As the end of college football's regular season draws closer, there is an increased presence on the back rows of nearly every press box in America. That would be the folks in the multicolored blazers, the people who proudly wear the emblem of this year's 35 bowl games, from the Tostitos Fiesta to the Kraft Fight Hunger.
These are the men and women (mostly men) who will ultimately determine which teams will receive invitations to participate in their games. Some of those invites will be issued over the next two weeks. A few have already gone out and been accepted. But the vast majority of the "spend your holidays with us" phone calls won't be made until Dec. 4, the day after the conference title games are played.
"It is a fun and also nervous day," Capital One and Champ Sports Bowl executive director Steve Hogan said during ACC Media Days. "It's the closest thing to Christmas morning that I have as an adult. You know, what are you going to get?"
On paper, how and why certain teams are selected by certain games seems very cut and dried. In the world of the BCS and conference bowl tie-ins that go as far as nine-deep, it would appear that the pecking order is what it is and the games simply go down the conference standings and pick their teams.
But if you ask some coaches, you can take that paper and toss it into the shredder.
To read more from Ryan on how bowls make their team selections, become an ESPN Insider today.
Ryan McGee | email
ESPN The Magazine, NASCAR- ESPN The Magazine senior writer
- 2-time Sports Emmy winner
- 2010 NMPA Writer of the Year
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Ryan McGee
Ryan McGee is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. While you may know him for his extensive and very popular NASCAR coverage on this site and television, he's also been a constant in the Mag's coverage of college football. Why? Well, to wit:
• He started working in college athletic departments at 16 (Furman, Tennessee). Got his first sideline pass (UNC @ Virginia) when he was 12 and was totally run over by Tar Heels LB Micah Moon.
• His father was a college football official for 36 years (FBS 1981-2009), working 20 bowl games and two national championships.
• Ryan's a member of the FWAA (Football Writers Association of America).
• He's covered college football for ESPN The Magazine for the last five years.
• He's all over college sports -- Ryan authored "The Road To Omaha: Hits, Hopes and History at the College World Series."
Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ESPNMcGee
