by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Gator Bowl Association President Rick Catlett still has dreams of hosting college football’s national championship football game in Jacksonville. Now, if he can just get the university presidents, the Bowl Championship Series Officials and the PAC 10 conference to cooperate.
“The more controversy around the championship game, the better for us,” said Catlett Tuesday at the Gator Bowl media day at the World Golf Village. “The BCS contract runs four more years, then there’s a chance the Gator Bowl can get involved.”
About 50 members of the media from all over North Florida took advantage of the opportunity to play the Slammer & Squire course and bend Catlett’s ear about this year’s Toyota Gator Bowl, the ACC Championship game and the future of both games — both of which have tremendous economic impacts on Jacksonville. The team of TV-30/47 sports photojournalist Pat Kavanagh, TV-30/47 meteorologist Doug Lindsey, TV-30/47 sports anchor Lee Gordon and attorney Glenn Warren won the event. Warren, who’s a member of the Gator Bowl committee, also won last year when he was teamed with three players from Bailey Publishing.
With about half the college football season in the books, Catlett said it’s to soon to get serious about this year’s Gator Bowl matchup. The game has ties to the ACC, Big East and Big 12 conferences, as well as Notre Dame. Right now, several teams from those conferences are ranked in the top 25 and, regardless how the season pans out, several figure to still be ranked when bowl bids go out. Catlett said Louisville and West Virginia from the Big East, Texas, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Missouri from the Big 12 and independent Notre Dame are all attractive teams as possible opponents for the ACC runner-up.
“They are starting to play each other and things will start to shake out,” said Catlett, adding that even smaller schools, such as Wake Forest who is having a good year, are also intriguing every few years. “You like to have those schools every now and then to see how they would do in a bowl game at this level.
“But, we also want matchups that are good TV for the title sponsor, bring people to Jacksonville and will be a good game.”
Catlett said it’s unlikely the Gator Bowl committee would invite the loser of the Dr Pepper ACC Championship game back to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl a month later.