billybud wrote:Bowl traveling is not a problem...it is having a long slog to go see a CCG....and then a bowl.
Many fans must choose which trip to take...and choose to go to the bowl rather than the CCG.
If those Big Ten fans had a CCG with travel distances similar to those of a bowl game...you might see a dip in CCG attendance.
In the Orange Bowl...Big Ten guys bring average attendance...less than matches with Virginia Tech-Cincinnati, or Louisville-Wake Forest, or Southern Cal-Oklahoma, etc did in the Orange.
In fact..as many folks attended the FSU-NIU Orange Bowl (not an attractive match up) as the Clemson-Ohio State playoff Orange Bowl.
There really is only a couple of hundred miles difference between the big 10's farthest travel Rutgers=Nebraska and the ACC's Boston College-Miami. A point in between somewhere in the Carolina's wouldn't be bad. The mid point difference would be about an eleven hour drive compared to eight and a half mid point in the Big Ten. Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State have the longest trips. In the ACC BC, Syracuse, FSU, and Miami have the longest trips. The rest are less than 5-6 hrs. Not bad for a conference game or conference championship game. You can drive in and see the game, spend the night and drive back. The game is always on the weekend so most don't have to miss work. That is not prohibitive. Bowl games are more like vacations. Except playoff games. Then you have to travel a couple times, usually by plane, and spend 2 or 3 days each way. That can be expensive not even counting tickets.