Bowl Season 2021-22 Annual Report

2021 - 22 ANNUAL REPORT

A Celebration of College Football

CONTENTS

2

Letter from the Executive Director

3

Bowl Season Executive Committee

4

By the Numbers

8

Community Impact

10

Public Relations

12

Social Media Campaigns

14

Official Newsletter

16

Bowl Season Stories Podcast

18

Bowl Bound Program

19

Bowl Season Radio

20

Television Viewership

22

The Bowls

24

Bowl Season Annual Meeting

Executive Editor: Nick Carparelli Production and Editing: Tony Fay Public Relations Design: Cathy Hutzler Editorial Assistance: Bryan Schwab Thomas Caracciolo Ryan Charles

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Perseverance and Growth

B

owl Season is one of the greatest and longest running traditions in American sports.

Every game is so meaningful to the players, coaches, fans, bands and spirit groups that participate in them as well as the communities across the country that host them.

It continues to be my honor and privilege to promote the bowl system and to share how meaningful bowl games are to so many.

While these last two years were anything but normal, the challenges we faced were not unique to us. Last year the college football world was forced to deal with the lingering effects of a global pandemic, as well as the emergence of NIL, the transfer portal and conference realignment, among other issues, creating new and unique challenges for everyone.

But in the face of immense uncertainty, the show still went on for our bowls. In all, 76 teams participated in 39 bowl games, producing moments that we will not soon forget.

As you will see highlighted throughout this annual report, everything we do is intended to bring value to the Bowl Season membership by promoting the entire bowl system as well as the game of college football. This year we launched several new initiatives. The weekly podcasts and social media campaigns helped us tell some of the great stories of Bowl Season’s past & present, while our Bowl Bound t-shirt program gave current student-athletes the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishment of earning bowl eligibility.

The Bowl Season brand has gained more and more traction in our overall celebration of college football.

The development of the Bowl Season brand as well as our promotional efforts have drawn the attention of various corporate partners, leading to some exciting new business relationships the likes of which our organization has never experienced. The stage is set for the future growth of Bowl Season, both promotionally & financially.

We also elevated our level of communication with the leaders of college football to ensure that Bowl Season maintains its important place on the American sports calendar as it has for over a century. It is important to us all that we continue to work collaboratively with the commissioners of the 10 FBS conferences to ensure that Bowl Season remains a meaningful component of the college football season.

I am so grateful to everyone who helped make our bowl games happen this past year. None of the games could have taken place without the tireless efforts of the bowl organizations and their conference partners who recognize how meaningful bowl games are to their membership. Our partners at ESPN continue to be extremely supportive in creating and maintaining a broadcast schedule so that our bowl games will be seen on national television, and their efforts are also very much appreciated.

Bowl Season is all about memories, and this year was no different. College football needs bowl games, and bowl games continue to serve the game of college football in a unique and memorable way.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! Nick Carparelli, Executive Director

2

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Bowl Season is one of the greatest and longest running traditions in American sports, taking place in late December and running through New Year’s Day, and has been college football’s postseason for over 100 years.

It promotes the grand tradition of the bowl system and its endearing value to studentathletes, highlighting the broader university and college communities, including spirit squads, marching bands, athletic staff and fans. Bowl Season spotlights the distinctiveness of each of the bowl games along with their histories and traditions and their proud communities — embracing and honoring the bowl experience for present and future generations.

Mark Neville

Jeff Hundley

Steve Beck

CHAIR

VICE CHAIR

TREASURER

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

Allstate Sugar Bowl

Military Bowl Presented by Peraton

John Saccenti

Danny Morrison

Missy Setters

SECRETARY

AT-LARGE

IMMEDIATE PAST

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

REPRESENTATIVE

CHAIR

Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Mike Nealy

David Fletcher

Kevin McDonald

PAST CHAIR

PAST CHAIR

PAST CHAIR

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Guaranteed Rate Bowl

TaxAct Texas Bowl

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

3

BY THE NUMBERS

2021-22 Bowl Season

39 BOWL GAMES

Experienced by:

37K

Avg. P + e Game r

4K+

STUDENT-ATHLETES PARTICPATED

1.45M FANS IN ATTENDANCE

573 347 AND

sing Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud’s pas l Bow e Ros 2 yards (573) in the 202 the of rt sho s Game, just three yard thBowl Season record. Jaxon Smi t mos the Njigba set a record for any catches and receiving yards for for ns ptio FBS game with 15 rece 347 yards.

