<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Official of SEC says Liberty an option</span>

By Ron Higgins
August 9, 2005

A Southeastern Conference official said Monday that the AutoZone Liberty Bowl has received a lot of support from SEC athletic directors about becoming one of the league's bowl tie-ins in 2006.

SEC executive associate commissioner Mark Womack said the league is primarily talking to the Liberty Bowl and the ev1.net Bowl in Houston about its remaining opening. The bowl in Houston is in the final year of a three-year contract with the SEC, and the league has yet to have a team qualify for the bowl.

"The athletic directors in our league have been very complimentary about Memphis and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl," Womack said. "If you look at the history of the SEC in Memphis, we've had a lot of different teams participate in the game.

"Memphis certainly fits in the geographical footprint of our league, for not only Western Division teams but also for the Eastern Division. It's a bowl trip that's driveable for most of the fans in our league, and it's a good, rewarding trip for our student-athletes. Memphis has a lot of positives."

Womack said he, SEC commissioner Mike Slive and AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart will resume talks this week. Slive and Womack were on vacation last week. Womack said he and Slive hope to have all the information they need from Memphis and Houston when the SEC athletic directors hold a regularly scheduled meeting Aug. 25 at the league office in Birmingham.

Last week during Conference USA media day, Ehrhart and the bowl's board heard a presentation from Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky about the future of the league as it expands to 12 teams this season and adds a championship game. Memphis football coach Tommy West also spoke.

The Conference USA contract with the Liberty Bowl expires after the season. Ehrhart said he might leave this year's spot opposite C-USA open for the Dec. 31 game, although he has had discussions with the Mountain West, Western Athletic Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference for a one-year deal.

"We haven't made any deals with anybody," Ehrhart said Monday, referring to the '06 contract. "But I'm hoping to get something done by the time football season starts. I think what has happened with other bowls has accelerated the process."

The ACC already has contracts with eight bowls starting in '06, including a Music City Bowl tie-in with the SEC. The Big 12 already has seven bowls for '06, and hopes to add one. The Big East is far from setting its bowl lineup, and the SEC has one spot available, so that could be the probable bowl matchup starting in '06.

Slive said two weeks ago that he wants the SEC to play only fellow BCS conference teams in bowl games. Ehrhart said he is aware that possibly choosing the SEC over Conference USA is an emotional, hot-button issue.

"To have this much passion about our bowl is good," Ehrhart said. "We're getting input from our sponsor AutoZone, from our network TV partner ESPN and from many of the people who locally have contributed their help for the 40 previous years we've had the bowl in Memphis."

While Ehrhart said that Banowsky and West delivered "excellent presentations" last week, he's also faced with what he can do to keep the bowl game competitive in today's marketplace.

"The bowl business is much more competitive than it was 10 years ago," Ehrhart said. "Ten years ago, you didn't have a Music City or a Houston Bowl, and both are now held in state-of-the-art NFL stadiums. Each year, more cities apply for bowls, and most of them are in new stadiums."

Womack said some of the remaining points of negotiation with Memphis and Houston include the selection process within the framework of the other SEC bowl tie-ins, what conference will be the likely opponent, payouts per team and ticket guarantees.

-- Ron Higgins: 529-2525