(04-29-2014 10:24 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 10:20 AM)panama Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:36 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:29 AM)panama Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:23 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  The schools going there for the basketball tournament have at least six months advance notice and a traveling party of around 20-25 to deal with.

The schools going there for a bowl will have 3 to 6 weeks notice and a traveling party of about 150.

Absolutely the same thing.

Ok, you got me.It's impossible. It cant be done. Call the sponsors and cancel it.

Jesus. Why bother pointing out a real logistics problems.

Congrats on your award

Yes because everyone going Onoz and OMG ever since this bowl was announced isnt drama.

They arent real logistic problems. They are imagined logistic problems. If drunken college students can make it there and back easily weekly, I am sure the government of the Bahamas will make sure that two American college football teams make it there and back with zero inconvenience.

You've obviously got great experience dealing with 100+ college kids, lining up all the needed official documentation and submitting it and getting the whole thing done in a matter of weeks
I never said it couldn't be done. I said it was a hassle that wasn't worth it and you went jerk in response.

(04-29-2014 10:20 AM)panama Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:36 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:29 AM)panama Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:23 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:09 AM)panama Wrote:  Again, how are the 8 Battle 4 Atlantis schools handled? And this is Bahamas, a tourist destination that wants your money. You're likely to have more trouble getting back in the U.S. than getting into the Bahamas.

The schools going there for the basketball tournament have at least six months advance notice and a traveling party of around 20-25 to deal with.

The schools going there for a bowl will have 3 to 6 weeks notice and a traveling party of about 150.

Absolutely the same thing.

Ok, you got me.It's impossible. It cant be done. Call the sponsors and cancel it.

Jesus. Why bother pointing out a real logistics problems.

Congrats on your award

Yes because everyone going Onoz and OMG ever since this bowl was announced isnt drama.

They arent real logistic problems. They are imagined logistic problems. If drunken college students can make it there and back easily weekly, I am sure the government of the Bahamas will make sure that two American college football teams make it there and back with zero inconvenience.

(04-29-2014 10:29 AM)boroeagle2 Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 10:24 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 10:20 AM)panama Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:36 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 09:29 AM)panama Wrote:  Ok, you got me.It's impossible. It cant be done. Call the sponsors and cancel it.

Jesus. Why bother pointing out a real logistics problems.

Congrats on your award

Yes because everyone going Onoz and OMG ever since this bowl was announced isnt drama.

They arent real logistic problems. They are imagined logistic problems. If drunken college students can make it there and back easily weekly, I am sure the government of the Bahamas will make sure that two American college football teams make it there and back with zero inconvenience.

You've obviously got great experience dealing with 100+ college kids, lining up all the needed official documentation and submitting it and getting the whole thing done in a matter of weeks
I never said it couldn't be done. I said it was a hassle that wasn't worth it and you went jerk in response.

I don't want to get into the middle of you guys pissing match, just pointing out that as students and especially scholarship athletes, the schools in question should have most if not all of the pertinent documentation in hand already.

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

Sure, but you already have the Hawai'i Bowl for that. Why go with another bowl that every team in the conference will lose a mint with?

This was stupid on CUSA's part. They should have tried to put together a bowl closer to some of their schools.

Here's where CUSA stands.

FIU/FAU - close to Boca and Beef O' Brady's. I used to live in Fort Lauderdale. Its easier to fly across the country than it is to go to Nassau.

UAB/USM/La Tech - Close to New Orleans Bowl

UTSA/Rice/UNT/La Tech - Close to Heart of Dallas

UTEP/MTSU/WKU/Marshall/ODU/Charlotte - Close to....nothing.

It seems to me that a better choice for a bowl versus the MAC would have been in Indianapolis or Raleigh, or Richmond, or Baltimore.

So imagine this scenario. Marshall wins CUSA and the Heart of Dallas Bowl bid and FIU/FAU don't qualify for a bowl. What will your bowls look like?

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

The International Bowl had to deal with this.

The MAC pushed its members hard to apply for passports in Septemeber each year (and once you've done it once, its just newcomers to deal with) and they had few problems other than getting a few kids cleared (Canada issue not a US issue) and some hassles with customs bringing all the gear in.

The Big East was less proactive and did have some issues getting everything squared away.

The game died of mutual disinterest. The Big East had indicated they wouldn't renew their contract because they didn't like the game because it was a hard sell for fans and the Toronto group was disappointed in the crowds that crossed over to see the game.