Britain

COVEY

Jaxon

SMITHNJIGBA

4

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

4.7M

Avg. Per Game

183M TELEVISION VIEWERS

POWERED BY

1

Bob Stoops, who was inducted into the College Football Ha ll of Fame on Dec. 7, returned to OU’s sideline as interim head coach for the Valer o Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. It marked Stoops’ first colle giate game since beating Auburn in the 20 16 Sugar Bowl. It wa s his 19th bowl ga me as a head coach (he now owns a 10-9 mark).

21

The deficit Oklahoma State overcame to beat Notre Dame 37-35 in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

The Cowboys’ rally was the largest comeback in program history, besting a 20-point comeback against Colorado in 1979.

1,293

The total yards ac cumulated by th e offenses of Tennes see and Purdue in the Transperfect Music City Bowl — the second-mos t combined yard s in Bowl Season history. Purdue QB Aidan O’Conn ell threw for 534 yards and five TD s while Tennesse e’s RB Jabari Small led the way on the ground with 180 yards. Small’s backfield mate QB Hendon Hooker tossed five TDs wi th 378 yards. Five Boilermaker RBs combined for 93 yards on the grou nd, led by Zander Horvath’s 58 on 17 carries.

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

5

BY THE NUMBERS

64.0

Sean Tyler of Western Michigan’s return yard average in the Quick Lane Bowl — tying a Bowl Season record.

Sean

TYLER

200

3 6

Levi

Liberty’s win total in bowl games in three years of FBS play. The Flames beat Eastern Michigan in the LendingTree Bowl.

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

WILLIAMS

Wyoming quarterback Levi Williams’ rushing total in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — ranking fifth-most in bowl history by a QB. He also rushed for four touchdowns.

POWERED BY

5,967 62 AND

Bailey

ZAPPE

Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe’s 2021 season was capped in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl where he finished the campaign with 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns — both FBS singleseason records. He passed for 422 yards and six touchdowns in the game.

34M

The cumulative number of people reached over the 16 game broadcasts of Bowl Season Radio this year.

5

tories by the Number of bowl vic rence this Bowl Mountain West Confe s 5-1 record ce Season. The conferen wl Challenge Bo earned them their 5th Cup victory

22.4K

The number of total listens/views (through 2/28) of the inaugural season of Bowl Season Stories podcast, featuring 57 great guests throughout the first installment. (as of 3/10/22)

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

7

COMMUNITY IMPACT

E

xtra Yard for Teachers is Bowl Season’s designated community initiative. The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation’s primary cause platform, Extra Yard for Teachers is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers.

Every bowl game came together and participated in an effort by the entire Bowl Season membership to honor teachers in each respective market as part of the second-annual BIG DAY for Teachers on Sept. 14, 2021. Part of Extra Yard for Teachers Week, the BIG DAY is a designated day where the college football community celebrates educators.

More than 7,000 teachers were positively affected nationwide during CFP Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers Week.

Each bowl game was provided with a $1,000 DonorsChoose gift card through Extra Yard for Teachers to present to a local teacher on the BIG DAY, with encouragement to do anything additional to celebrate them.

The partnership includes the opportunity to participate in an Extra Yard for Teachers grant-matching program for teachers during Bowl Season. Available to all bowl games, it has the potential to bring more than $500,000 in additional support to teachers nationwide.

8

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

GIVING BACK

Bowls have a tradition of giving back to their communities, with hundreds of millions of dollars going to worthy charities and causes over the years.

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

9

PUBLIC RELATIONS

M

edia coverage for Bowl Season was more widespread than ever before, including coverage during the regular season leading up to Bowl Season.

Coverage was not limited to the sports pages either, as Bowl Season’s role in the business of sports was a consistent topic.

A s Po d c asts Continu e to Gro

BOWL SEASON

w,

Remain s Part o f the Conv ersation

Bowl Season continues to strive towards having a significant voice in college football year-round.

CONSISTENT CADENCE: No matter the time of year, Bowl Season remains part of the conversation.

10

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

IN THE NEWS: Whether mainstream, business or sports media, Bowl Season is part of it.

