Fiesta Bowl Fiasco: Conspiracy, Competition, or Just Plain Cheap?

The 2010 Bowl Championship Series selections have been made official, and the backlash from the "non-BCS" groups has been vehemently negative. 

In recent years, a non-automatic qualifier gaining an invitation into the BCS bowl games has been termed "BCS Busting."  The Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences have made this an annual affair, with Utah (2005 Fiesta & 2009 Sugar), Boise State (2007 Fiesta), and Hawaii (2008 Sugar) all gaining access via forced rule changes to the BCS process. 

However, this season a team from each conference pushed its way to the front of the line.  Mountain West champion Texas Christian Horned Frogs capped an undefeated season with a fourth-place finish in the final BCS rankings and gained automatic entry.  The WAC champ Boise State Broncos finished another undefeated regular season with a sixth-place finish in the BCS rankings, and with memories of their impressive performance—both on the field and in the ticket booth—against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl in the fore-font of the minds of the bowl selection representatives.

Many college football fans and sportswriters scoffed that two non-automatic qualifier teams would be selected this season.  It was widely believed that if a non-AQ team didn't gain access via the automatic qualifier rules, then they would stand little chance of being selected as an at-large team.  Contrary to this opinion, the Fiesta Bowl made a huge leap of faith by selecting Boise State as an at-large team to face off against TCU in the 2010 event.

The historic decision, however, has met with little support from the critics of the BCS selection process, fans of non-AQ teams, and has left Boise State and TCU supporters perplexed and dissatisfied. Their fans are grateful to be in the Fiesta Bowl, for sure, but feel there is no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.

So, was this decision by the Fiesta Bowl born out of necessity, greed, or just as a slap in the face of the non-AQ conferences?

Hours prior to the BCS selections being made official, long-time college football analyst Tim Brando reported via Twitter that it "looks as if the Fiesta will fall on the sword so to speak and keep another Utah story (see Alabama last year) from happening."

What good is it to "bust the BCS" if you aren't playing any "BCS teams"?

Many fans across the nation are outraged that these non-BCS teams can't measure themselves against top teams from one of the six power conferences in major college football. 

The "Cop-Out Bowl" is a frequent term that signifies the popular opinion that the power brokers of college football's post season would rather have the two "Davids" battle each other, rather than expose any of their "Goliaths" to a possible repeat of past upsets like the 2009 Sugar Bowl or the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

The Fiesta Bowl has publicly stated that it chose the matchup because it was the most attractive.  They are proud of the pairing that pits two undefeated teams in a BCS Bowl, the first non-title affair with such a distinction. 

"We think it's a matchup that's credible," Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker said. "If there was a glass ceiling, we think we've taken a chunk out of it.  We really looked at only trying to arrange the most compelling matchup possible, and we were delighted. When you have the chance to match two undefeated teams, it was a very compelling story and one that we think will be of great interest to the country." 

I completely agree!

The Fiesta's relationship with Boise State was a past success, based on over 30,000 Boise fans attending the 2007 game and the "Instant Classic" label applied to that game.  The Horned Frogs are the closest geographic option for them and fall into the "Big 12 footprint" that normally is linked to the Glendale, Arizona bowl game.

Additionally, the matchup has produced two very exciting bowl games in the only two times these two teams have faced off.  In the 2003 Fort Worth Bowl the Broncos triumphed over TCU 34-31, and in last year's Poinsettia Bowl the Horned Frogs edged out Boise State 17-16.

But, fans don't want to hear any of that.  That collective "WTF? " heard around the country Sunday night cannot be quieted by the usual bowl game sell-job. 

Nobody wants to hear that maybe the playing field has leveled off to the point that Boise State and TCU don't have to prove themselves against the big boys anymore.  Has the scale tipped enough that top teams, whatever their background, will be included in the big money games?

Maybe.  Maybe not.

In these tough economic times, the Fiesta Bowl made a big gamble that they can sell this game.  The past ticket sales from Boise State and Utah at the bowl game have been very encouraging, but those were games against "BCS" teams and each team's first BCS bowl game. 

Will TCU fans be as excited about their first BCS bowl game?  Are there enough TCU fans who can even go to the game?

Most likely, the Fiesta will be able to sell out the game.  Each school should exceed its ticket allotment of approximately 19,000 to the game.  The Phoenix hotels and restaurants will welcome back Bronco fans and greet Horned Frogs alike in mass numbers.  It might not be the deluge of alumni and fans that a Big Ten powerhouse would have invaded them with, but it will still be successful.

However, will the TV ratings be as successful?  The BCS bowls have seen a lack of TV interest from the non-traditional football powers when they play in their games. 

• 2009 Sugar Bowl, Alabama vs Utah, 7.8 rating
• 2008 Sugar Bowl, Georgia vs Hawaii, 7.0 rating
• 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma vs Boise State, 8.4 rating
• 2005 Fiesta Bowl, Pittsburgh vs Utah, 7.4 rating

Compare that 7.65 average to the average of the 14 other non-title BCS bowl games played since the 2005 bowl season, a strong 10.0 rating.  In TV advertising rates and logo placements, that 2.35 rating difference could cost millions of dollars. 

Last years Poinsettia bowl, which featured a 10-2 TCU team and a 12-0 Boise State team, only drew a 3.2 rating on ESPN.  Of course, the expectation is better than that for the January bowl game on a major network.  BCS Bowl games typically charge between $268,000 to $530,000 per 30 second slot.  None of the above numbers provide much support for the Fiesta to charge the higher end of those advertising rates.

