The big announcement came a moment ago. There will be a new bowl game in Montgomery, AL which will pit the MAC against the Sun Belt. It will be known as the Camellia Bowl.
The Camellia is the State Flower of Alabama. It is used to make tea. I am sure by the time the game is played, it will be the 5-Hour Energy Bowl or something like that.
This bowl game "replaces" the Motor City Bowl, which is actually being replaced by a Big 10 hosted game to be held at Ford Field. Back in February, I looked at the financially unsustainable bowl system, which is a complete mess. From what I can see, as bad as it is, the only thing worse would be to be out.
Alabama is the state that hosts our most "bowl like" game atmosphere, which is in Mobile, so there is hope for that. It is pretty far away (though closer than Boise) and is our second bowl match up with the Sun Belt, always a crowd pleaser. The MAC also has a tie-in with the Famous Potato Bowl in Boise.
The Camellia Bowl is actually "owned" by ESPN. I have said for a while that much of the bowl season amounts to little more than a television show for ESPN, and they appear to be doubling down. The emergence of the new cable sports networks is apparently pressuring ESPN to control the bowl inventory...which means they are really hard up for something to show in December.
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