OUR TIM

E Once th e Games Begin, B owl Season S hines on the Big S tage

From game coverage to sponsors to talking college football, Bowl Season is a hot topic.

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

11

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

Growth (9/1/21 – 1/31/22)

@BowlSeason Followers TWITTER

13.87K

N SELECTIO SUNDAY1)

Increased from 6.34K

202 (Dec. 5, ollowers Twitter F 5K in d Increase One Day

119% INSTAGRAM

3.3K

Increased from 1.9K

75% FACEBOOK

1.5K

Increased from 1.3K

14.6%

Total Social Media Reach (9/1/21 – 1/31/22) TWITTER

26.66M INSTAGRAM

304.45K FACEBOOK

71.92K 12

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

PREPARED BY

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

13

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER

Bowl Season’s KICKOFF newsletter entered its second season of growth, continuing to celebrate college football and our unique postseason. Our subscriber base grew by nearly 41% over a year’s span.

Special “thank you” to Kevin McNamara, who did a great job as our lead writer for content and coverage.

August, 2021

30% Open Rate

3,021

SUBSCRIBERS

November, 2021

December, 2021

January, 2022

BOWL PREVIEW

SEASON WRAP-UP

38%

39%

Open Rate

Open Rate

35.75%

AVERAGE OPEN RATE (Last year open rate: 25%; industry average is 15%)

SUBSCRIBE AT BOWLSEASON.COM

14

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

36% Open Rate

4,248 SUBSCRIBERS

PROMOTIONS

Game Notes For the second consecutive year, Bowl Season produced a daily set of game notes for national media, beginning on December 17 with the first bowl games, culminating with the final set on January 10 and the CFP National Championship in Indianapolis.

Bowl Season worked with each bowl game’s communications staff, as well as the respective SIDs of daily participating teams as part of the distribution strategy.

The notes kept track of records and top performances, as well as interesting anecdotes and talking points to help media in their coverage of Bowl Season.

1

Bowl Challenge Cup The Bowl Challenge Cup is awarded annually to the conference with the best win-loss record during Bowl Season. The Mountain West WINNER ! came out on top this year with a 5-1 record.

All-time, the Mountain West (2004-05, 20075-1 Reco rd 08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2021-22) has won the cup the most at five times. Of the Power Five Conferences, the SEC has won the cup three times (2013-14, 2015-16, 2019-20). The Bowl Challenge Cup began in 2002.

2021-22 BOWL CHALLENGE CUP FINAL STANDINGS RANK

CONFERENCE

RECORD

1.

Mountain West

5-1 (.833)

2.

American Athletic

3-1 (.750)

3.

Sunbelt

3-1 (.750)

4.

Big 12

5-2 (.714)

5.

Big Ten

6-4 (.600)

6.

FBS Independents

2-2 (.500)

7.

SEC

6-8 (.429)

8.

Conference USA

3-5 (.375)

9.

MAC

3-5 (.375)

10.

ACC

2-4 (.333)

11.

Pac 12

0-5 (.000)

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

15

BOWL SEASON STORIES PODCAST

B

owl Season launched a new official podcast that focuses on the moments that make college football’s traditional postseason so great.

Bowl Season Stories produced 21 episodes in its inaugural season. The podcast features the top names in college football – from all-time greats to current analysts, broadcasters and bowl executives —talking about the storylines, trends and traditions that make Bowl Season and the games so special.

Produced by Tony Fay Public Relations, fans can find and subscribe to Bowl Season Stories via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever they download their podcasts. The podcast will return for the 2022 college football season.

BIG STAGE: Bowl Season Stories was live from Playoff Fan Central at the 2022 CFP National Championship from Indianapolis.

D AN MISSE E? D EPISOAll the

Catch s on pisode Past E son.com ea BowlS

16

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

Featured Guests Barry Alvarez • Nicole Auerbach • Britton Banowsky • Anthony Becht • Tony Casillas • Gene Chizik • Britain Covey Cole Cubelic • Brian Cushing • Woodrow “Woody” Dantzler • Heather Dinich • Chris Doering • Dennis Dodd Tony Dorsett • Derrick Fox • Richard Giannini • Scott Glaser • Alan Gooch • John Grant • Bill Hancock Roman Harper • Tom Hart • Chad Hennings • Kirk Herbstreit • Rocket Ismail • Chris Johnson • Pepper Johnson Daryl Johnston • Joel Klatt • Eric Mac Lain • Kevin McDonald • Sean McDonough • Kevin McNamara Danny Morrison • Mike Nealy • Mark Neville • Dan Novakov • Dari Nowkhah • Bernie Olivas • Eric Poms Scott Ramsey • Grace Raynor • Mark Richt • Brant Ringler • Holly Rowe • Ralph Russo • Pete Thamel Amani Toomer • Kenny Vaccaro • Dave Wannstedt • Reggie Wayne • Christine Williamson

