Here's the Skinny on the Liberty Bowl

[curmudgeon]

Vanderbilt was bitching because they were 8-4 and beat an 8-4 UGA, and rightfully deserved the Gator Bowl. If Georgia Tech would have beaten Georgia, Slive told the Gator they would have to take Vandy.

The Gator Bowl did not want Vandy and was not shy about it. When Georgia beat Georgia Tech in overtime, a small earthquake may have happened in the Gator Bowl meeting rooms.

The next spot for Vandy would be the Music City. The MCB wanted Ole Miss, and also wanted no part of Vandy, who has played there twice in recent years. Vandy also did not want to go to a bowl in their hometown, they were still bitching about the Gator.

At one point, Slive appeared he was going to force the Gator to take Vandy anyway, forcing UGA to Music City, Ole Miss to Liberty and us to Compass. The Gator pushed back successfully.

Then the Liberty and Compass Bowls made their preference, both listed 1. MSU and 2. Vanderbilt. This happened on Thursday, and we were allowed to make the choice since we were the top choice of both bowls. We chose the Liberty obviously, and the Compass thought they were getting Vandy.

On Saturday evening, the Liberty was asked to reconsider taking Vandy. With a Rice team that does not have a big following, they really wanted MSU or Ole Miss to fill the stadium.

Vandy, without the SEC's blessing, put some calls in to some bowls that needed at-large (Heart of Dallas, Poinsettia, etc.). The only one that was interested in Vandy was the Idaho Potato Bowl, and the Compass Bowl was pissed at the SEC. Vandy asked to take the SEC's #10 pick in the Advocare V100 Independence Bowl, where they would play Boston College and the Compass wouldn't allow it. Vandy was forced to take the Compass Bowl.


What will come of this?

With Houston and Charlotte coming on next year, the SEC is going to clamp down on rules for the bowls. Vandy got royally screwed this year, just like MSU did in 1999. I do not believe the bowls will have the option to pass over a team more than once without a "trade" of some sort. For example, the Gator Bowl should move down in the pecking order next year because of the crap they pulled with Vandy this year.

And the argument from the "Vandy won't travel" people - have you ever been to a bowl game? 65% of the stadium is local/corporate/sponsors. I guarantee Vandy would have sold their allotment and then some.

[Jack Lambert]

We really got screwed in 1997.

[Coach34]

good stuff 615

[ShotgunDawg]

Actually there is a better chance of it happening next year. Beginning in 2014, once the bowl pecking order gets below the Capitol One Bowl, there will be a 6 bowl pool in which the SEC can send schools to which ever one they want.

This is a good rule IMO, because school usually finish in roughly the same order, and therefore consistently go the same bowls. With the new pool system the Liberty Bowl could get the number 4 SEC team vs the number 3 Big 12 teams, the Outback Bowl could get the number 10 SEC team vs the number 7 Big 10 team.

Here is the article that explain it:

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2013/08/12/sec-announces-new-bowl-pool-system/

[curmudgeon]

We didn't get screwed in 1997. There wasn't 40 bowl games. Ole Miss had to take an at-large spot after beating us, if you remember.

[Political Hack]

that sucks for Vandy. I'd be royally pissed.

[maroonmania]

The only issue I have is that Vandy DID NOT deserve the Gator over Georgia. Had they had the same conference record then yes but GA was 5-3 in the SEC and Vandy was 4-4. I don't care that Vandy beat GA, 5-3 is better than 4-4. IF Vandy had played Clemson out of conference they would have lost too. Vandy's beef should be with the MCB which in the current pecking order should have been their destination even though it IS in their hometown. TA&M was essentially equivalent at 8-4 (4-4) but Vandy was never going to get the nod over Manziel. Really the only teams Vandy was legitimately above among the SEC bowl teams was OM and MSU. I guess I just don't get that Vandy got "screwed". And Vandy's fanbase brings most of this on anyway by not coming out and supporting the quality product they currently have under Franklin.

[CJDAWG85]

Vandy can't even fill their own stadium... They rely heavily on visiting opponents bringing a big crowd...

[bobcat91]

that sucks for Vandy. I'd be royally pissed.

We were denied the Outback Bowl in 1999 because they didn't want us and we almost didn't go to the Gator Bowl the first time because they wanted a 6-6 Tennessee team over us. Slive stepped in. We don't want to be in the same shape as Vandy the next time so I wish the SEC would have forced the Gator to Take Vandy. They deserved a better bowl and if you sign the contract to take a conference team then don't complain when Vandy is a part of the conference.

[BeastMan]

Actually, next year the bottom 6 tie ins are part of the "SEC Bowl Pool". I'm in the research part of this and the only bowl I'm waiting on a comment from is the Liberty. Everyone else has responded. My best guess is that it will get even more political moving forward.

[C222]

Vandy can't even fill their own stadium... They rely heavily on visiting opponents bringing a big crowd...

Franklin needs to get the hell out of there.

[BeastMan]

And good stuff btw 615. I speculated most of that on my projection and it's nice to see I got that scenario (Gator down) right. When UGA was making there 2nd half push, I kept tweeting that MSU and OM fans needed to be rooting for Hutson Mason to make it happen for the Dawgs.

