Attendance for Duke-Indiana at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, which was the "first that did not include a team from the Northeast," was the "lowest in the history of the game and halted a four-year streak" in which the bowl drew successively larger crowds, according to Dave Caldwell of the N.Y. TIMES. The game drew a crowd of 37,218, which was was "far smaller than the record 49,012 at last year’s game between Penn State and Boston College, but the Yankees expected that." Seats in the top level at the ballpark "were not sold." But Yankees President Randy Levine said the game drew "a little bit of a good walk up." He added that it would "make some money." Pinstripe Bowl Exec Dir Mark Holtzman said, "We knew we weren’t going to have 48,000, a sellout, but we knew for some games we’d have to scale down the stadium a little bit." He added, "We’re committed to this long term. We want to bring a wide variety of teams here.” Caldwell wrote "lower-profile bowl games like the Pinstripe Bowl have proved to be a hard sell." In the 12 bowl games played entering Saturday, "only three drew more than 30,000, with the Bahamas Bowl between Western Michigan and Middle Tennessee luring a scant 13,123." The Yankees "appeared to be in a fix because Rutgers and Boston College had losing records this year," and UConn, an AAC team, "was not under consideration because the bowl is contractually obligated" to the Big Ten and ACC. But the Pinstripe Bowl "caught a break because the temperature at kickoff was relatively balmy 51 degrees." Holtzman also noted the Yankees had made a "concerted three-week push to sell tickets to the 40,000 Indiana and 25,000 Duke alumni in the metropolitan area" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/27).
LOW COUNTRY: In Louisiana, Luke Thompson noted the Camping World Independence Bowl, which featured Virginia Tech-Tulsa on Saturday, was "played in front of 31,289" fans (SHREVEPORTTIMES.com, 12/26). That figure is the lowest for the Independence Bowl since Southern Miss-UTEP drew 20,242 fans in '88 (THE DAILY).
PLAYING CHICKEN: The Washington-Southern Miss matchup in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on Saturday drew 20,229 fans, marking a record low for the six-year-old event at the Cotton Bowl. Last year's Louisiana Tech-Illinois matchup drew 31,297 fans, which was at the time a record low (THE DAILY). In Dallas, Rainer Sabin wrote the '15 matchup "didn't resonate with locals but provided plenty of entertainment." The event has "experienced growing pains" since its launch, "enduring name changes, different management groups, several sponsors and even an adjusted schedule." The bowl was "moved last year to the day after Christmas," and the new date "served as another reminder how much this game has struggled to gain a foothold in the crowded bowl landscape." ESPN's involvement "guarantees that the game will be around" through '19, and last year, Zaxby's, "signed on to be the title sponsor" through '17. Heart of Dallas Bowl Exec Dir Brant Ringler said, "The city of Dallas supports us as well. Obviously, the conferences want to be here. ESPN supports us. We have the backing of all these organizations to have this bowl game. ... We expect to grow." But Sabin notes for now, the Heart of Dallas Bowl is a "small-time affair played in a 92,100-seat stadium with a lustrous history and a dim future" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/27).
BUYING THE FARM: Fox Sports' Tim Brando writes, "The clowns arguing there are too many Bowls, I submit Nebraska W over UCLA. Was it more entertaining than SportsCenter? Likely alternative" (TWITTER.com, 12/28).