4K

g Uta featurin ovey in Brita C

2.5K

Nick Carparelli hosted Bowl Season Stories alongside Tony Fay PR’s Angela Lang.

2K

1,610

1.5

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

451

9

484

8

794

7

916

941

6

893

973

5

891

1,060

4

900

937

3

916

1,041

2

829

1,098

0

880

1,140

1

.5K

801

1,161

LISTENERS (In Thousands)

N SEASOE L FINA h’s

3K

1,K

3,679

3.5K

19

20

21

PODCAST EPISODES

1.2K

LISTENERS

1.1K

AVERAGE PER EPISODE

22.4K LISTENERS

LISTEN AT BOWLSEASON.COM (as of 3/10/22)

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

17

BOWL BOUND PROGRAM

2021

BOWL BOUND

B

owl Season started a new tradition by recognizing and celebrating college football teams as they reached their sixth win of the 2021 season to qualify for bowl eligibility.

Official Bowl Bound! Team-branded T-shirts were given out to the players and staff to commemorate the accomplishment, marking the first time that bowl eligibility had been officially recognized. The program will be continued annually.

18

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON RADIO

Sponsor s Activation t u o h g throu s st a c d a Bro

TOTAL REACH

34M

(ALL GAMES AIRED ON SIRIUS XM)

16

BROADCASTS AIRED

100

Streamed live on The Varsity Network, TuneIn and Audacy apps, as well as BowlSeason.com.

Terrestria l Stations Carried Bowl Se ason Radio

Studio halftime and in-game featured other bowl games with interviews and highlights.

TOP MARKETS

Dallas • Atlanta • Tampa/St. Petersburg • Jacksonville • St. Louis Denver • San Francisco • Charlottte • Honolulu • Las Vegas Seattle • Kansas City • Louisville

GAMEDAY LIVE Bowl Season introduced Bowl Season Gameday Live — the best way to follow all the bowl games. A landing page at BowlSeason.com, fans could access live coverage of each and every bowl game, which included live TV broadcasts, radio and real-time stats.

Live Scoreboard Powered by Statbroadcast

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

19

TELEVISION VIEWERSHIP

Bowl Season Viewership is Strong

T

elevision viewership for Bowl Season was up across the board with an average of 4.7M viewers per broadcast with a total reach of almost 100 million.

VIEWERS PER BROADCAST

TOTAL REACH

4.7M 100M

• The New Year’s Six bowls and the CFP National Championship were up 16 percent combined over last year, notching an average of 14.2 million viewers across the seven games.

16%

• The CFP National Championship was up 19 percent vs. last year, with 22.6M viewers tuning in across ESPN networks. The matchup peaked with 25.4M viewers.

• The 25 non-NY6 bowl games on ESPN’s primary channel averaged 2.4M viewers, up 24 percent from last year.

24%

• The 31 non-NY6 bowl games across ESPN networks averaged 2.6 million viewers, up 12 percent from last year’s smaller schedule of 18 bowl games due to COVID-19.

BROAD REACH: Bowl game TV broadcasts resulted in tens of millions of impressions for the Bowl Season brand.

• The average bowl game on ESPN drew 900K more viewers than the average regular season game on the network (2.6M vs. 1.7M). Compared to other sports, bowls also brought in over 1M more viewers than regular season NBA or MLB Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. • The top non-NY6 bowl game on ESPN this year (Transperfect Music City Bowl) drew more viewers (5.6M) than any regular season CFB game on cable (LSU at Alabama).

• Opening weekend (Dec. 17-20, 2021) averaged 1.8M viewers over the first nine games, an increase of 31% over 2019’s opening weekend.

