It’s a tough time for bowl games.
The college football playoffs expanded to 12 teams last season, reducing the profile of traditional destination bowl games. Players in the NIL era are increasingly opting out of their team’s postseason games, preparing instead to transfer or go pro.
Notre Dame, which lost the National Championship last year to Ohio State, opted out of a bowl game despite finishing the season with a 10-2 record. Iowa State and Kansas State did the same.
But both coaches competing in next month’s Trust and Will Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium said this week that they stand by the tradition.
“Bowl games are an incredible opportunity for every program that’s fortunate enough to be a part of them,” said Brent Brennan, the University of Arizona head coach. “Every bowl game is different. Every bowl game has its own experience, location, the people that put it on, and obviously, the Sports San Diego red jackets are holding it down here in San Diego.”
He said he’s proud to finish the season with a meaningful game in a bowl that has seemed increasingly prevalent in recent years.
“I have a high level of respect and appreciation for the bowl games everywhere, but having a little bit of experience with this bowl and knowing how special this bowl game is in San Diego and on the West Coast, the opportunity for us to be a part of it was big time,” he said.
Rhett Lashlee, the head coach for Southern Methodist University, which will be facing Arizona on Jan. 2, said bowl games are part of college football’s constantly evolving landscape.
“College football has changed. We’ve got a playoff, NIL and transfer portal, which we didn’t have five to six years ago,” he said. “It’s a big machine — college football, it takes time to change, so each year, we learn a little bit more. Hopefully, we can do things to make the schedule more conducive to great bowl matchups. Fortunately for us, we’re in a great bowl matchup, at a great bowl venue and both teams are going to show.”
The transfer portal has made it easier than ever for players to change programs — and NIL payments have allowed them to cash in while doing so. That threat of transfer forces teams to adapt to losing players before the end of the season.
“We’ve not had an issue with opt-outs yet,” Lashlee said. “Every team has players who may decide to go into the transfer portal for different reasons. Every team handles that differently. If players decide to transfer now, even though the portal is not open, they probably won’t be with us for the game. But in terms of opt-outs, I don’t expect that.”
Brennan said Notre Dame’s decision had no bearing on his outlook.
“That team’s decision is that team’s decision,” he said. “I just know that the University of Arizona football team is excited to play in this game. Can’t wait to get out here, enjoy San Diego and the Holiday Bowl festivities.”
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