It would seem the financial impact of Penn State in the Orange Bowl is greater than Iowa. Plus the TV ratings for the game should be better. What do you think went into the selection of Iowa for the Orange Bowl.
This was one of the most unusual bowl situations that I have experienced over the past 25 years relative to Penn State.
Almost on a daily basis, the scenarios for both the Fiesta and Orange Bowls changed.
Going into Saturday's conference championship games, all of the commentary relating to Iowa and Penn State in relationship to the Orange and Fiesta Bowls clearly indicated that one of those two teams would receive a bid. Then, early Sunday morning following Saturday's games, it became evident after speaking with a Fiesta Bowl rep that there was a lot of politics being played behind the scenes and for whatever reason, it became clear that the Fiesta Bowl was going to end up selecting Boise and TCU.
Ratings and attendance-wise, to me, that selection doesn't make much sense. It's a rematch of last year's Poinsettia Bowl, where half the stadium was empty and the rating was only like a 3.7.
If you listen to the bowl representatives and they're being 100 percent up front with what they're saying, the head-to-head between Penn State and Iowa was one of the least things they considered relative to their decision.
Maybe the fact that this is the last year FOX carries the BCS bowls, what I was told late yesterday afternoon was that they have no incentive to bump the ratings up for a competing network in ESPN when they take over the BCS coverage in 2010.
I understand your confusion because it appears both financially and TV-ratings wise, except for the championship game and possibly the Rose Bowl, I don't think the projected ratings especially for the Fiesta and Orange Bowls look very good with the match-ups that have been made.
