Although it may be ancient history to many, “Bowling for Dollars” was a popular TV show airing in the 1970s. The show’s format was simple; contestants could win cash and prizes based on their bowling performance.

The uproar created by the College Bowl Selection Committee’s December 7 announcement of the twelve teams to participate in the national championship playoff conjured up memories of that old TV show, although the cash it offered long ago is chicken feed compared to what is being paid to the ‘institutions of higher learning’ receiving invitations to the football fest.

By this time, every interested football fan is aware of who got in and who was left out. Whether they agree or disagree, the problem remains: whenever a group of individuals gathers in a room to determine a course of action, whatever the decision, there will be disagreement among the affected population.

For the chosen twelve, the coveted path toward a national crowning will begin December 19 and conclude January 19 in Miami. In addition to those eleven games, 36 college bowl games began to be played last Saturday and will continue through the early days of January, with just about anyone with a .500 record taking part.

Taking an NCAA math course reveals some interesting numbers. The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is home to the largest schools in college football, numbering 134 teams in 10 conferences. The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) also competes in Division I-AA and is comprised of 129 smaller teams in 13 conferences. At the end of each season, they compete in their own 24-team playoffs.

So, for the 134 FBS teams, there are opportunities for 94 teams to go bowling. To qualify, teams must:
• Have at least as many wins as overall losses. Wins against non-Division I teams do not count.
• No more than one win against an FCS team may count toward that win total.
• A team that has a losing record only because it lost its conference championship game remains eligible for a bowl.

However, if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the bowl slots, additional teams may be selected based on something defined as an Academic Progress Rate. Simply stated, if the bowls need teams and there aren’t any teams remaining with a .500 record, the academic achievement of a team’s players will be good enough to gain entry.

But the advent of the College Football Playoff is the first stage of failure for the plethora of bowl games. That playoff began with two selected teams, then went to four, now 12, and is likely to be expanded to 16 invited teams. Getting left behind leaves those non-selected teams with bruised egos and smaller bank accounts. There is little prestige when your school is playing in the Core Bowl, Xbox Bowl, or 68 Ventures Bowl.

For those twelve teams chosen for the FBS playoffs, the payoffs include:
• $4 million for each of the twelve teams
• $4 million for each of the eight teams reaching the quarterfinals
• $6 million for the four teams reaching the semifinals
• $6 million for the two teams in the championship game
• Each team will get $3 million to cover expenses

Additionally, Conferences make a lot of money when their teams play in bowl games, often in the high six- or low seven-figure range.

This explains the action taken by the Big 12 Conference, which fined Kansas State and Iowa State $500,000 each for their decision not to play in bowl games. Both schools made that decision after their head coaches left; Iowa State’s Matt Campbell to Penn State, and Kansas State’s coach retiring.

“While the Conference acknowledges the difficult timing around coaching changes, the Big 12 is responsible for fulfilling its contractual obligations to its bowl partners,” the league reasoned in explaining its actions.

Locally, the sizeable legion of Penn State and Notre Dame fans have mixed reactions to bowl season. Largely, PSU followers see the team’s December 27 Pinstripe Bowl appearance against Clemson as a cleansing following the stain of the Franklin firing. On the other hand, Fighting Irish fans are fighting mad that their team didn’t receive the rose they were expecting.

So incensed were the Irish, they reacted to playground-like behavior, taking their ball and going home.

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua expressed frustration with the process and stated the playoff spot was stolen from his team. As a result, the Irish opted out of “consideration for a bowl game” and released a statement thanking their fans and families for their support.

While disappointment was expressed from schools with similar college playoff hopes, BYU, Vanderbilt, and Texas among them, Notre Dame’s ultimate denial was the result of its 27-24 regular-season head-to-head loss to the University of Miami, which claimed the final playoff berth.

Notre Dame has long enjoyed the financial perks of its continued independent status, which has included its own NBC-TV contract and scheduling freedom, but those perks sometimes come with consequences. Mr. Bevacqua may one day realize the playoff berth wasn’t “stolen from his team,” it was lost in September on the field in Miami.