Bowl jockeying multi-layered for Big Ten schools

IOWA CITY - It happened so long ago that neither Iowa nor Outback Bowl officials remember the year or the verdict on the Hawkeyes' football season. But it certainly made an impression.

Before the football program's run of recent bowl success and the fans' reputation as bowl fanatics, Iowa officials wanted to show the Outback Bowl the school was worth an invitation. As the bowl's board of directors deliberated, a visitor arrived from the North Pole.

“We sent them in a black-and-gold Santa Claus outfit and travel bag filled with Iowa corn,” said Rick Klatt, Iowa's associate athletics director external affairs. “The goal was to have introduce himself to (Outback Bowl President) Jim McVay and simply say that each kernel of corn represents a fan of the Hawkeyes that will be down in Tampa. I'm pretty sure he got through the door.”

McVay remembers the moment. He chuckled and said times have changed in the selection process.

“You know when you get Iowa, you're getting a well-coached tough bunch of guys,” McVay said, “and they have maybe in the best fans in the country. Iowa has got the whole package. I don't recall that was the case back when Santa showed up with a bag of corn.

“Iowa doesn't need Santa and a bag of corn anymore.”

That's one anecdote into the symbiotic relationship between schools and bowl games that takes place each fall. Once the regular season winds down, schools compete against one another for destinations. The Outback Bowl, which will send two scouts to this week's Iowa-Ohio State game, picks second after the Big Ten's BCS bowl ties. If the BCS takes two Big Ten teams, the Outback can pick any Big Ten team it wants regardless of record, according to its contract with the Big Ten. Otherwise, it must pick a team within one win of an available team with the best record.

The selection process is regimented, just the way Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany wants it. Delany and the league set up ironclad financial packages with the bowls. The league gets paid, and the bowls receive ticket guarantees. The rest is up to the schools.

“On behalf of our schools we go and get the best bowls, best television agreements, best set of ticket obligations,” Delany said. “I do it for all of them, and they all benefit by it. It makes no sense to encourage one of our schools to outbid another one of our schools to spend more money. Because we're already sharing the money so they're spending the money that's being shared with them.”

Delany holds conference calls with bowl officials every Sunday, and school officials also participate. Delany said he presses the bowls for accurate information so he can gauge the level of interest by bowls for the schools.

He also has to serve as a referee, but doesn't advocate for one team over another. Last year both Iowa and Penn State advocated for the Orange Bowl. The schools were 10-2, BCS-eligible, boast solid fan bases and post good television ratings. Iowa had beaten Penn State head-to-head, but that was an early-season game.

“That was their (the Orange Bowl's) call,” Delany said. “They're both eligible. We don't get in the way.”

In a race for bowl positioning, schools are free to advertise in bowl locations and tout their success in bringing fans and eyeballs to television. Last year Iowa officials competed against Penn State, BYU and Virginia Tech for the final available BCS bowl berth. Klatt said Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta wanted the marketing staff to send weekly updates to each of the BCS bowls reminding them of Iowa's success of bringing fans to a bowl community for multiple days and that Iowa delivered strong television ratings in all time frames.

“Gary wanted to make certain all of those decision-makers, many of whom had never had the Hawkeyes, were pretty well versed in what we were and who we were as a football program, as an institution, a fan base and to dispel the rumors that we're every bit as good a television draw as the name schools,” Klatt said. “We were able to demonstrate that factually with numbers.”

It was unlikely last year the Sugar Bowl - which had the final BCS pick - would select Iowa, but Klatt sent the materials anyway at Barta's behest.

“I'm a firm believe communications is cumulative,” Klatt said. “Maybe it wasn't pertinent last year, but it's going to be pertinent two years from now and they'll have some reservoir of knowledge about us. It was important to include them.”

The communication also works both ways. Delany said a school like Wisconsin, which has played in Florida the last five years, might like to go to another location. McVay prefers to talk to schools early in the process to get a handle on possible bowl fatigue, which could hurt ticket sales and interest.

“You try to get a feel for fans,” McVay said. “You try to get a feel from the AD and their people. They'll let you know if they don't want to come back, and we'll let them know if we want to circulate the inventory. You have those discussions.”