September 27, 2005

Liberty Bowl gets SEC tie-in for 2006

In what must be considered a coup for the Autozone Liberty Bowl and the city of Memphis, the game announced that it has signed the SEC to a four-year contract, placing conference member teams in the Memphis-based bowl game.

Beginning next season, the game will get a matchup between its first choice of Conference USA teams and an SEC squad that "geographically fits", which probably means a choice between the last three bowl-eligible members.

The SEC makes sense for the Liberty Bowl for two reasons. First, Memphis is a strong SEC town. Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee all have very strong alumni populations there, and a number of other member schools also have a very signficant presence there (either in terms of graduates or recruiting).

Second, a number of SEC member schools have significant Liberty Bowl histories. Auburn's Bo Jackson--a freshly minted Heisman winner--won the game's MVP award in 1984. Alabama's coach Paul "Bear" Bryant coached his last game of his legendary career there in 1982. Ole Miss, whose campus is only a short drive south into Mississippi, has never lost in four bowl appearances there. The native-state Tennessee Vols are a perfect 3-0 in the game.

The Liberty Bowl has no contractually-bound opponent league to face the C-USA champion this December, so the bowl will have to pursue an at-large participant.

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