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What U of M to the Big East means for the Liberty Bowl game
By Ron Higgins on February 9, 2012 11:48 AM
The University of Memphis' move to the Big East Conference in July 2013 might work perfectly for Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart.
The current SEC/Conference USA contract with the Liberty Bowl has two remaining years, and runs concurrent with the BCS contracts.
It's no secret that SEC commissioner Mike Slive hasn't been a fan of the Liberty Bowl's deal that has the SEC playing the champion of a non-BCS league. In the most recent Liberty Bowl game, a clause in the bowl's contract allowed it to match Big East co-champion Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt.
"I think the move to the Big East is significant for the University of Memphis, especially for football," Ehrhart said. "The SEC has told us it always wants to play teams at a similar level.
"This past game when we did have SEC vs. Big East, it worked out very well. Cincinnati had a good experience here, and the Cincinnati president had a chance to see our city and university and what it had to offer. I think they carried the wonderful experience back to the Big East Conference, and the league said they'd like to continue discussions abut expanding their arrangements with us (the Liberty Bowl)."
By Ron Higgins on February 9, 2012 11:48 AM
The University of Memphis' move to the Big East Conference in July 2013 might work perfectly for Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart.
The current SEC/Conference USA contract with the Liberty Bowl has two remaining years, and runs concurrent with the BCS contracts.
It's no secret that SEC commissioner Mike Slive hasn't been a fan of the Liberty Bowl's deal that has the SEC playing the champion of a non-BCS league. In the most recent Liberty Bowl game, a clause in the bowl's contract allowed it to match Big East co-champion Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt.
"I think the move to the Big East is significant for the University of Memphis, especially for football," Ehrhart said. "The SEC has told us it always wants to play teams at a similar level.
"This past game when we did have SEC vs. Big East, it worked out very well. Cincinnati had a good experience here, and the Cincinnati president had a chance to see our city and university and what it had to offer. I think they carried the wonderful experience back to the Big East Conference, and the league said they'd like to continue discussions abut expanding their arrangements with us (the Liberty Bowl)."
