12-1 highly ranked APP team? - It would certainly create a higher exposure to have APP in more of a "name bowl" against a good P5 team? - They still would have ULL to ticket into the NO Bowl where their crowd would multiply numerous times and if they could match ULL with La Tech they could have a HUGE crowd - That seems like a WIN-WIN for all parties --- Of course, I haven't forgotten that ULL could still end up there as the SB champion.

The few - "Because uh...the App State....they go to NOLA and we should bow down to the league offices and say thank you!"

The majority - There is no good reason. The Sun Belt, if 6 teams are eligible, would be doing a disservice to their constituent members by not pushing App to a Bowl with a higher payout. Filling 5 existing bowls and sending App somewhere with a higher payout only increases the amount of money distributed to member schools of the Sun Belt. For the App administration and ESPN, it would seem wise as well. ESPN wouldn't be pushing App games to their linear network if there wasn't an audience. Attempting to work with all parties, assuming Louisiana could get New Orleans, would make sense.

This is what I'm thinking. I'd be happy with the NO Bowl, but if 6 teams are eligible and we can fill all our bowl slots for the SunBelt and there is a higher profile bowl in the southeast that wants us, this makes complete sense.

This isn't going to happen because of tie-ins and contracts, but Yahoo! Sports in it's Week 12 iteration of bowl predictions had App matched up with SMU in Frisco. That would be fun considering the comments made by Aresco. Frisco is also owned by ESPN the percentage chance increases from 0.0% to 1.5%, should App win out and the Sun Belt fill their obligations outside of the NOLA - Champ designation.

App fans could also experience where I suspect they would've played had the decision to go FBS not been made.