The reason for the bowls is not about money..prestige and recruiting.

[crazzymark]

If my son would of played football and a coach from let's say NIU or ISU came calling, NIU coach said "you can watch your son on TV all season and on a major network for a bowl game every year..or ISU says, you might be able to watch some of the games on a stream feed (espn 3)and if we win 3 playoff games , you can see your son on ESPN 2. What would you do as a parent? Knowing that the better education is at ISU but if I want your child to have the most exposure for a shot at a professional contract? This and other problems are what the ISU coaching staff is over coming..and having 75 scholarships helps with depth and position contention.

 

[bb fan]

It's interesting to hear Coach Spack's take on the MAC and FBS in general. When the subject is brought up, I have heard him say several times, both in front of groups and talking to small just a couple of folks that "those teams will NEVER get the chance to pay for a national championship". And he has conveyed that to recruits as well.

 

[TheTruth]

It's interesting to hear Coach Spack's take on the MAC and FBS in general. When the subject is brought up, I have heard him say several times, both in front of groups and talking to small just a couple of folks that "those teams will NEVER get the chance to pay for a national championship". And he has conveyed that to recruits as well.

Great point! That's why the MAC should never be the ultimate goal of Illinois State athletics. If they have to use as a means to an end, so be it. Besides, Illinois State isn't exactly contending for NCAA national championships in basketball, yet I've heard no plans to move from the MVC to the GLVC.

 

[MadBird]

I'm not sure how we stack up vs. NIU, but Coach Spack can surely say you can earn a shot at the NFL at ISU. There's plenty of guys to testify to that.

And I guess some people would be impressed with being on ESPN on Tuesday at 4pm, but I was watching the 4pm news and weather myself. The FCS playoffs are broadcast from the quarterfinals I think, and so you could actually watch your FCS team on "broadcast" TV three times in the post-season if things went well. Twice for sure. If a parent and their kid was impressed with that kind of thing.

 

[fourthandshort]

got to give props to crazzy .. his subject header said it well.

p.s. I'm not a big fan of the bowls .. I prefer a playoff. But that doesn't change the point of his thread title.

 

[jbird]

got to give props to crazzy .. his subject header said it well.

p.s. I'm not a big fan of the bowls .. I prefer a playoff. But that doesn't change the point of his thread title.

I'm not yet sold on the "prestige" of being 6 and 6 during the regular season and playing another 6-6 team in the Angel Soft Toilet Tissue Bowl in Valdosta, Georgia.

And who do you think bowl eligibility positions us to recruit against? Are teams like NIU and Western Kentucky in the same recruiting circles as Notre Dame, Ohio State, and half of the SEC schools? No, they are in the same recruiting ponds as 130 other wannabes that will never come close to an FCS playoff opportunity. NIU was in the Orange Bowl a couple of years ago. Did that "prestige" convert into Top 30 national recruiting classes? [ SPOILER ALERT: it never will; not for them, and not for us ]

 

[Reggie Redbird]

If my son would of played football and a coach from let's say NIU or ISU came calling, NIU coach said "you can watch your son on TV all season and on a major network for a bowl game every year..or ISU says, you might be able to watch some of the games on a stream feed (espn 3)and if we win 3 playoff games , you can see your son on ESPN 2. What would you do as a parent? Knowing that the better education is at ISU but if I want your child to have the most exposure for a shot at a professional contract? This and other problems are what the ISU coaching staff is over coming..and having 75 scholarships helps with depth and position contention.

If you care about your son's education, wouldn't you be interested in having him attend as much class as he can? Missing classes for a day or two so you can play Tues, Wed, or Th night conference games can be tough on the academics. NIU played 6 of their 12 regular season games during the middle of the week. Toledo was the same. WMU had four midweek games.

You also fail to mention that some FCS playoff games are on national TV as well. The Bison will have played three ESPN2 games in the playoffs (their first on ESPN3). I guess you could argue that you could see your son play more if he attends a good FCS school.