Why would the Fiesta risk so much revenue opportunity in order to feature such a great football matchup?

Maybe it is, maybe it is not.

The assumption that most casual fans have is that the BCS Payout of approximately $18.3 million will apply to each participating team.  “Not so fast, my friend,” as Lee Corso would say.

From the official website of the Fiesta Bowl:

“ The five non-automatic qualifying conferences—Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Western Athletic Conference—will collectively receive approximately $23.8 million as a result of the participation of Boise State University and Texas Christian University in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.”

That means that, while Georgia Tech and the ACC will take home $18.3 million from the Orange Bowl, Oregon and the Pac Ten will take home $18.3 million from the Rose Bowl, and Cincinnati and the Big East will walk away from the Sugar Bowl with $18.3 million; Boise and the WAC and TCU and the MWC, will split $23.8 million among all of the non-AQ conferences.

But that does not state the Fiesta Bowl is responsible for all of that $23.8 million payout.  The BCS shares revenues with all of those conferences every year as part of their participation in the agreement.  9% of the net BCS escrow revenue, which was approximately $9.6 million in 2009 was divied up to all non-AQ conferences, as a guaranteed payout for agreeing to the BCS contract, regardless of having any teams participate in the BCS bowls.

So what does that mean for this years Fiesta Bowl?

It means that instead of paying out $18.3 million to each participant, for a total of $36.6 million (like the Rose Bowl) —or $22.8 million if it was a second team from a BCS conference (Orange and Sugar Bowls) —the Fiesta will only payout less than $15.0 million combined to TCU and Boise State.

According to the BCS official website:

“Eighteen percent of the net BCS escrow revenue goes to those (non-AQ) conferences if one of their members participates in a BCS game. If no team participates, the five conferences share nine percent of the net revenue. The five conferences divide the revenue among themselves. When more than one team from those conferences play in the BCS bowl games, those conferences will receive an additional $4.5 million for each additional team."

TCU earned an extra 9% ($9.8 million) by gaining the auto-bid and Boise State earned the additional $4.5 million when they were chosen as an at-large team.  By not having their affiliated Big 12 member available (and the contracted $18.3 million payout) and not selecting Big East champion Cincinnati (also $18.3 million), the Fiesta managed to save over $8.5 million when they chose TCU as their replacement for Texas going to the BCS title game.

Simple business strategy:  If you can’t increase revenues, then decrease costs.

But, don't the participating schools still expect a hefty payday?

According to NCAA figures, the Mountain West Conference received approximately $9.6 million as a result of Utah's participation in the Sugar Bowl in 2009.  Utah ended up with about $3.1 million of that after the conference divided up the payouts, and after expenses netted about $1.5 million (source: Graham Watson Mountain West leads all non-AQ's in BCS revenue).  TCU is expected to receive a comparable amount this season.

"The WAC would give $3 million to Boise State and the other $1.5 to the other schools in the conference," commissioner Karl Benson said.  An additional $200 to $300,000 will be distributed to each WAC school from the basic 9% distribution.

Of course, each school is expected to use a good portion of that payout to pay the travel expenses for the team, coaches, administrators, band, cheerleaders, etc.  There has been many articles about the high cost of such travel and typical figures are near a $1 million to a bowl like the Fiesta.

One more thing.  Remember that ticket allotment?

Both Boise State and TCU are required to sell approximately 19,000 tickets to the bowl game.  Those tickets cost $172.50 each, at a minimum.  That means that the fans of each program will pump in at least $3.25 million to the bowl game coffers.  That is $6.5 million total, at the minimum, provided to the bowl games from the fans of the very teams they turn around and "payout" to.

The Fiesta makes a lot more than that from TV advertising revenues, concession royalties, sponsorships, etc.  I won't begrudge the Fiesta Bowl its right to make a dime, it is expensive to put on such an event.  The point is that the participants of other BCS bowl games will  profit greatly from their invitation, while the non-AQ participants will have a hard time breaking even once their own fans contributions are factored in.

Brilliant move from the Fiesta Bowl, if you ask me.

Before you rip into me about the unfairness of the situation, I agree. It is dishonest at worst, not equitable at best, and needs to be rectified.  But, I do appreciate the subtleties. The Fiesta has been able to pick one of the best bowl matchups on the football field, most likely sellout its stadium (tickets are no longer available on their web site), use the PR (or propaganda) that it included two non-AQ teams, while also protecting the other bowls and conferences from any “David vs Goliath” embarrassment.

What a coup de grâce over the BCS nay-sayers...

A tactical move worthy of Sun Tzu...

Donald Trump would be proud...

Sure, the BCS berths have provided both of these schools and conferences with more exposure and payout money than would have been attainable in a "pre-BCS" era.  But don't sell the public that they have been "included" in the BCS bowl payday of $18.3 million each. 

The Fiesta Bowl is a great matchup on the football field, one that I am very excited to watch.  I applaud John Junker and staff for stepping up and making this game happen, without the "crutch" of a 2 loss "BCS" program.  However, the Fiesta Bowl is an even bigger mismatch in the pocketbook than any other BCS bowl game in the history of this mis-guided "fix" to the post season of college football.

Is the 2010 Fiesta Bowl a conspiracy? Just good competition? Or just plain cheap?

Try all three.