From the MAC Board:

Apr 8, 2010

ROADY'S HUMANITARIAN BOWL CLINCHES 4-YEAR DEAL TO MATCH MAC AND WAC OPPONENTS

BOISE, Idaho - Roady's Humanitarian Bowl executive director Kevin McDonald today announced the signing of agreements that set the stage for a four-year relationship pitting top teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) against top opponents from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Qualifying teams will be selected according to each conference's criteria for bowl participation. The MAC is committed to send its third selection of bowl eligible teams based on the MAC bowl selection process to the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.

The WAC is committed to send one of its top teams, based on its bowl-eligible teams' regional drawing strength for fans of the Boise-based game.

http://mac-sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?D...=204924120

The MAC....?

MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

(04-08-2010 10:26 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

Also Idaho isn't anywhere near MAC territory... The representative wouldn't have a good crowd.

(04-08-2010 10:53 PM)troy4ever21 Wrote:  

(04-08-2010 10:26 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

Also Idaho isn't anywhere near MAC territory... The representative wouldn't have a good crowd.

The H-Bowl has always relied on a local crowd. Most visiting teams bring few fans. Wondering if the locals will turn out to see a MAC/WAC matchup ?

(04-08-2010 11:07 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  

(04-08-2010 10:53 PM)troy4ever21 Wrote:  

(04-08-2010 10:26 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

Also Idaho isn't anywhere near MAC territory... The representative wouldn't have a good crowd.

The H-Bowl has always relied on a local crowd. Most visiting teams bring few fans. Wondering if the locals will turn out to see a MAC/WAC matchup ?

Possibly. The GMAC Bowl is the same way. However, when we played there our entire side was full and the front side had a pretty good CMU crowd. Most I'm sure were locals who wanted to come see Troy (an AL team) play. Same could be said for the H-Bowl.

(04-08-2010 10:26 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

Time will tell . . . one of the WAC fans posted the following:

Much of the success of the H Bowl to this point has ben the support of locals who come out to watch the WAC team vs a BCS team. It's been a boost to have a so-called "big name" team come out, even if it's from the ACC. It's been fun to see Georgia Tech, Virginia, or whomever out here against a known WAC team, and so local football fans will come out for that.

To see a WAC team vs. a MAC team . . . IMHO, not so much. I think, sadly, that this may be the beginning of the end.

(04-09-2010 12:07 AM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  

(04-08-2010 10:26 PM)MeanGreen61 Wrote:  MAC can have it. Curious as to how the bowl will do attendance wise since a team from one of the big six conferences is no longer participating.

Time will tell . . . one of the WAC fans posted the following:

Much of the success of the H Bowl to this point has ben the support of locals who come out to watch the WAC team vs a BCS team. It's been a boost to have a so-called "big name" team come out, even if it's from the ACC. It's been fun to see Georgia Tech, Virginia, or whomever out here against a known WAC team, and so local football fans will come out for that.

To see a WAC team vs. a MAC team . . . IMHO, not so much. I think, sadly, that this may be the beginning of the end.

Locals have always supported the GMAC bowl; regardless of who is playing.

They must sure be wagering on Idaho to start being consistently bowl eligible, or for Boise to not be BCS crashing.

(04-09-2010 09:02 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  They must sure be wagering on Idaho to start being consistently bowl eligible, or for Boise to not be BCS crashing.

Agree; I do not see the locals coming out in the cold unless a local team is involved. Why freeze your buns off for a team that is not yours?

(04-09-2010 10:52 AM)ManzanoWolf Wrote:  

(04-09-2010 09:02 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  They must sure be wagering on Idaho to start being consistently bowl eligible, or for Boise to not be BCS crashing.

Agree; I do not see the locals coming out in the cold unless a local team is involved. Why freeze your buns off for a team that is not yours?

Well the locals came out to see a WAC team versus a BCS team. But Fresno vs Western Michigan? I think not. The BCS draw is gone, and I really think they'll need Boise or Idaho in the game consistently to draw well. Utah State might be the other WAC team that might not suck completely with attendance given their relatively proximity to Boise...about 4 hrs straight up the interstate, plus a lot of ties between southern Idaho and Utah. But it's also not like Utah State has great attendance at home, so hard to say. But that's probably best case for a team not from Idaho.

They're going to try and put Boise or Idaho in the game. The agreement is nebulous enough on both ends where they can create an exciting matchup.

This season's game was attended well enough against a MAC team. And it was pretty darn exciting. They're painting a turd as best as they can.