[CJDAWG85]

I agree. Vandy's fan just don't buy in. I hate it for the players because they deserve a better bowl, but Bowl Committees look at stuff like that.

[smootness]

We don't want to be in the same shape as Vandy the next time so I wish the SEC would have forced the Gator to Take Vandy.

I don't see the justification behind forcing Vandy to the Gator; maroonmania explained that pretty well, UGA had a better claim to that.

Vandy apparently didn't want to go to the Music City any more than the Music City wanted them, so that seems mutual. So you basically have the Liberty vs. the Compass, and apparently the SEC doesn't place on order on them, so they deem them basically equal.

I also don't see how they got screwed. The SEC could have forced the Music City to take them, but that would have made both sides unhappy. So you get what you get.

It's hard for me to envision a future scenario where we don't want to go to a better bowl for some reason.

[gtowndawg]

We now have a strong rep for bringing crowds. Something bowls want. Shows we've come a long way from little ole' MSU.

[biscuit]

Vanderbilt was bitching because they were 8-4 and beat an 8-4 UGA, and rightfully deserved the Gator Bowl. If Georgia Tech would have beaten Georgia, Slive told the Gator they would have to take Vandy.

The Gator Bowl did not want Vandy and was not shy about it. When Georgia beat Georgia Tech in overtime, a small earthquake may have happened in the Gator Bowl meeting rooms.

The next spot for Vandy would be the Music City. The MCB wanted Ole Miss, and also wanted no part of Vandy, who has played there twice in recent years. Vandy also did not want to go to a bowl in their hometown, they were still bitching about the Gator.

At one point, Slive appeared he was going to force the Gator to take Vandy anyway, forcing UGA to Music City, Ole Miss to Liberty and us to Compass. The Gator pushed back successfully.

Then the Liberty and Compass Bowls made their preference, both listed 1. MSU and 2. Vanderbilt. This happened on Thursday, and we were allowed to make the choice since we were the top choice of both bowls. We chose the Liberty obviously, and the Compass thought they were getting Vandy.

On Saturday evening, the Liberty was asked to reconsider taking Vandy. With a Rice team that does not have a big following, they really wanted MSU or Ole Miss to fill the stadium.

Vandy, without the SEC's blessing, put some calls in to some bowls that needed at-large (Heart of Dallas, Poinsettia, etc.). The only one that was interested in Vandy was the Idaho Potato Bowl, and the Compass Bowl was pissed at the SEC. Vandy asked to take the SEC's #10 pick in the Advocare V100 Independence Bowl, where they would play Boston College and the Compass wouldn't allow it. Vandy was forced to take the Compass Bowl.


What will come of this?

With Houston and Charlotte coming on next year, the SEC is going to clamp down on rules for the bowls. Vandy got royally screwed this year, just like MSU did in 1999. I do not believe the bowls will have the option to pass over a team more than once without a "trade" of some sort. For example, the Gator Bowl should move down in the pecking order next year because of the crap they pulled with Vandy this year.

And the argument from the "Vandy won't travel" people - have you ever been to a bowl game? 65% of the stadium is local/corporate/sponsors. I guarantee Vandy would have sold their allotment and then some.

Good stuff

[drunkernhelldawg]

Thank you. We were all wondering.

[kerrigjl]

Hey guys. Vandy fan here.

First of all, thanks for the OP; if that's truly how it went down (obviously no one knows except for the powers that be), it makes sense and would explain why the coaches and players are upset about being relegated to the Compass bowl.

To address a couple of points brought up by CJDAWG, it's true that Vanderbilt has issues selling out at home. That is due, in large part, to the fact that Vandy has been terrible for 30 years COMBINED with a lack of outreach to the Nashville community, yielding fewer and fewer sidewalk fans each year. Both are changing, thankfully, to the point that a new stadium should be announced soon with a larger capacity.

That being said, Vanderbilt has never had issues selling out bowl games. Vandy has an "inverted fan base," meaning that most of the fans live outside of the Nashville area. I live in St. Louis (I have season tickets and drive down for all home games, but out of 1260 alumni in St. Louis, I'm definitely the exception and not the rule). There are 120k living alumni in the US, but only 1/8 are in Nashville. The alumni tend to pick one big game - the bowl game - and make every effort to attend. You can see that in the bowl attendance figures. In the 2011 Liberty Bowl, a majority Vandy crowd took 93.6% of the seats in the stadium (the remainder were at the very tops of Cincinnati sections) - http://helmetstickers.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-2012-bowl-attendance-figures.html. The 2012 Music City Bowl (where many thought Vandy was screwed out of the Gator) sold 81% of seats, for an attendance of 55k (almost all Vandy fans, as NC State brought maybe 5000) - http://helmetstickers.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-2013-bowl-attendance-figures.html. By comparison, your Gator Bowl the same year sold 63%.

TL;DR - Vandy has trouble selling out at home, and likely will for a while; bowl games, on the other hand, are very well attended due to our nationally dispersed fan base coming back for the bowls.

[Coach34]

good deal- thanks for posting Commodore

[drunkernhelldawg]

I think Slive's scenario would have been the most just and given the SEC the overall most interesting bowl games, but our 6-6 team lucked out, and our players are in for some excellent swag.