Belk Bowl?

[hapapp]

I see no great interest in a rematch. Why would we want that?

[EastHallApp]

Two points of debate. If you care more about the destination then the game, I think your priority may be a bit distorted. The destination is a bonus to the entire reason people are going to the town to begin with, which is to watch app play. Most of these trips for the fans are 2,3 days max then we are out of there. The game is the reason we go.
Secondly, any time we can beat a power five team is a huge deal. Before this year we’ve had no success in that arena. So beating any p5 team in a bowl is bigger than beating a cusa team.

I mean, look... in 2015 I drove the 20-hour round trip to Montgomery and attended the Camellia Bowl *by myself* because I couldn't stand to miss out on App's first bowl game. So it's not that I don't care about the game. I just think that, outside of our App bubble, the difference between most bowl opponents is negligible in terms of benefit to the program.

I should acknowledge, though, that it's fair to point out that playing in, say, Charlotte, would allow considerably more App fans and students to attend, and that would certainly be a point in favor of getting some closer tie-ins. Given the crowd App could bring (and, to a lesser extent, GS), I think it would be reasonable for the SBC to try and replace CUSA as the secondary tie-in for Charlotte in the future.

[AppUSMC]

No FCS team can beat a ranked FBS team, App did.

No FCS team can win 3 NC in a row, App did

No FCS team can get votes in the AP, App did.

No transition team can expect to go to much less win a bowl game in their first year, App won 4 in a row.

No Sunbelt team can get ranked and stay there, App did.

No Sunbelt team ever got the Belk Bowl...

We have ALWAYS broken the rules as Mountaineers. Don’t tell this team they can’t do something. They’ll prove you wrong. We change the rules. We make history. Thats who we are. Thats what we do. That’s why the media loves App State. We’re different. We’re better.

Hi-Hi-y-ike-us
Nobody like us,
We are the
mountaineers!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a run up Grandfather Mountain with Yosef to snack on some granite rocks and drink triumphantly from the ole mountain jug! Eff yeah!

[ericsaid]

I'm greatly enjoying the ribbing that Ethan Joyce is getting on Twitter this morning about the Belk Bowl and the (im)possibility of App getting that invite. He's gonna snap on us bunch of knuckleheads one day

I’m hopeful the sunbelt can get someone to bend the rules for us but not betting on it. Ethan seems to have done his homework and I trust his assessment of the situation. I assume espn did little to no research as per usual.

The question is does the Sun Belt have an obligation to be truthful with Ethan when he asks? They could simply say "the contract that is in place is accurate and binding" and leave it at that. Ethan wouldn't be wrong to report that there is no way out of the contract. However, if discussions were taking place, it wouldn't be something one party in a multiple party negotiation would divulge to any member of the media.

You would think that the availability of a 10 win Louisiana team and a 9-win Louisana Tech team would provide some basis for negotiating waiving the part of the contract stipulating that the Sun Belt Champion goes to NOLA. Louisiana would finally have a shot at Louisiana Tech since their resurgence and that's a game i'd watch.

Charlotte going to the Bahamas likely also helps matters.

But in the end, it's likely to be NOLA, Mobile, Dallas (from most to least likely).

Ethan did his homework well and yes according to contracts and what not Ethan has printed things correctly. BUT and I say BUT this is a bowl game and these things are never as concrete as the contracts say. There is always and I mean always backroom deals that go on most of the time. So if there is the possibility App State goes to the Belk bowl it is only through backroom handshakes with the Sunbelt and R&L Bowl folks.

As stated, when negotiations involving more than two parties are underway, it wouldn't be advisable for either side to divulge any information if asked.

This is a situation of silence. There likely haven't been any talks but if there has, it will come out eventually through some channel.

[appstatealum]

No FCS team can beat a ranked FBS team, App did.

No FCS team can win 3 NC in a row, App did

No FCS team can get votes in the AP, App did.

No transition team can expect to go to much less win a bowl game in their first year, App won 4 in a row.

No Sunbelt team can get ranked and stay there, App did.

No Sunbelt team ever got the Belk Bowl...

We have ALWAYS broken the rules as Mountaineers. Don’t tell this team they can’t do something. They’ll prove you wrong. We change the rules. We make history. Thats who we are. Thats what we do. That’s why the media loves App State. We’re different. We’re better.

