The NCAA is putting a temporary halt to any new bowl game in college football for the next three seasons.
For years, it was one of the best traditions in all of sports. College football bowl season, which for a long time consisted of a dozen or so games, was the time were the best of the best in the sport got rewarded for their accomplishments during the year.
Last season, 42 bowl games took place (including the CFP Title Game) and included multiple teams that either entered their bowl game with a record of .500 or worse or ended up with a losing record after their bowl game loss.
That has caused an outcry from fans who say there are too many bowl games out there (as currently two thirds of the teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision can end up playing in the postseason). The college sports governing body known as the NCAA is saying that enough is enough…for the next three seasons:
NCAA approves 3-year moratorium on new bowls, sources told @ESPN. Austin, Charleston & Myrtle Beach were in process of adding bowls in 2016
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) April 11, 2016
For the 2015 season, three bowl games were added (the Cure Bowl in Orlando, the Arizona Bowl in Tucson, AZ and the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta which features teams from the FCS level).
During the 2015 season, three teams with records of 5-7 were able to play in a bowl game, selected to fill a bowl spot based on their graduation rates from the NCAA. All three teams (Minnesota, Nebraska and San Jose State) won their bowl game and still finished the season with a losing record. In total, 10 of the 80 teams who played in a bowl game ended up having a losing record.
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