Even NCAA President Questions Number of Bowl Games

NCAA President Mark Emmert on Wednesday questioned the rationale of holding so many bowl games.

“The members are gonna have to figure out, what’s the purpose of bowl games?” Emmert explained on Wednesday. “Is it a reward for a successful season or is it just another game that we’re gonna provide an opportunity for?”

Nebraska, Minnesota, and San Jose State all play this postseason despite 5-7 records. Numerous 6-6 teams also compete.

Teams currently compete in 41 total postseason invitationals. The last decade witnessed a more than doubling of the number of bowl games.

The remarks follow Emmert’s organization certifying numerous new postseason games in recent years. Two bowls debut this December—Tucson’s Arizona Bowl and Orlando’s Cure Bowl (the city’s fourth such contest)—and games play in Detroit, Michigan, to Nassau, Bahamas, and seemingly everywhere in between. The NCAA looks to add postseason games in Dubai and Melbourne, among other locales, in the future.