Hi-Hi-y-ike-us
Nobody like us,
We are the
mountaineers!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a run up Grandfather Mountain with Yosef to snack on some granite rocks and drink triumphantly from the ole mountain jug! Eff yeah!

I might need to line you up to do the pregame pep talk for my peewee team.

[ericsaid]

Two points of debate. If you care more about the destination then the game, I think your priority may be a bit distorted. The destination is a bonus to the entire reason people are going to the town to begin with, which is to watch app play. Most of these trips for the fans are 2,3 days max then we are out of there. The game is the reason we go.
Secondly, any time we can beat a power five team is a huge deal. Before this year we’ve had no success in that arena. So beating any p5 team in a bowl is bigger than beating a cusa team.

I mean, look... in 2015 I drove the 20-hour round trip to Montgomery and attended the Camellia Bowl *by myself* because I couldn't stand to miss out on App's first bowl game. So it's not that I don't care about the game. I just think that, outside of our App bubble, the difference between most bowl opponents is negligible in terms of benefit to the program.

I should acknowledge, though, that it's fair to point out that playing in, say, Charlotte, would allow considerably more App fans and students to attend, and that would certainly be a point in favor of getting some closer tie-ins. Given the crowd App could bring (and, to a lesser extent, GS), I think it would be reasonable for the SBC to try and replace CUSA as the secondary tie-in for Charlotte in the future.

Would give them leverage. I can't think of a single team in C-USA that would bring half the number of fans as App would. GS would likely bring 12,000 or so as well. It works well as a secondary tie-in when compared to C-USA, for sure.

You also wouldn't have to drive 20-hour round trips, it seems. Though with three young kids, if I could get permission, I'd gladly take the solitude 20 hours of driving could provide.

[Overcashed]

I mean it's not going to happen but the fact that the Belk Bowl social media team is messing with Ethan on Twitter is hilarious.

[ericsaid]

I mean it's not going to happen but the fact that the Belk Bowl social media team is messing with Ethan on Twitter is hilarious.

Would be interesting if this was their way of saying "we read your article and your sources were misinformed". They seem to enjoy trolling though. Must be nice to get paid to tweet.

[Overcashed]

They've been trolling him for the last few days. It's been pretty great to watch.

[ASU2012]

FWIW, my contact in Charlotte is saying Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech

[EastHallApp]

FWIW, my contact in Charlotte is saying Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech

And this is one of the issues with Belk - even though the SEC can't fill all its slots, Charlotte is high enough on the priority list that several others will go unfilled before it does.

Will be interesting once all the pairings come out Sunday to look at which games actually had to go outside their contracted tie-ins, and how many of those (if any) would have been preferable for App to whatever we actually get.

[EastHallApp]

Two points of debate. If you care more about the destination then the game, I think your priority may be a bit distorted. The destination is a bonus to the entire reason people are going to the town to begin with, which is to watch app play. Most of these trips for the fans are 2,3 days max then we are out of there. The game is the reason we go.
Secondly, any time we can beat a power five team is a huge deal. Before this year we’ve had no success in that arena. So beating any p5 team in a bowl is bigger than beating a cusa team.

I mean, look... in 2015 I drove the 20-hour round trip to Montgomery and attended the Camellia Bowl *by myself* because I couldn't stand to miss out on App's first bowl game. So it's not that I don't care about the game. I just think that, outside of our App bubble, the difference between most bowl opponents is negligible in terms of benefit to the program.

I should acknowledge, though, that it's fair to point out that playing in, say, Charlotte, would allow considerably more App fans and students to attend, and that would certainly be a point in favor of getting some closer tie-ins. Given the crowd App could bring (and, to a lesser extent, GS), I think it would be reasonable for the SBC to try and replace CUSA as the secondary tie-in for Charlotte in the future.

Would give them leverage. I can't think of a single team in C-USA that would bring half the number of fans as App would. GS would likely bring 12,000 or so as well. It works well as a secondary tie-in when compared to C-USA, for sure.

You also wouldn't have to drive 20-hour round trips, it seems. Though with three young kids, if I could get permission, I'd gladly take the solitude 20 hours of driving could provide.

