Wednesday, December 01, 2004 TUSCALOOSA -- The University of Alabama football team had two postseason choices, assuming that Saturday's SEC Championship Game between No. 3-ranked Auburn and two-touchdown underdog Tennessee goes as expected. The Tide turned down a trip to the Independence Bowl for the second time in four years to return to the Music City Bowl for the first time since the inaugural event in 1998. The choice can't be made official until after the SEC Championship Game but, barring a Tennessee upset, the Crimson Tide (6-5) is headed to Nashville for the Dec. 31 game against Minnesota (6-5), with a morning kickoff slated for 11 o'clock.
If payout were the sole reason for its postseason choice, the Tide would have easily decided on the Independence Bowl. It pays each of the participating teams $1.2 million. The Music City Bowl pays approximately $800,000. Money should be an issue for a university which missed out on close to $5 million in bowl revenue because of NCAA sanctions the past two years (although Alabama will get half of that money in five years if the program has avoided further NCAA sanctions). The bowl decision, however, went deeper than money. UA Athletics Director Mal Moore, who carried the load of the decision making along with UA President Robert Witt and Crimson Tide football head coach Mike Shula, cited several reasons for the choice: Playing in Nashville offers a new bowl venue for the Alabama players on the 2001 Independence Bowl team. Reaching Nashville is an easier trip for Alabama fans who want to attend the game. Playing in an NFL stadium is an attraction for the Crimson Tide players and allows more tickets for UA fans. The Coliseum in Nashville, which is the home of the Tennessee Titans, seats nearly 69,000 fans while Independence Stadium in Shreveport seats close to 53,000. With game day on New Year's Eve, Alabama players and coaches won't report to Nashville until Dec. 26. The Independence Bowl is on Dec. 28, which means the players and coaches probably would not be home on Christmas. Participating in the Music City Bowl was the preferred option over the Independence Bowl for the majority of the Alabama players. "In this situation, I just felt that these things outweighed the (money)," Moore said. "It's good for our players and it's an opportunity to do something good for our fans." So if Auburn wins on Saturday, Alabama will accept the official invitation on Sunday to play Minnesota in Nashville. An Auburn loss, however, could create a confusing situation for Alabama's bowl destination. If Auburn loses and drops out of BCS bowl eligibility, Alabama would remain in the Music City Bowl. However, if Auburn loses and still goes to a BCS bowl - giving the SEC two of the eight BCS bowl spots - then the other SEC schools would move up in the bowl pecking order. Peach Bowl representatives have already chosen Florida as their SEC representative, which means Alabama has a longshot chance of landing in the Cotton Bowl if the situation gets messy. But, considering Auburn whipped Tennessee 34-10 in the regular season, Moore is preparing for the Tide to play in Nashville. "It's looking stronger and stronger for the Music City Bowl," Moore said. "But nothing is official until after the SEC game is played. We've all seen upsets before. We'll just wait and see how it all shakes out." News staff writer Steve Irvine covers University of Alabama athletics. Write him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ RTF mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rolltidefan.net/mailman/listinfo/rtf_rolltidefan.net
