DRC: SBC to seek second Bowl tie-in

NT80 · November 28, 2006

Football: Sun Belt hoping to send MTSU bowling

11:20 PM CST on Monday, November 27, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Sun Belt Conference commissioner Wright Waters said Monday that the league has talked to at least a half a dozen bowls about sending a second team from the league to the postseason.

The league has four teams that have six wins and are bowl eligible, including Middle Tennessee. At 7-5, the Blue Raiders appear likely to be the league's second bowl team.

The glut of six-win teams from the league and the potential addition of Western Kentucky has the Sun Belt considering adding a second bowl tie-in.

The league's only current bowl agreement is with the New Orleans Bowl, which takes the Sun Belt champion.

Troy put itself in position to earn a bid to the game this year by beating MTSU with a late rally on Saturday and can clinch the league title with a victory over winless Florida International this week. The Trojans (6-5, 5-1) would jump over MTSU (7-5, 6-1) if they win their last game due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

"We had a great game in Murfreesboro because of all that was at stake," Waters said. "But as we move to a nine-team league and a 12-game schedule, we are going to have more bowl eligible teams that we don't want left at home. We will have to go down the road to adding a second bowl game at some point."

The Sun Belt has had multiple teams that were bowl eligible in each of the last three seasons. UNT won the conference title and played in the New Orleans Bowl in 2004, the same season Troy finished second and played in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.

WKU is expected to join the league in football in the next few seasons, which would give the league nine teams and even more reason to add a second bowl tie-in.

Waters said that while the league is considering adding a second bowl, he wants to be sure that the conference championship still holds value.

"What we are doing is working," Waters said. "As long as we only have one bowl tie-in, the championship is important."

Waters said any discussions of a second bowl tie-in would take place early next year.

While the league is putting off talk of adding a second bowl tie-in, it is taking an active role in trying to find a bowl for MTSU (7-5), Arkansas State (6-6) and Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5).

All three teams are bowl eligible. ULL has one game left to play at home against in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe.

"The good news is that three or four years ago, the bowls wouldn't return our calls," Waters said. "Now they are calling us."

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UNT coaches waiting on recruiting

UNT is on hold in terms of recruiting while waiting for word on a new head coach to replace Darrell Dickey.

Dickey was fired after nine seasons and completed his tenure on Saturday in a loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

UNT's assistants are under contract until February.

"Right now we are on hold," UNT assistant head coach Kenny Evans said. "We have coaches who are ready to recruit, but are waiting for word on the school's plans. … We are missing some time in the contact period."

good_ken · November 28, 2006

Adding a 2nd Sunbelt team will be hard this year. There are 29 teams in D1 who won't go to a bowl this year (Norm was talking about this the other day).

MeanGreenBuzz · November 28, 2006

We need to get a move on in the recruiting department, but I think the reason it hasn't been made is that RV wants to talk to Dodge about the job before making a move.

UNTflyer · November 28, 2006

Too many bowl games... not enough playoffs.

pollock · November 28, 2006

We need to get a move on in the recruiting department, but I think the reason it hasn't been made is that RV wants to talk to Dodge about the job before making a move.
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Good chance of that. One issue is that Dodge has another 3-4 weeks of playoffs. Ouch.

edit: that is, assuming SLC wins out.

Edited November 28, 2006 by pollock