20

BOWL SEASON

31%

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

MORE VIEWER S

Than An y Regular Season Game on Cable

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

21

THE BOWLS

22

BOWL SEASON GAME

2021-22 RESULT

ATTENDANCE

TV VIEWERS

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

Baylor 21, Ole Miss 7

66,479

9,785,166

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL

Texas Tech 34, Mississippi State 7

48,615

3,915,780

BAHAMAS BOWL

Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24

13,596

864,524

CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL

Georgia 34, Michigan 11

66,839

17,191,615

CHEEZ-IT BOWL

Clemson 20, Iowa State 13

39,051

4,902,295

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL

Michigan State 31, Pitt 21

41,230

7,645,948

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Georgia 33, Alabama 18

68,311

22,562,952

CRICKET CELEBRATION BOWL

South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10

48,653

2,703,307

DUKE’S MAYO BOWL

South Carolina 38, North Carolina 21

45,520

2,597,111

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

Wyoming 52, Kent State 38

10,217

1,302,224

FRISCO FOOTBALL CLASSIC

Miami (Ohio) 27, North Texas 14

11,721

1,532,233

GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC

Alabama 27, Cincinnati 6

76,313

16,647,313

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL

Minnesota 18, West Virginia 6

21,220

2,400,230

JIMMY KIMMEL LA BOWL PRESENTED BY STIFEL

Utah State 24, Oregon State 13

29,896

2,978,522

LENDINGTREE BOWL

Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20

15,186

1,251,951

LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL

Army 24, Missouri 22

34,888

2,569,389

MYRTLE BEACH BOWL PRESENTED BY TAXACT

Tulsa 30, Old Dominion 17

6,557

939,284

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL

Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10

29,653

2,442,885

OUTBACK BOWL

Arkansas 24, Penn State 10

46,577

3,945,337

PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL

Oklahoma State 37, Notre Dame 35

49,550

7,957,427

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON GAME

2021-22 RESULT

ATTENDANCE

TV VIEWERS

PUBG MOBILE NEW MEXICO BOWL

Fresno State 31, UTEP 24

16,422

1,549,049

QUICK LANE BOWL

Western Michigan 52, Nevada 24

22,321

1,066,516

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL

Louisiana 36, Marshall 21

21,642

1,077,373

RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL

UAB 31, BYU 28

26,276

3,372,552

ROOFCLAIM.COM BOCA RATON BOWL

Western Kentucky 59, App State 38

15,429

1,655,812

ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE VENTURE X

Ohio State 48, Utah 45

87,842

16,631,542

SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL

Air Force 31, Louisville 28

15,251

2,730,681

SRS DISTRIBUTION LAS VEGAS BOWL

Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13

32,515

3,652,873

TAILGREETER CURE BOWL

Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41

9,784

1,278,395

TAXACT CAMELLIA BOWL

Georgia State 51, Ball State 20

9,000

1,713,870

TAXACT TEXAS BOWL

Kansas State 42, LSU 20

52,207

2,364,196

TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL

Wake Forest 38, Rutgers 10

28,508

3,478,036

TICKETSMARTER BIRMINGHAM BOWL

Houston 17, Auburn 13

47,100

2,293,015

TONY THE TIGER SUN BOWL

Central Michigan 24, Washington State 21

34,540

2,854,000

TRANSPERFECT MUSIC CITY BOWL

Purdue 48, Tennessee 45 (OT)

69,489

5,594,114

TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE FRISCO BOWL

San Diego State 38, UTSA 24

15,801

1,177,885

UNION HOME MORTGAGE GASPARILLA BOWL

UCF 29, Florida 17

63,669

3,200,982

VALERO ALAMO BOWL

Oklahoma 47, Oregon 32

59,121

4,735,508

VRBO CITRUS BOWL

Kentucky 20, Iowa 17

50,769

6,533,318

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWL SEASON

23

BOWL SEASON ANNUAL MEETING

T

he 2021 Bowl Season Annual Meeting was held at the Scottsdale (AZ) Resort at McCormick Ranch in early August. The only time and place that the entire bowl industry comes together each year, staffs from every bowl game, conference office representatives, television executives, and everyone who does business with bowl games gather and participate, along with more than 50 sponsors and vendors.

The 2022 Annual Meeting is in April in Orlando, FL, while the 2023 event is scheduled for Nashville, TN.

24

BOWL SEASON

2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BOWLSEASON.COM @BOWLSEASON