Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 10:02 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
It has been a big week (of sorts) for the Purevision Las Vegas Bowl, which Thursday extended its contract with the Pac-10 through 2009 and moved up a rung on its postseason selection ladder, at least in every other year during the new pact.
In 2006 and 2008, the LV Bowl will choose fourth among bowls with Pac-10 ties as part of an agreement with the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco which should preclude our postseason classic -- er, bowl game -- from getting stuck with the same team in back-to-back years. That's the good news. The bad news is that it probably won't reduce the chances that a team with Oregon in its name will provide the opposition for the Mountain West selection.
The bigger, or at least more interesting, development is that LV Bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy has come up with a new plan to get rid of -- er, distribute -- some tickets locally that could help the game maintain its tenuous NCAA certification while benefitting local high schools at the same time.
During its 13-year existence, Las Vegas Bowl attendance has fluctuated more wildly than Sen. John Kerry's view on the War in Iraq.
Last year, for instance, a record in-house crowd of 27,784 was on hand for Wyoming's 24-21 upset of UCLA. But the New Mexico-Oregon State game in 2003 attracted only 18,031 spectators, putting the LV Bowl in a jackpot as far as satisfying the attendance requirement over the current three-year period.
The NCAA seems to change policy on bowl game attendance as often as Madonna reinvents herself. But to be on the safe side, the LV Bowl will need to put an unprecedented 32,000 butts in the seats (or 16,000 Kirstie Allies) this year to maintain a three-year average of 25,000.
As Kunzer-Murphy said, with BYU or UNLV as one of the participants, that's not a problem. What is a problem are preseason polls that predict the Cougars and Rebels will finish in seventh and last place, respectively, in the nine-team MWC.
So Kunzer-Murphy is reaching out to local high schools for help. Each of the 30 Las Vegas-area high schools will receive 500 LV Bowl ticket vouchers, with the school that sells its 500 the fastest receiving a $5,000 donation to its athletic program, courtesy of the Las Vegas Bowl. There will also be consolation prizes -- two tickets to the bowl game of its choice to any school that sells 300 tickets. The school selling the most tickets will pick first, followed by the school that sells the second-most tickets and so on.
My prediction is that Bishop Gorman, with its proud and rich (literally) tradition, will either claim the $5,000 first prize or receive two tickets to the Rose Bowl, site of this year's BCS national championship game. And that the Rancho High representative and a guest will probably be sitting on the 50-yard line at the Continental Tire Bowl.
But regardless of who goes to what bowl, this is a novel approach that just might get some people who live here to go to the game for a change.
"We have a great working relationship with the high school coaches association," said Kunzer-Murphy, adding that in past years, unsold tickets to the game have been distributed among the local high schools to use as they see fit. "But we wanted to do something special to bring them out while also giving them some incentive."
Kunzer-Murphy, who made her sales pitch on high school football media day this week (her husband, Greg, is the coach at Green Valley), said the prep coaches seem to be on board. Basic's Cliff Frazier even joked that his team wanted to finish second in the ticket derby, preferring the Rose Bowl ducats to the $5,000.
So Katie Hnida had better prepare to move over. If 15,000 high school kids and their parents show up at Sam Boyd Stadium on Dec. 22, a missed extra point by a female kicker won't be the strangest thing that has ever happened at our postseason classic -- er, bowl game.
I've witnessed every Las Vegas Bowl in each of its configurations and reincarnations, which I suppose, is sort of like admitting to having seen every episode of Green Acres. There's nothing like watching Oliver Douglas climb a telephone poll to make a phone call, unless it's a Las Vegas Bowl on a freezing December night featuring Ball State and Utah State.
So between the decline of the non-BCS bowl business and our city's indifference to supporting live sports featuring football teams from Muncie, Ind., and Logan, Utah, it should come as no surprise that Las Vegas Bowl organizers are resorting to bake sales and car washes to keep the game afloat.
While it's hard to say if local sports fans will appreciate the effort, rest assured there will be two 6-5 college football teams who hope it succeeds.
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