2nd Bowl In Sun Belt Future (SBC Notes)

MeanGreen61 · July 30, 2006

http://www.jonesborosun.com/story.php?ID=22912

Second bowl in Sun Belt's future (SBC notes)

BY MATTHEW V. ROBERSON

SUN STAFF WRITER

While the Sun Belt Conference isn’t actively pursuing a second bowl game, the idea has definitely been tossed around and the hope of adding one should eventually become a reality.

SBC Commissioner Wright Waters said the league wasn’t in a position to obtain a second bowl just yet with it still in its fledgling stages. The Sun Belt is in just its sixth year as a football league and has only one bowl tie.

“We’re not at a point where there is, in my mind, demand for that yet,” Waters said, noting that the league currently pays close to $500,000 for its tie with the New Orleans Bowl and would have to shell out a similar amount for a second bowl for the league.

In the past five years, only two teams have ended the season bowl eligible along with the conference’s regular-season champion. Last year, Louisiana-Lafayette finished 6-5 but did not go to a bowl, while in 2004 Troy went 7-5 and played in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.

“There are a lot of factors that are in there,” Waters added. “Will we at some time have a second bowl? Sure. It’s not that difficult.”

This year’s postseason schedule includes 32 bowl games, meaning 64 teams will have to be eligible to fill those slots. The NCAA projects that between 64 and 67 teams all playing a 12-game schedule will meet that criteria.

Waters hopes that a Sun Belt team other than the champion will be one of those teams.

“Nobody wants a second bowl commitment for our conference more than I do,” he said.

Closing in on 400 wins

It would take one of the finest seasons in Arkansas State history, but the Indians are closing in on a milestone for victories by the football program.

ASU has 391 victories in its history dating back to 1921, although the school did not field a team during the 1942, 1943 or 1944 seasons because of World War II. The Indians have an overall record of 391-416-37 for a winning percentage of .486.

Arkansas State needs nine victories to secure its 400th win as a program. When the Indians surpass the 400-victory plateau, they will become the fifth Sun Belt school to have accomplished the mark.

For the record, Middle Tennessee State is the Sun Belt’s all-time winningest school with 492 victories, while Louisiana-Lafayette is next with 457 followed by North Texas at 456 and Troy with 446.

More bowl talk

Currently, the Sun Belt Conference’s only tie to a bowl is the New Orleans Bowl with the regular-season champion facing a representative from Conference USA.

While the Sun Belt is a southern-based league that includes three teams from Louisiana, one from Alabama and two from Florida, Waters does not see the league joining up with an already established bowl game such as the Liberty Bowl or Mobile Bowl.

“I think we would probably have to start one, create one,” Waters said. “The ones that are out there are pretty well obligated. I do think there are a couple of leagues that are over-extended. You saw that this year, and it may be in a couple of years that you may have some bowls that are looking for a sure thing.”

Superdome coming back

After Hurricane Katrina forced the New Orleans Bowl to change venues for the first time in its 5-year history, the game will return to its familiar field this season.

Used as a shelter for thousands, the Superdome incurred devastating Category 3 winds and driving rain that caused roof damage and an immense strain on the building’s electrical and plumbing systems. But since the Aug. 11 storm last year, crews have been working at a feverish pace to restore the dome and have it ready for the 2006 season. The dome serves as home to the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints are scheduled to open their schedule in the Superdome in mid-September and numerous other events will follow, including the 2006 New Orleans Bowl.

“I’m glad we’re not playing in it today,” Waters said. “But there are so many events scheduled. The Saints are going to be playing in it in September and the Bayou Classic will be in it November. The high school all-stars are committed to be back here near the first of December, so we’re comfortable it will be ready to go.”

The Hyatt hotel, which adjoins the Superdome, will not be open and is not scheduled to re-open until 2008, while there are no plans currently for the shopping mall that connects the Hyatt and Superdome to re-open at all.

Last year’s New Orleans Bowl was played at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La., as

Southern Mississippi dealt Arkansas State a 31-19 defeat.