Big 12 Bowl Lineup Stinks

First off, here is the new bowl lineup for the immediate future - starting next season - for the Big 12 Conference. Just so you know what I'm going to rip.

Fiesta Bowl
Cotton Bowl
Alamo Bowl
Insight Bowl
Holiday Bowl
Texas Bowl
Yankee Bowl
Dallas Football Classic
Eagle Bank Bowl (in 2013)

First thing you notice is that four of those bowls are in the state of Texas -- Cotton, Alamo, Dallas Football Classic and, duh!, the Texas Bowl.

Next thing you notice is that the Fiesta, the Insight and the Holiday are out West.

And what that does is favor the Texas schools and the Oklahoma schools in a big way over the North Division schools.

When in doubt about selling tickets, the minor Texas bowls and the West Coasties go with logic. The Texas and Oklahoma school fans can drive to just about any of those bowls. Colorado fans we ignore; their tradition is that they wouldn't go to Topeka to see their football team play.

Many fans of the other North schools -- particularly now in the current economy -- are faced with taking Horace Greeley's advice or taking a family vacation in the summer. Not both. And with Nebraska football threatening to lose its status as a religion, you've got to wonder if Cornhusker fans may not take that same view, too.

Supposedly, the Big 12's new agreement threw a bone the way of the North Division with the game in Yankee Stadium.

In my book, that's not much of a bone. New York is the most expensive -- or one of the top three -- cities in the country. During bowl season not many people are going to be heading to the Jersey shore for some fun in the sun.

And playing a Big East opponent? Just about any Big 12 team -- even given the drawbacks of this bowl -- would likely wind up with more fans in the stands than most Big East teams.

Who convinced the Big 12 this was a good idea? Some AD with ties to UConn?

What I really don't like about this, however, is the Big 12 being shut out of Florida.

That is likely the second-richest recruiting ground in the country to Texas.

And you don't even have a mid-level bowl agreement to showcase the teams that might benefit most from Florida exposure. Everybody except Texas and Oklahoma.

What would I like to see?

Well, the Liberty Bowl wasn't a great bowl most of the time, but it was an easy drive for most fans in the old Big Eight.

The Gator Bowl was great for the second- or third-best team in the Big Eight, which for so long sent its best team to the Orange Bowl.

There are other Florida bowls from which the Big 12 could pick, aside from the Gator and the Orange.

The Capital One Bowl in Orlando.
The Outback Bowl in Tampa.
The Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.

Hey, take the kids to Disney World.

Yes, I know conferences have to negotiate bowl agreements. You just don't pick the ones you want.

So negotiate, Big 12.

If you have to give a little on bowl payouts, give a little. The exposure is worth more to the schools than the money in some cases.

Pull your head out of the state of Texas and you might even reduce the us versus them attitude prevalent in the North Division.

Cast an eye to Florida.

Show something more than tunnel vision.