The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- February 1, 1999

New I-A bowl game gains initial approval

The NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee has granted initial approval for a new postseason bowl game to be conducted in 1999.

The new Division I-A bowl game, the Mobile Alabama Bowl, will come before the subcommittee again in April for final certification. The game was one of three addressed by the subcommittee during its January 8 meeting in San Antonio.

Of the other two, one was withdrawn. The other, the Freedom Bowl in San Francisco, was referred back for further information before the subcommittee votes on initial certification. The subcommittee will consider the Freedom Bowl for initial certification again in April. If approved, the bowl would be on track to be conducted in 2001.

In other actions, the subcommittee approved four preseason exempted contests for 1999. The four games are the Kickoff and Pigskin Classics conducted by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the Black Coaches Association Classic, and the Eddie Robinson Classic.

The subcommittee also agreed to undertake a review of the postseason bowl criteria in an effort to further evaluate the balance of revenue sharing between member institutions and the bowls. Central to the study is a review of the 75/25 percent split of gross receipts currently allotted to participating teams and bowl games, respectively.

The subcommittee hopes to develop a system that will provide bowls more incentives to sell tickets and increase revenue in order to offset years in which attendance goals at a particular site are not realized, and to create an auxiliary fund so that in such instances distribution payments could still be made. This system would not include a reduction in the guarantees currently allotted to participating teams.

The subcommittee hopes to begin this review in April. Any modifications would not impact bowl games before the 2002 season.

In another action, the subcommittee will recommend that the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet propose legislation that would amend Bylaw 30.9.2 regarding contest status. The subcommittee wants to have the bylaw amended to preclude an institution from counting a forfeited game as a victory for purposes of meeting the six-victory requirement specified in order to become bowl-eligible.