Columnist Ron Kantowski: Grinch may take away LV Bowl

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

If you're like me and believe a side order of pigskin is the perfect complement to Christmas goose, then a meeting this weekend at the Four Seasons should pique your interest.

A number of big shots with funny-colored blazers -- you know them as college football bowl game executive directors -- will gather in Las Vegas to discuss strategy following the NCAA Football Certification Subcommittee's warning shot that changes are coming that could put some of the postseason "classics" on the sidelines.

Some fans, growing weary of watching Wake Forest battle Fresno State in the Humorous Tie Bowl (actually, there's no Humorous Tie Bowl and for that matter, the Weedeater Bowl is also no longer), may think that's a good idea.

But those of us who have used the Las Vegas Bowl as the perfect excuse to bail out of a Christmas Day visit to the in-laws should be concerned. There's a real chance that 2003 could be the year that the NCAA Grinches steal our Christmas football.

"Right now, it's what the market will bear," Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley, chairman of the Certification Committee, told the Orlando Sentinel this week. "Beginning with 2003 ... there are some new requirements going in that bowls are going to have to meet."

One of those most likely will be bowls being made to match the financial commitment placed on participating teams and conferences. In other words, if the teams are required to purchase $800,000 in tickets, then their payoff for showing up must be at least that much. This edict in theory would prevent teams from taking a bath in red ink for accepting a bowl bid.

Another is that bowls will be required to fill at least 25,000 seats, or 70 percent of their stadium's capacity.

That gulp you just heard was Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy swallowing hard. While her game might not be the first to fold under the new rules, its long-term viability under them would be tenuous.

"On straight value, it would hurt us," Kunzer-Murphy said about the impending reforms.

This past year, for instance, New Mexico and UCLA played in front of just 21,584. The paid attendance was 30,000-plus, but that was because the teams were forced to buy most of the tickets.

And that was because when it comes to college football, Las Vegas doesn't turn out for anybody that doesn't have "UNLV" written on their chest. Only 5,000 tickets were sold locally.

The Las Vegas Bowl is happy with its relationship with title sponsor Sega, so squeezing some more money out of that deal is not an option. So the best way to remain afloat would be selling more tickets in town, either to fans or corporate interests.

Kunzer-Murphy said moving the game ahead one day -- to Christmas Eve afternoon -- might be its panacea. That way, players and fans could still spend Christmas with their families and the hotel-casinos could entertain them until then, perhaps in exchange for purchasing large blocks of tickets.

Part of the problem facing the lesser bowls is the Bowl Championship Series, which has reduced all but the National Championship game to lovely parting gift status. But with the college presidents committed to the BCS, it'll be up to the individual bowl games to save themselves.

If they can't, I'm afraid it's back to the in-laws for Christmas dinner.