Liberty Bowl to get CUSA pick of the litter

MeanGreen61 · July 23, 2005

Liberty Bowl will have first choice of CUSA teams & need not take conference champ. Will this become the bowl that belongs to Memphis like the H-Bowl belongs to Boise State ? Will this freeze out SMU, Tulsa, Rice ?

Lotta discussion on the CUSA board.

http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/confusa/invi...ST&f=22&t=27294

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/footba...3948220,00.html

Liberty Bowl will have its pick of teams

New C-USA format creates some flexibility

By Phil Stukenborg

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July 23, 2005

The AutoZone Liberty Bowl will invite a representative from Conference USA to play in the Dec. 31 game, but for the first time since 1999 it won't necessarily be the league's champion.

C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said the Liberty Bowl will have the first selection of bowl eligible teams from the conference. He said the bowl is being given flexibility because of the league's addition of a championship game in 2005.

"I think that it makes sense," Banowsky said. "We support the idea of moving to a first selection position as opposed to a required champion position because of the advent of our football championship game."

From 1999 to 2004, the bowl invited the champions from the Mountain West Conference and C-USA. But the Mountain West's contract with the Liberty Bowl ended after the 2004 game.

The bowl remains in negotiations with the Mountain West to invite the league champion to Memphis in December. The bowl is also talking with the Southeastern Conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East about being an opponent for a C-USA team.

An 11-team football league last season, C-USA's makeup was altered July 1.

Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida officially departed for the Big East, TCU joined the Mountain West and Army dropped out to become an independent. In their place, C-USA added six football programs -- SMU, Rice, Tulsa, Central Florida, Marshall and UTEP -- and split into two six-team divisions with a playoff game.

Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart said changing the format from C-USA champion to having the first selection of C-USA teams was agreed upon during league meetings in Destin, Fla., in May.

"With a championship game, the league is putting another game on the schedule," Ehrhart said. "That could cause some additional travel for fans.

"If someone has made the effort to travel to the championship game (in early December), will they turn around and travel again in three weeks? I think that's why it makes sense to have that flexibility, even though in all likelihood it will still be the champion we'd invite."

Banowsky said it would make sense for Ehrhart to have flexibility if, for instance, a division runnerup was nationally ranked and had a better overall record than the league champion.

"That team might have lost head-to-head to the ultimate divisional champion, but has a better overall record," Banowsky said. "It's helpful from a bowl's perspective to have greater flexibility in selecting the teams that they think will provide them the opportunity to have a great game."

Could that include inviting a DeAngelo Williams-led Tiger team with a stellar record, but no league title?

"If (Memphis) is having a great year, an unbelievable year, but isn't ultimately our conference champion, my sense is that the people in Memphis would really love to see the Tigers in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl," Banowsky said.