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Report: Army locked out of bowl season despite 9-2 record
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The 2020 season was certainly a success for Army as the Black Knights went 9-2 and took home the Commander-In-Chief trophy, which included a win against rival Navy.
With all of this success the team was rewarded with…nothing. No bowl game. As bowl announcements have trickled in all day, the Black Knights have found themselves with nowhere to go this bowl season.
At this point, it does not appear that Army opted out of a potential bowl bid. It just didn’t happen for the Black Knights. Let’s try and understand how this happened.
Army, despite 9-2 record & a guaranteed bid to Independence Bowl, will not be allowed to play in bowl game, sources told @Stadium. Army was snubbed because other bowls had contractual agreements w/teams & locked into taking teams w/ losing records over a 9-win team
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 20, 2020
If you’re curious how Army gets snubbed:
Army committed before season to Independence Bowl vs. Pac-12.
So many Pac-12 teams opted out it couldn’t fill I-Bowl or Armed Forces
Armed Forces is owned by ESPN, which has guaranteed # of AAC teams, so it got Tulsa. I-Bowl screwed. https://t.co/QzHM3RRS14
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 20, 2020
If you’re looking for a reason to support the fact the bowl system is broken, this seems like the perfect situation. Contractual obligations shouldn’t result in who gets bowl bids. A reminder: South Carolina sits at 2-8 after firing head coach Will Muschamp earlier this year. The Gamecocks will be bowling this year. The Black Knights will not.
To no one’s surprise, it appears money and TV contracts appear to be part of the reason for this. Along with zero integrity from leadership.
How could 9-2 Army get screwed over for a bowl bid? "The number of schools whom opted in earlier in year – then opted out when they didn’t get the game they liked – is disturbing,” an industry source told @Stadium. “And those commissioners just stood by & let it happen."
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 20, 2020
It just seems like this day continues to get worse and worse for college football. First, the final CFP rankings are getting panned by folks across the country. Then, you have an Indiana team that gets screwed out of a New Year’s Six Bowl bid despite being No. 11. Then, there’s this.
Maybe this is the tipping point for college football to change? But that seems like a long shot.