For example NIU tickets for Toronto vs. Mobile.
Toronto 960
Mobile 1708

Toronto is 320 miles closer and Toronto is a direct flight from Chicago, Mobile requires a layover.

You can also search and find message board posts claiming the Toronto game would be a success and worries of travel hassles unfounded.

(04-29-2014 01:12 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

The International Bowl had to deal with this.

The MAC pushed its members hard to apply for passports in Septemeber each year (and once you've done it once, its just newcomers to deal with) and they had few problems other than getting a few kids cleared (Canada issue not a US issue) and some hassles with customs bringing all the gear in.

The Big East was less proactive and did have some issues getting everything squared away.

The game died of mutual disinterest. The Big East had indicated they wouldn't renew their contract because they didn't like the game because it was a hard sell for fans and the Toronto group was disappointed in the crowds that crossed over to see the game.

For example NIU tickets for Toronto vs. Mobile.
Toronto 960
Mobile 1708

Toronto is 320 miles closer and Toronto is a direct flight from Chicago, Mobile requires a layover.

You can also search and find message board posts claiming the Toronto game would be a success and worries of travel hassles unfounded.

Mobile isn't a layover anymore to Chicago. But point made. The other problem is that the plane tickets get really expensive once you go international. For Canada, that means an additional 100 bucks a plane ticket. Plus less competition in airfares. For the Bahamas in December.....at last minute.....well you probably could get to Hawai'i cheaper

Not pleasant.

(04-29-2014 01:18 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 01:12 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

The International Bowl had to deal with this.

The MAC pushed its members hard to apply for passports in Septemeber each year (and once you've done it once, its just newcomers to deal with) and they had few problems other than getting a few kids cleared (Canada issue not a US issue) and some hassles with customs bringing all the gear in.

The Big East was less proactive and did have some issues getting everything squared away.

The game died of mutual disinterest. The Big East had indicated they wouldn't renew their contract because they didn't like the game because it was a hard sell for fans and the Toronto group was disappointed in the crowds that crossed over to see the game.

For example NIU tickets for Toronto vs. Mobile.
Toronto 960
Mobile 1708

Toronto is 320 miles closer and Toronto is a direct flight from Chicago, Mobile requires a layover.

You can also search and find message board posts claiming the Toronto game would be a success and worries of travel hassles unfounded.

Mobile isn't a layover anymore to Chicago. But point made. The other problem is that the plane tickets get really expensive once you go international. For Canada, that means an additional 100 bucks a plane ticket. Plus less competition in airfares. For the Bahamas in December.....at last minute.....well you probably could get to Hawai'i cheaper

Not pleasant.

Supposedly the Bahamas sponsors have said they aren't worried if ticket sales are poor, they want the ad for the Bahamas but in practice it has to make sense financially to be sustainable.

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

Sure, but you already have the Hawai'i Bowl for that. Why go with another bowl that every team in the conference will lose a mint with?

This was stupid on CUSA's part. They should have tried to put together a bowl closer to some of their schools.

Here's where CUSA stands.

FIU/FAU - close to Boca and Beef O' Brady's. I used to live in Fort Lauderdale. Its easier to fly across the country than it is to go to Nassau.

UAB/USM/La Tech - Close to New Orleans Bowl

UTSA/Rice/UNT/La Tech - Close to Heart of Dallas

UTEP/MTSU/WKU/Marshall/ODU/Charlotte - Close to....nothing.

It seems to me that a better choice for a bowl versus the MAC would have been in Indianapolis or Raleigh, or Richmond, or Baltimore.

So imagine this scenario. Marshall wins CUSA and the Heart of Dallas Bowl bid and FIU/FAU don't qualify for a bowl. What will your bowls look like?

(04-29-2014 01:08 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 12:31 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  I think some people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. If I were a coach of a team in an affiliated conference, I'd mention this during recruitment. "Hey, when you decide to come play for me, you might want to think about having your passport already, doesn't a bowl game in the Bahamas sound nice?" If that gets 2 or 3 kids every year who wouldn't have already had their passports to get one that could save 10-15, then I'd mention it again during spring practice and fall camp, I'm sure the coaches talk about bowl games being the goal so go ahead and throw it out there again, "hey guys, remember that one of the bowls we could play in this year is in the Bahamas(insert slide of bikini clad women on the beach) you might want to think about getting your passport now..." and then I'd mention it again after we got our fifth win as again I'm sure after a team gets five wins coaches are already talking about how close they are to bowl eligibility and then I'd really start hammering it home after we got our sixth win. All of that added to the fact that while there are certainly a lot of kids who play college football that have never left their home state until taking college visits, let alone left the country, there are a fair number of college athletes who come from fairly affluent families who will already have their passports.

