(07-04-2013 05:30 PM)Attackcoog Wrote: I think theres some new issues that the AFB is probably going to have to deal with. TCU is not longer in the Mountain West.
I raised that point once, and someone on the forum assured me that Ft Worth was supportive of the bowl.
Quote: None of the service academies are in the Ft Worth area. Navy now has a bowl game in it's home stadium--isn't that their likely destination when bowl qualified?
I'd say yes, but not every year. I think Navy would want to have bowl trips at least sometimes. And I think the rest of the AAC is going to want some access to the Military Bowl, too.
I think Navy would be very happy with a three-year rotation, Military-Armed Forces-SomewhereElse.
Quote:Only one academy is not covered by conference bowl tie agreements.
And they have problems being bowl-eligible anyway.
Quote:TCU is no longer in the MW, thus there is little area connection with the MW.
Apparently the bowl is kind of a "Fort Worth" thing, so they can sell some tickets just to poke a stick in Dallas' eye.
Quote:And while its not really the AFB's problem, the AAC needs a western bowl and the AFB location makes a lot of sense for the western AAC teams. If you look at it from the bowls prospective, having Tulsa, Houston, and SMU play in that bowl makes a lot of sense. Having Navy play San Diego in Ft Worth---well, that makes a lot less sense and probably sells a lot less tickets.
As far as I can tell, Fort Worth supports the game pretty well. Navy would sell some tickets. So the MWC not selling tickets doesn't hurt as much. Navy vs SJSU isn't ideal, but it probably sells as many tickets as Houston vs North Texas or UTSA vs Tulane.
Quote:Its actually going to be interesting to see how the AFB adapts to the new environment. The best combo is the AAC vs Big-12. The next best is probably AAC vs CUSA (for selling tickets)---though AAC vs MW might be better for TV. The whole Armed Forces thing might not really work very well anymore now that 2 or the 3 service academies are in conferences and are no longer independents.
One reason the Armed Forces Bowl thing works is selling tickets--you can sell a service academy game as a rah-rah special occasion--you'll sell more tickets in Dallas-Fort Worth for Navy vs LT or Army vs Memphis than for Louisiana Tech vs Memphis.
But the bigger reason is the sponsors. Bell Helicopter is paying six, seven figures so that they can rub shoulders with admirals and generals and talk helicopters. #17 Houston vs #22 Southern Miss doesn't help them sell helicopters.
Having the academies in conferences doesn't really change that dynamic. It just means that if the academy isn't bowl-eligible, you have a backup lined up automatically. Unless you can get a P5 tie in, AAC vs MWC is the best bet, so you can rotate Navy and Air Force as anchor teams. (I think they'll try to work Army into the rotation as well, probably with more flexibility since Army isn't bowl eligible THAT often.)