Meineke Bowl signs up--Navy!!!

G

GT Ace

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I know that the article below tries to explain why the Bowl has signed up Navy, but I still don't get it. The Charlotte Bowl has had unprecedented success from the get-go by using the larger schools from the Big East, WVa & Bos Coll, to get attractive matchups with the ACC &, ergo, sellouts or near-sellouts. I wouldn't want to go to this Bowl if GT was playing Navy. This is a senseless manuver on a sure fire winner.

Navy to be in Meineke Bowl
 
The Meineke wants a better (more recognizable) opponent for their ACC team than they had in South Fla last year. Navy will bring a huge crowd to Charlotte if they come and the bowl will fill in the other side with UNC, NCState, Clemson if at all possible. All they care about is filling seats and they don't do it by having an attractive game. They do it by inviting teams that will bring fans. Except for WVU, no Big East team has brought any fans to speak of to the bowl, it's the local ACC team that's been selling the tickets.

Actually, if they believe Navy will sell 25,000 - 30,000 tickets (which isn't a stretch given the naval bases in the region and the proximity to Annapolis) it may improve the odds for an ACC team other than one in the Carolinas. They may be willing to take a shot at a MD or GT or even BC in a pinch.
 
With being ex-Navy, the Midshipmen are one of my very favorite 2 or 3 programs. I love seeing the Middies reemerge to prominence in college football. In fact I believe with Paul Johnson at the helm as head coach they can actually climb higher up the ladder than the Meineke Bowl. If they find a way to beat Notre Dame....the sky's the limit.
 
State, I have to disagree with you here. While PJ is a very good coach, Navy is Navy. They don't play anyone except ND. I posted last years record and opponents records and it was laughable. Yes Paul is a good coach and runs his system well but until he plays even a top 40 schedule I can't give them much.
 
Mover: I have no doubt that as long as Navy hangs onto Paul Johnson the Middies will improve on the field and you will see a much tougher schecule....in time....especially if more established major conference programs will play home and home series with them.

Will they?

The Middies will desire more challenges and will need a tougher schecule to help in recruiting. Notre Dame, Army, and Air Force in time will be the only sure games on future schecules.

Also his 'system' is only part of the equation as to why Paul Johnson and the Navy is improving its game.
 
I presume that it depends on whether

they are bowl eligible or not! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wtf.gif
 
Re: I presume that it depends on whether

Yes, they have to be 'bowl eligibe'.....as if there could be any doubt.
 
Re: Mover:

I fail to see a reason for your statements unless you just don't respect Navy's program.
 
Re: Mover:

I respect Navy very much, my point is Navy doesn't play anyone and really hasn't in quite a while. They have one great year by their standards and you better watch out.

With all due respect look and see who they beat and who they lost too. When they chose to up the ante on the schedule then I will chose to respect their football team differently, that's all.

I admire the young men who go there very much and their service is very much appreciated by me as well.
 
Re: Mover:

I think the point is well made refrigeratormover. Navy probably does as much with what they have as any team in America. That said, they play one good team a year most years, and that's ND. And with all the talk about that "rivalry" the last time Navy won was 1963. They can be a tough team to play because they always play hard and run a scheme no one ever sees, but they really aren't a particularly good team. I mean, if they played Wake who would be favored?
 
Re: Mover:

[ QUOTE ]
I respect Navy very much, my point is Navy doesn't play anyone and really hasn't in quite a while. They have one great year by their standards and you better watch out.

With all due respect look and see who they beat and who they lost too. When they chose to up the ante on the schedule then I will chose to respect their football team differently, that's all.

[/ QUOTE ]

While it's easy as a Tech fan (or fan of any other power conference school) to look at their schedule and discredit their accomplishments, you do have to keep in mind the teams they play are comparable to their talent level. They aren't beating up Rice and Tulane with next level talent, they're beating them with the exact same kind of talent that those schools have.
 
