Oregon Strategy Session: How The Pac-10 Bowl Lineup Should Look

It is no secret that the Pac-10 has a second-rate bowl lineup.  Outgoing commissioner Tom Hansen has advanced the conference’s visibility but has been stuck in the past.  Other conferences like the Big 10 and Big 12 grab fan's attention with creative marketing in the 21st century.  The Pac-10 is the only major conference with just one New Years Day bowl affiliation.  The Rose Bowl is partially to blame for this because it deters other people interested in starting a New Years Day bowl game.  The conference did have an affiliation with the Cotton Bowl in the early 1990’s and looking back, it was a shame to lose that affiliation. With the exception of the Rose Bowl, all bowl games put higher rated Pac-10 teams against lower rated teams from opposing conferences.  This is unfortunate because it presents a lose-lose scenario.  If the Pac-10 teams play well, there will be an asterisk because they were playing teams that finished lower in ... (link)