MOBILE, Ala. — Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson said he is “extremely disappointed” that only two of the league’s seven bowl-eligible football teams received postseason invitations, a group that left out South Alabama after the Jaguars finished 6-6 in their first season of bowl eligibility.
In a statement released after bowl pairings were announced, Benson said the Sun Belt made financial offers to two bowls with open spots that “clearly exceeded anything the Sun Belt has done in previous years,” but neither selected a conference team.
Two Bowl Bids
Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State finished as Sun Belt co-champions. Louisiana-Lafayette accepted a bid to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, and Arkansas State was selected by the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, the conference’s second primary bowl partner.
Benson called the 2013 regular season the most competitive in the Sun Belt’s 13-year history of football. He said the league set records for bowl-eligible teams, surpassing last year’s mark of five, and for nonconference wins, and went 6-1 against its peer conferences: Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the Mountain West Conference. He said the Sun Belt had the highest percentage of bowl-eligible teams among the 10 FBS conferences.
Offers to Independence, Little Caesars Bowls
Benson said the conference knew for several weeks that it would be difficult to place every bowl-eligible team, given the number of eligible teams from other leagues in the at-large pool.
He said the Sun Belt targeted the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl and the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl and negotiated with both until final decisions were made. Two weeks ago, the conference’s presidents and chancellors authorized Benson to use Sun Belt funds at his discretion to persuade those bowls to take a league team.
“I am extremely disappointed, that while our efforts were very aggressive, we ended up not being able to place more than two of our bowl eligible teams – especially Western Kentucky University with an 8-4 record,” Benson said.
Criticism of the Bowl System
Benson said that while the current bowl system is beneficial, it is flawed. He noted that over the last two seasons, three teams with eight or more wins, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech, were left out of the postseason, while 12 teams with 6-6 records played in bowls last season and seven do so this season. He also noted that 6-7 teams were allowed to play in bowls in 2011 and 2012.
Benson outlined several points about the selection process:
- The Sun Belt champion does not automatically go to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
- The Sun Belt has suggested guidelines for how teams should be selected, but the New Orleans Bowl and GoDaddy Bowl have the freedom to choose the teams they believe are best for their games.
- Once the conference’s two contracted slots are filled, competition for open bowl slots is heavy, and the Sun Belt’s offers were intended to put its teams at or near the top of each bowl’s list of possible invitees.
New Bowl Ties Next Season
Benson said that beginning next season, the Sun Belt will have a third primary bowl partner in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, along with guaranteed spots in the Bahamas Bowl and the Miami Beach Bowl. He said the conference is working to develop other new bowls and that a major goal will be to place a team in the new College Football Playoff.
“This is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of Sun Belt teams this season – and not focus on the negative,” Benson said. “The Sun Belt continues to evolve, grow, and mature as one of ten FBS conferences.”
South Alabama’s Season
South Alabama, in its first season as a full FBS member, closed the regular season with three straight wins, including a 30-8 home victory over co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette, to finish 6-6 overall and 4-3 in Sun Belt play under head coach Joey Jones. The Jaguars play their home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.
