This just makes me wanna cry. Those bowls are horrific. What was once our lower teir bowl games are now our top two in the Compass and Beef bowl? Ugh!
On a side note, what are the chances Navy still joins in 2015? If they back out who do we nab to make it 12?
On second thought I understand your concern for the bowls, BBVA Compass and Beef O Brady's are nothing to write home
about but I aplaude Mike Aresco and team for creating the new bowls like the Miami Beach, Bahama and Boca Raton Bowls. If UCONN gets into any one of those in December, they should get a good number to travel. Great resort locations with low cost air and plenty of accommodations.
Don't worry about Navy...unless something drastically changes they are coming.
Some quotes from Navy's AD, Gladchuk, I 'd say that unless something has changed he is pretty positive:
There will be plenty of benefits to joining the AAC, not least increased revenue from television contracts. But being locked into a conference schedule for the first time will be a major change to Navy football's culture.
Indeed, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said life in Annapolis already has changed in some ways.
"We've been gearing up for the American for two years now, [after] our original commitment to the Big East," he said. "In anticipation of joining a conference, we've been involved with a significant influx of new resources, staffing, facilities - the way we do our business, and making sure we're comparable in the way we do our business with the teams we'll be competing against on a regular basis."
And the Midshipmen will be able to maintain their signature rivalries against Army, Air Force and Notre Dame. The Army game will continue to be at the end of the regular season, on the second Saturday of December.
"The opportunities for an independent to schedule with as much flexibility as we have over the years is going away," he said, mainly because of the nature of conference realignment. One of the consequences of all those moves is that Navy's opponents won't have the space in October and November to play the Midshipmen anymore."
Gladchuk is convinced Navy can win in the AAC. Indeed, he said, the Midshipmen can "be a champion" in the league - and the fracturing of the old Big East is a major reason why.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us, no question, and there's no predictions on my end," Gladchuk said. "But it won't be quite as hard a landing, playing against teams we would have played as an independent, as it would have been had the Big East stayed intact."
Gladchuk was asked whether Navy can learn anything from Army's experience in Conference USA. He said the college sports landscape back then was "a different planet." He didn't mean it derisively, just as a statement of fact.
"They weren't even close to the configuration [of the AAC now] with regard to revenue distributions, scheduling requirements, bowl opportunities," Gladchuk said. "There's really no point of comparison in my mind at all."
Gladchuk has worked hard to get Navy into a financially healthy place as an independent. Now, he said, joining the AAC will serve as the icing on the cake. It's a different situation from schools who look to join a bigger conference as a way of building a foundation.
"We've put together a business model over the last 10 years that has gotten us very close to being a fiscally self-sustaining operation for 33 varsity sports," he said. "Ninety-four percent of our entire budget for the 33 varsity supports is generated externally. That extra six percent that represents some government support will be something we are looking to eliminate, and [joining] the conference should be able to do that."
In the end, Gladchuk said he has no doubt that Navy is making the right decision for its present and future.
"We've weighed the independence against the conference affiliation over the last couple of years, and there's just no question in our minds," he said. "Looking forward, either you're in or your out, and we'd prefer to be in with a group of schools that not only we can compete with, but we respect as well."
Read more at
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports..._Athletic_Conference.html#SZO7E0HwmwZ0lTr8.99