I am a bit surprised at the direction this thread has gone. When I opened it up I expected something completely different than I got. I expected to see discussions about how a bowl is locking in a specific team as long as it meets minimum criteria.

I don't have anything against this particular team being Navy. In fact to me that point is almost irrelevant. I'm unhappy about the fact that this bowl is locking in a specific team before the season has been played. That just seems wrong to me.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am a bit surprised at the direction this thread has gone. When I opened it up I expected something completely different than I got. I expected to see discussions about how a bowl is locking in a specific team as long as it meets minimum criteria.

I don't have anything against this particular team being Navy. In fact to me that point is almost irrelevant. I'm unhappy about the fact that this bowl is locking in a specific team before the season has been played. That just seems wrong to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

When you think about it, it's really no different than a bowl locking into a deal with a certain conference. If I'm not mistaken, there is currently only one bowl (Poinsetta in San Diego) that has an open spot not tied to a certain conference, without making deals like the Meinecke arrangement (or something like what Notre Dame has with the Big East) Navy and Army can't count on bowl spots being available if they have a good year. Navy had been lucky the last couple of years with conferences not filling all their alloted bowl spots but with the new rules going into effect with the 12 game schedule, they can't count on that anymore.
 
JO...

[ QUOTE ]
I'm unhappy about the fact that this bowl is locking in a specific team before the season has been played. That just seems wrong to me.

[/ QUOTE ] I agree with you; it is wrong for the game IMHO.
 
Hey state,

Another sailor here. I have been in the canoe club 16 years now. I always root for the middies, (even though they do become officers)except of course against TECH.
 
I agree. It will be a big temptation to the Louisvilles, Utahs, Boise States and Fresno States to sign up early to keep from getting locked out by big conference tie ins. It just makes the whole bowl scene a little bit crazier.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I agree. It will be a big temptation to the Louisvilles, Utahs, Boise States and Fresno States to sign up early to keep from getting locked out by big conference tie ins. It just makes the whole bowl scene a little bit crazier.

[/ QUOTE ]

Schools who belong to a conference have to actually get their conference's permission to make any arrangement with a bowl that the league isn't tied to. Boise and Fresno both had to get the WAC to sign off to allow them to play in the Liberty Bowl and believe it or not, the Mountain West actually could have stopped Utah from playing in the Fiesta Bowl. Independents (basically just Army and Navy since ND and Temple have deals with the Big East and MAC respectively) are the only schools who can cut their own deals.
 
[ QUOTE ]
When you think about it, it's really no different than a bowl locking into a deal with a certain conference. If I'm not mistaken, there is currently only one bowl (Poinsetta in San Diego) that has an open spot not tied to a certain conference, without making deals like the Meinecke arrangement (or something like what Notre Dame has with the Big East) Navy and Army can't count on bowl spots being available if they have a good year. Navy had been lucky the last couple of years with conferences not filling all their alloted bowl spots but with the new rules going into effect with the 12 game schedule, they can't count on that anymore.

[/ QUOTE ]

With respect I believe it is very different because of the number of teams involved in a conference. Any bowl that has agreed to give one of its slots to an ACC team, for example, knows that there are 12 teams that will be possibly eligible for their slot. In this case it is a specific team that has been allocated a slot in a bowl game prior to the season starting so long as they meat a certain minimum-win criterium.

As far as I'm concerned they can just change the name to the "Naval Academy Invitational post-season game." Had this been any other team I would have felt the same way. I love playing the service academies no matter how good or bad their teams might be. I can't even begin to describe how much respect I have for the young men who not only are going to serve our country but ALSO have decided to represent their service academy in athletics. In fact the only thing that makes this less outrageous to me than it normally would be is that it is one of the service academies and if anyone deserves a post-season game if they get a minimum number of wins it is the service academies.

I would have felt better if the bowl had made a tie-in for one of the slots to be from among the service academies. So they could choose between Air Force, Navy, and Army as long as they met the minimum number of wins criterium.

By the way, I'm not too fond of conference tie-ins either ;)
 
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