I can't imagine that if these coaches and administrators are even remotely proactive on this that you're ever going to run into the nightmare scenario some of you are describing having to expedite 100+ passports. The coaches who stay on top of it may end up with only two or three dozen to deal with.

Sure, but you already have the Hawai'i Bowl for that. Why go with another bowl that every team in the conference will lose a mint with?

This was stupid on CUSA's part. They should have tried to put together a bowl closer to some of their schools.

Here's where CUSA stands.

FIU/FAU - close to Boca and Beef O' Brady's. I used to live in Fort Lauderdale. Its easier to fly across the country than it is to go to Nassau.

UAB/USM/La Tech - Close to New Orleans Bowl

UTSA/Rice/UNT/La Tech - Close to Heart of Dallas

UTEP/MTSU/WKU/Marshall/ODU/Charlotte - Close to....nothing.

It seems to me that a better choice for a bowl versus the MAC would have been in Indianapolis or Raleigh, or Richmond, or Baltimore.

So imagine this scenario. Marshall wins CUSA and the Heart of Dallas Bowl bid and FIU/FAU don't qualify for a bowl. What will your bowls look like?

(04-29-2014 07:22 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:15 PM)ARSTATEFAN1986 Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:11 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:09 PM)ARSTATEFAN1986 Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 03:18 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  I think its a crap idea.

Hawaii may suck to get to but you don't need passports for everyone in the traveling party to get them there.

I went earlier this year there and it required either a passport or an official birth certificate.

Went on a boat?

Yep! I also have a passport.

That's why you didn't need a passport. Closed loop cruises (start and end at the same port) are exempt. Officially the Bahamas doesn't guarantee you can get off the boat but if they don't let you off the boat they don't get your money.

So yeah you can work with a cruise line or charter and put the team on a boat in Florida, send the team over play get back on the boat and come back without a passport, not sure that ends up being the most time or cost-efficient method.

(04-29-2014 07:30 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 07:22 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:15 PM)ARSTATEFAN1986 Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:11 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-28-2014 09:09 PM)ARSTATEFAN1986 Wrote:  I went earlier this year there and it required either a passport or an official birth certificate.

Went on a boat?

Yep! I also have a passport.

That's why you didn't need a passport. Closed loop cruises (start and end at the same port) are exempt. Officially the Bahamas doesn't guarantee you can get off the boat but if they don't let you off the boat they don't get your money.

So yeah you can work with a cruise line or charter and put the team on a boat in Florida, send the team over play get back on the boat and come back without a passport, not sure that ends up being the most time or cost-efficient method.

Actually, that would be an excellent way to do it. You put one team on one cruise ship and sell the rest of the cabins to fans and boosters. You put the other squad on another boat and do the same. Great for the schools--they would have a bunch of time to try and get money of big donors and the big donors would get lots of time with players, coaches, and administrators. Of course the teams would miss out on practice time right before the game---but if both teams do it--theres no competetive disadvantage.

(04-29-2014 08:12 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  You gonna call up Royal Carribean and say.. "Hey, we need to charter two entire ships." Their response: "Great. When do you need them?"
Response: "Two weeks" Royal Carribbean: "Uh, that's not going to be possible. We don't have two boats sitting in reserve in DECEMBER in case someone wants to reserve them"

(04-29-2014 08:24 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  So what does this mean for the Sun Belt? Did we lose a tie-in in some of the years of the Bahama Bowl?

(04-29-2014 08:15 PM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  

(04-29-2014 08:12 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  You gonna call up Royal Carribean and say.. "Hey, we need to charter two entire ships." Their response: "Great. When do you need them?"
Response: "Two weeks" Royal Carribbean: "Uh, that's not going to be possible. We don't have two boats sitting in reserve in DECEMBER in case someone wants to reserve them"

It could easily be reserved by the bowl, then sold out to the teams invited.