commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN To print this page, select File then Print from your browserURL: http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/...827269,00.htmlLiberty Bowl would like SEC tie-in
Conference's area schools think association with game a positive
By Ron Higgins
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June 3, 2005
DESTIN, Fla. -- AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart may not be at these Southeastern Conference business meetings in person, but he's here in spirit.
The league's seven non-BCS bowl contracts expire at the end of the upcoming football season, and bowls which haven't been in the SEC mix recently, like the Liberty Bowl, have begun preliminary discussions about getting an SEC tie-in starting in 2006.
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"I've talked to Steve as recently as Monday, and he has been very aggressive," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said of Ehrhart. "I don't know how all this is going to come out, but we've had some very constructive conversations, and Steve has represented the AutoZone Liberty Bowl well.
Slive said the league also talked with representatives from the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., and the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. He said he expects to have most or all of the SEC's bowl contracts signed by the end of July.
Ehrhart said the Liberty Bowl has exercised its option this season with Conference USA. But since the contract with the Mountain West Conference ended last year, Ehrhart said he has had talks with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Western Athletic Conference, Navy and the Mountain West about filling one of the spots for this season's game.
But for '06, Ehrhart said he and the bowl have an open mind. Which is why he says he has talked to every major conference, except for the Pac 10. No doubt, though, the SEC is a major player in Ehrhart's discussions.
"We've had the SEC 23 times in our bowl, and there's been a lot of great elements of a terrific partnership with them," Ehrhart said. "When you consider the history of the league, that Memphis is in the heart of the SEC's Western Division, that Memphis is a strong SEC recruiting base and that Memphis has every SEC alumni club, there are positives that make sense for both sides."
There's little doubt that some of the Western Division teams, such as Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas, wouldn't mind seeing the Liberty Bowl back in the SEC mix.
Ole Miss is 4-0 in the bowl, last appearing in 1992. Mississippi State is 1-1, last playing in 1991, and Arkansas is 0-3, last appearing in 1987.
"We've had some outstanding players come out of Memphis, so I'd love it if the Liberty Bowl and the SEC could agree on an affiliation," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said.
"As far as Ole Miss is concerned, the Liberty Bowl has always been a great bowl that we've enjoyed," Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone said. "I'd certainly like to see the Liberty Bowl back in the SEC."
Said Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton, "Right now, it's a bowl marketplace in which there is a lot of interest in Southeastern Conference teams, and Mississippi State would be very supportive of the SEC having a bowl game in our sister city of Memphis."
The Liberty Bowl is coming off one of its most successful games, a Louisville-Boise State matchup that had the seventh-best TV bowl ratings in ESPN history. Also, Ehrhart was pleased with a Boise State fan contingent that stayed in Memphis for several days and pumped money into the local economy.
Out-of-town visitors are something that Ehrhart has to consider if an SEC affiliation becomes a viable option since fans of nearby SEC schools may not spend several days in Memphis, preferring to arrive the day before or the day of the game. On the other hand, an SEC team might draw more local fans.
"That's sort of a tradeoff that must be considered," he said.
Last season, the SEC didn't have enough bowl eligible teams to fill its seven spots. The Independence and Houston Bowls had to invite non-SEC teams. This season marks the third and final year of the Houston Bowl contract, and both previous years the SEC hasn't had enough bowl-eligible teams to send one to Houston.
Competition is fierce among bowls trying to get a tie-in with the SEC. Bowls know that the presence of a team from the SEC, the annual national leader in attendance, usually guarantees solid ticket sales and makes the bowl's TV partner happy.
Bowls with SEC tie-ins, such as the Cotton Bowl, believe the best way to retain a conference affiliation is maintaining a high level of satisfaction for the participating teams.
"We're constantly trying to figure out ways to make ourselves different than the other 28 bowls," said Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker. "But our focus has always been as a family-oriented destination for the players, the coaches and their families. Over the years, we've a good reputation of treating those folks in a first-class way."
Through the years, the SEC has had smooth relationships with most of their bowls. There have been a couple of times, though, when the Outback Bowl invited SEC teams with more local appeal in Tampa, rather than the team with better credentials.
It happened last year when the Outback Bowl took Georgia over Eastern Division champ Tennessee, despite the fact the Vols beat the Bulldogs in the regular season.
There's no indication that the SEC will change any of its bowl affiliations. But Slive said that athletic directors and coaches have given feedback on the bowls in which they've participated.
"I think who you play in a bowl is an issue, as well as the type of experiences our student-athletes have on and off the field in bowls," Slive said. "That's why we've wanted input from the teams in our league who have been involved." Copyright 2005, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved.
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