Six of this year’s 41 bowl games have "failed to obtain" title or presenting sponsorships, which raises "more questions about the market appeal of an 80-team postseason," according to Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY. National Funding Holiday Bowl Exec Dir Mark Neville said, "There are 41 games this year, so there's more competition for it. We've got to work a little bit harder and be a little bit more creative to secure them." Bowls in Hawaii, St. Petersburg, Birmingham and Boca Raton "don’t have title sponsors this year after previous title sponsors didn’t renew." Another game, The Miami Beach Bowl, has "not had a title sponsor" after starting in '14. Football Bowl Association Exec Dir Wright Waters said, "It’s becoming more difficult to sell, and you can speculate on why, but people are out there really hustling, and they have to hustle because the payouts to the schools and conferences are going up." Schrotenboer notes bowl games are "responsible for coming up with all that money" and largely "rely on television revenue, ticket sales and title sponsorships." Last year, the Birmingham Bowl "received an extra $200,000 from the city of Birmingham to help make up for its lack of title sponsor -- in addition to the $300,000 it normally received." This year, it again has "no title sponsor, and the city cited the game’s economic benefits in giving it another $525,000." Navigate Research Founder & President AJ Maestas said, "There are many short-term deals that are sold at the last second. There are a lot of games, and there are a lot of reasons for it. One of the reasons is the College Football Playoff taking more prominence" (USA TODAY, 12/13).