My son was 2 at the time. The solo road trip definitely wasn't all bad.

If App ever goes to the Cure Bowl, I promised my wife we can make a family trip of it and do a theme park or two. But yeah, still hoping for NOLA.

[BallantyneApp]

FWIW, my contact in Charlotte is saying Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech

this makes a lot of sense.

I think we beat both of them this year. Sucks.

[BeauFoster]

The more the Belk Bowl trolls Ethan, the more I think that there’s a .01% chance of this happening. It won’t, but I’m allowing myself to believe for the moment.

[appstatealum]

FWIW, my contact in Charlotte is saying Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech

That’s what I have been hearing as well.

[EastHallApp]

Personally, what I would like to see (that I think is realistic with a little vision and cooperation) is an arrangement that awards the G5 conference champions with a bowl that's 1) someplace warm and/or fun, and 2) against a noteworthy opponent.

I typically define 2) as simply pairing off the four remaining champs (after the NY6 picks) in two bowl games (not semifinals - just two bowls), but it could also mean playing P5 teams. Maybe a mix of the two.

I'd just hope that if you're incorporating P5s, you'd get some sort of guarantee that the bowl will be a decent priority level for them so that they always fill the spot, preferably with a better-than-average team.

Much of the inventory for this idea already exists in current bowls with G5 tie-ins:

- New Orleans
- Las Vegas
- Cure (Orlando)
- Boca Raton
- Liberty? (Memphis, but currently P5 tie-ins)
- Hawaii?
- First Responder? (Dallas)
- Arizona? (Tucson)
- Charlotte? (currently P5 tie-ins)

You could also potentially launch new bowls in places like San Diego, San Antonio, Atlanta and/or Nashville.

Pick 4-8 cities, depending on the format, and rotate the games the way the CFP does so nobody goes to the same place over and over.

[ericsaid]

FWIW, my contact in Charlotte is saying Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech

That’s what I have been hearing as well.

Makes sense for them and the city. Virginia Tech and Tennessee filled up Bristol, I'm sure that they can do the same for Charlotte. Both schools will likely be hyped for the game considering how their seasons started.

[appstatealum]

[/b]

Would give them leverage. I can't think of a single team in C-USA that would bring half the number of fans as App would. GS would likely bring 12,000 or so as well. It works well as a secondary tie-in when compared to C-USA, for sure.

You also wouldn't have to drive 20-hour round trips, it seems. Though with three young kids, if I could get permission, I'd gladly take the solitude 20 hours of driving could provide.

My son was 2 at the time. The solo road trip definitely wasn't all bad.

If App ever goes to the Cure Bowl, I promised my wife we can make a family trip of it and do a theme park or two. But yeah, still hoping for NOLA.

I took my two little ones (9 and 5) to New Orleans last year with a layover in Auburn on the way down. They had a great time in New Orleans and are looking forward to a return trip. We even stayed in the slightly run down “House of the Rising Sun” boutique hotel in French Quarter. New Orleans had so much going on for the holidays and the Bowl crowds, it was really a great destination.

[ericsaid]

[/b]

Would give them leverage. I can't think of a single team in C-USA that would bring half the number of fans as App would. GS would likely bring 12,000 or so as well. It works well as a secondary tie-in when compared to C-USA, for sure.

You also wouldn't have to drive 20-hour round trips, it seems. Though with three young kids, if I could get permission, I'd gladly take the solitude 20 hours of driving could provide.

My son was 2 at the time. The solo road trip definitely wasn't all bad.

If App ever goes to the Cure Bowl, I promised my wife we can make a family trip of it and do a theme park or two. But yeah, still hoping for NOLA.

I took my two little ones (9 and 5) to New Orleans last year with a layover in Auburn on the way down. They had a great time in New Orleans and are looking forward to a return trip. We even stayed in the slightly run down “House of the Rising Sun” boutique hotel in French Quarter. New Orleans had so much going on for the holidays and the Bowl crowds, it was really a great destination.

I've got a few more years before they are ready for that. 7, 2, 9 months. Myrtle Beach/Orlando would be more feasible thanks to family considerations in those areas.

Sounds like you made some memories for at least the 9 year old that he won't soon forget. Kudos on tying it into football!

[BTK2000]

From bell bowl Twitter