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As debate continues around the future makeup of the College Football Playoff and how that impacts traditional postseason bowl games, the place of non-power conferences in this new era has come into the spotlight.
Despite two teams outside the Power 4 conferences (Tulane and James Madison) earning automatic CFP bids this season, one idea continues to be brought up: a separate playoff for non-power conferences.
Traditionally, there have been five of those leagues, but with the Pac-12 relaunching with mostly non-power teams next year after more realignment, there will now be a clear “Group of 6” outside the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC: the American Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West, Pac-12, and Sun Belt.
Group of 6 Tournament?
Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli, whose organization oversees the scheduling of bowl games, tells Front Office Sports that bowl game operators would support facilitating a Group of 6 playoff.
“We’re in constant dialogue with all the conferences and the consistent message is: We are here to serve the game of college football, like we have for a long, long time,” Carparelli says. “So, if the Group of 6 were to want to put together a series of bowl games that determine some type of champion, in their group, we would be excited to be a part of that conversation.”
Carparelli believes providing neutral postseason sites, like most other NCAA sports have, is paramount. “When you get to that level, having a competitively fair, neutral site environment is very important,” he says.
Meetings between the 10 FBS conferences and Bowl Season execs about the 2026 landscape and beyond will take place sometime after the Jan. 20 CFP national championship game.
Dealing With Opt-Outs
Carparelli has not spoken with anyone from Notre Dame about the school opting out of Bowl Season after missing out on the CFP, but he plans to eventually. “There were a lot of emotions going on there,” he says. “They handled their decision with the ACC, of which they’re part of their bowl lineup. So, I was respectful of that process. And I have not wanted to speak to them directly just yet, because I think it’s still a little bit raw and emotional, but time will come for that for sure.”
Kansas State and Iowa State were fined $500,000 each by the Big 12 for turning down bowl invites amid coaching changes. There are three 5–7 teams competing in bowl games this postseason, after multiple games struggled to attract participants.
“Certainly we have a lot to talk about in the offseason with our conference partners,” Carparelli says. “No one wants to force anyone to go to a bowl game if they don’t want to.”
Attracting Fans a “Challenge”
There are 43 bowl games this season, including CFP matchups, the same number as last year, when the 36 non-CFP game broadcasts averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 14% from the prior season.
Total bowl game attendance has hovered around 1.5 million in recent seasons, and Carparelli admits attracting fans to games “continues to be a challenge.” On Saturday, the Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk, featuring Washington and Boise State, drew an announced attendance of 23,269 at the 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium.
Nine bowl games have different branding this season. Three changed title sponsors, four added sponsors, the New Orleans Bowl lost its sponsor, and the Xbox Bowl in Frisco, Texas, has replaced the Bahamas Bowl.
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