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The 2018-19 college football bowl season already boasts a schedule of 35 games. That leads to what some consider to be a watered-down product during the postseason, with some teams reaching a bowl without even posting a winning record. Well, things could be getting even worse moving forward.
According to Brett McMurphy, the NCAA Competition Committee is expected to add three new bowl games for the 2020 season. By then, the total number of bowls, including the College Football Playoff games, will be at 43.
That means 84 of the 130 FBS schools will be playing in a bowl game.
Out of the three new bowl games, two of the sites are expected to be Chicago and Myrtle Beach. A third location was not identified. McMurphy writes:
The Chicago bowl, to be played at Wrigley Field, will feature the Big Ten against the ACC, sources said. To add the Chicago bowl in 2020, the Big Ten is expected to end its affiliation with the San Francisco Bowl (formerly Foster Farms Bowl) after 2019.
Myrtle Beach and ESPN officials have had ongoing discussions about starting this bowl game, sources said. The most likely conferences affiliated with Myrtle Beach could be Conference USA, the Sun Belt or the Mid-American. If the Sun Belt is involved, look for the league to cut ties in 2020 with either Arizona, Dollar General, Camellia or Cure, all part of the Sun Belt’s current bowl lineup.
The third new bowl? This isn’t as clear cut. Arizona State has shown interest in adding a bowl in Tempe. And a number of cities/communities have expressed interest in the past including Charleston, S.C., and Greenville, N.C. The only certainty is before a bowl can be created, it must have a contract with two conferences and/or BYU/Army.
Any current changes to the current bowl format are expected to be announced by July 1.
