OT: Why not have a BCS bowl game in the Big House?

Submitted by TexanGOBLUE on
I know questions are frowned upon on the board, but I thought I would ask anyways. With the Big House being as badass as it is, why don't we host a BCS bowl game? The Big House has been outfitted with lights, luxory suites, ETC. Riddle me that?

rman247

January 2nd, 2012 at 11:44 PM ^

because since the fiesta bowl was created, the four now bcs games have been in pasadena, phoenix area, new orleans, and miami.  silly question.  you could make the case about any stadium, any area...

Baldbill

January 3rd, 2012 at 7:33 AM ^

This has always been talked about as a way to offset homesite advantages that the west coast teams have always had in the Rose Bowl or the SEC teams in the southern Bowls. It will never happen, no matter how fun it would be to see Florida playing in Chicago on the first of January it will never happen.

sterling1213

January 3rd, 2012 at 10:20 AM ^

 

 

 

The south is oversaturated with bowl games.  It's a big reason that they don't sell out a lot of the smaller bowls.  Having one or two Major Bowls in the North would sell locally especially since Big Ten teams would have a much shorter commute.  A shorter commute would likely mean larger groups of fans traveling to the games.

BRCE

January 3rd, 2012 at 12:04 AM ^

In addition to the weather, the size of the individual seats at Michigan Stadium are ludicrously small. It's something the school has been able to get away with because a lot of UM fans put a premium on the largest stadium title, but most outsider fans would think it completely sucks.

 

foreverbluemaize

January 3rd, 2012 at 12:52 AM ^

Not sure why,but for some reason, sunny Detroit is not a great tourist attraction, in the first week of January. I don't know, probably has something to do with the forecast, "still and clear", snow clear up to your butt and still falling.  hypothetically if you have USC and Fla in the NC game do you see the fans  coming to the Big House.

Sugaloaf

January 3rd, 2012 at 2:57 AM ^

Yeah, pretty much the only reason bowls exist in the first place is to put tourism dollars into the cities that hold them. (Pasadena was WAAAYYY ahead of the curve)

If they could get 30-80,000 people into their city at once some other way, they'd do that too. And they do. (gambling usually helps)

If you have good weather in the winter then you're halfway there.  A2 doesn't have the good weather or any of the support system to host a big game. sadly. I mean, I'd go.

cigol

January 3rd, 2012 at 1:09 AM ^

Another main reason is that they don't play college football up north in January.  College football is a fall sport ...not a fall/winter sport like the NFL  While you will have your snow game once every few years, they are obviously rare.  If the NCAA wanted to deter fans and increase risk of injury for players, they'd push games later in December to get more than one snow game every 5 years.

I'm not so sure Michigan would do well in cold games either.  I haven't been forced to wear more than a sweatshirt in years, let alone see a game at the big house where cold would actually affect somebody running around.  The only teams that play in consistently crappy conditions are the northern Pac 10 teams.  45 degree night games in the rain and wind are far far worse and would prepare you more for the snow games than the 45-60 degree sunny noon games at the Big House.

sterling1213

January 3rd, 2012 at 10:01 AM ^

Isn't that what is already happening?  Army v. Navy was played on December 10th.  Not to mention it was played in Washingtion D.C. which I beileve would be considered a cold climate.  The Pac 12 Championship game was played in Eugene, OR on Dec 2.  

The reason College football is a "fall sport" has much more to do with how the game started 100+ years ago and the length of the season than the weather.

I would like Michigans chances in the cold much more than any SEC or Big 12 teams.