FBA 2018 Media Guide FLIP (2)

What is the FBA?
Every postseason college bowl game has its own personality, its benefits and
special touches. Each of the 40 games in 32 communities strives to promote the
game of college football, while at the same time placing a spotlight on their
cities and their citizens while benefiting local charities and organizations.
It’s a tall order, one that is filled each and every season.
The bowls have an ally – the Football Bowl Association.
The non-profit organization
– as many of the bowls
themselves are – was
established to help build
upon the traditions of the
bowl games, and bring to
light the many benefits
of the games beyond the
playing field and parades and
other activities. Just as bowl
games bring a uniqueness
to college football, the FBA
places a spotlight on the
distinctiveness of the games
and their history and traditions.
“The bowl system is the
best thing that college
football has going for
it. There’s a reason why
college football’s popularity
has never been bigger.”
– 6 –
– Matt Hayes, Bleacher Report
The FBA takes the lead in protecting the games, while embracing and honoring
the bowl experience for present and future generations.
There is much for the FBA to protect, but even more of it to promote. Consider:
• Last season, Bowls paid $559.1 million to the 10
conferences. Even after all expenses were factored in,
including unsold tickets, the 10 conferences had net profits
of over $446 million from bowl games.
• Per ESPN, over 213,000,000 viewers watched 35 bowl
games. Over 1.6 million fans attended bowl games, an
average of over 40,000 fans per game overall. More than
8,000 student-athletes participated in the 40 games.
Additional participation came via 20,000 band members,
1,600 cheerleaders and 2,200 student managers and
trainers.
• Bowls are important economic impact producers for their
communities, but just as importantly are great sources of
exposure for these communities.
• Bowl trips are educational experiences for the participants,
and important ways to unite a school's fan base.
The FBA helps promote those points and works to inform the public that bowls
are much more than games.
“We are united in our common belief that the Bowl Experience is a tradition
that is part of the American fabric,’’ Wright Waters, FBA executive director,
said back in 2009 when he served as chairman of the NCAA Football Issues
Committee.
That hasn’t changed. Protecting that tradition, that fabric, is the goal and the
mission of the Football Bowl Association.