Live United Bowl Game Gone... can another take its place?

[Bisonfan from FLA]

On MIAA forum page, GrifFan posted the following:

Too bad. From everything I’ve heard they put on a great event.

Texarkana’s Live United Bowl ‘retired’ after 10 years | Texarkana Gazette
https://www.texarkanagazette.com
TEXARKANA, Ark. -- After 10 years of hosting one of the nation's few Division II sanctioned football bowl games, the Live United Bowl Committee announced on Wednesday that it would discontinue the annual event.


I responded with this post:

Another one bites the dust. Wonder if any towns/areas might want to take on the role of supporting a D2 Bowl Game. Little Rock, Arkansas seems like a great location to host a bowl game with GAC, MIAA, GSC and Lone Star all within a days drive. Very centralized and War Memorial Stadium would be a good place to host, Come on GAC Commissioner and Presidents of the GAC Schools:push for LIttle Rock to host a D2 Bowl Game.

Here is another idea to add to the bowl game process.There are 16 D3 football playing schools in the states connected to Arkansas and Arkansas has two D3 teams.Have a bowl game weekend with a D3 game back to back with a D2 game. What a weekend event that would be!

Any thoughts?

[Turbonium]

D2 shouldn't have bowl games.

[Bisonfan from FLA]

D2 shouldn't have bowl games.

That is an opinion, which I disagree with, but I appreciate your comment.

I do feel that a reward game for a team that has been very good during the season, but not qualifying for the playoffs, would enjoy the opportunity to play an additional game.

Think of seniors that get to play another final game. As freshmen this team is starting a building/rebuilding and the team was not good. Over the next few years they improved to have their best season ever in their senior year and with a bowl game they now get one additional game.

A bowl game is a good idea for the team, fans and for the community which hosts the event.

[Turbonium]

That is an opinion, which I disagree with, but I appreciate your comment.

I do feel that a reward game for a team that has been very good during the season, but not qualifying for the playoffs, would enjoy the opportunity to play an additional game.

Think of seniors that get to play another final game. As freshmen this team is starting a building/rebuilding and the team was not good. Over the next few years they improved to have their best season ever in their senior year and with a bowl game they now get one additional game.

A bowl game is a good idea for the team, fans and for the community which hosts the event.

It's just the give everyone a trophy attitude. There's a robust playoff system to determine the D2 winner. Sorry, not every senior gets to play one last additional game. That's life. Might as well just expand the playoff system and let everyone get a trophy.

[Bballfan]

I know some programs use it as a springboard to get a start on next season. A lot of veterans don't even play. As an exhibition game to build upon, I think it has value.

[zimmy21]

It's just the give everyone a trophy attitude. There's a robust playoff system to determine the D2 winner. Sorry, not every senior gets to play one last additional game. That's life. Might as well just expand the playoff system and let everyone get a trophy.

Alright calm down old-timer....It's 1 game, that means nothing. Nobody is going around thinking they won a title off of a regional exhibition game.

[zimmy21]

I know some programs use it as a springboard to get a start on next season. A lot of veterans don't even play. As an exhibition game to build upon, I think it has value.

Mankato definitely appreciated it. A little motivation for the following year. In 2011 the Mavs missed the playoffs but went to the "Mineral Water Bowl" and beat Northeastern State 28-14. The next year, we wound up in the National Semifinals

[Live United Bowl]

It's just the give everyone a trophy attitude. There's a robust playoff system to determine the D2 winner. Sorry, not every senior gets to play one last additional game. That's life. Might as well just expand the playoff system and let everyone get a trophy.

It was far from an event with a "give everyone a trophy event", I suggest you read the press release about the Live United Bowl and what it did. In case you are not informed, Live United is the national slogan of the United Way. Are you familiar with the United Way and what it does in communities across the United States? Proceeds from the Live United Bowl benefited the United Way of Greater Texarkana. You should have seen the faces and reaction of those who receive United Way support when a college football team visits their organization. It was magical! So, you can keep on believing "it's just the give everyone a trophy attitude". I know what it was, and all the good it did for the United Way of Greater Texarkana, businesses in Texarkana, the schools who participated including bands, cheer squads, players, coaches, and their families.

[Bballfan]

When is more college football a bad thing??? Well with the 12 team playoff format which I think a bye is ridiculous. Make it 8 or 16. Don't make it 12!

[Turbonium]

Alright calm down old-timer....It's 1 game, that means nothing. Nobody is going around thinking they won a title off of a regional exhibition game.

There is a playoff system that allows the teams that earned it to keep playing. Additional games to that should come with a capri-sun and fruit snacks.

[Turbonium]

When is more college football a bad thing??? Well with the 12 team playoff format which I think a bye is ridiculous. Make it 8 or 16. Don't make it 12!

The amount of D1 bowl games is already a joke, let's watch 6-6 School of the Blind play 7-5 Texas Women's College in the Cleveland, Ohio Toilet bowl. More football is always better though.

[Turbonium]

It was far from an event with a "give everyone a trophy event", I suggest you read the press release about the Live United Bowl and what it did. In case you are not informed, Live United is the national slogan of the United Way. Are you familiar with the United Way and what it does in communities across the United States? Proceeds from the Live United Bowl benefited the United Way of Greater Texarkana. You should have seen the faces and reaction of those who receive United Way support when a college football team visits their organization. It was magical! So, you can keep on believing "it's just the give everyone a trophy attitude". I know what it was, and all the good it did for the United Way of Greater Texarkana, businesses in Texarkana, the schools who participated including bands, cheer squads, players, coaches, and their families.

Sounds like an everyone gets a trophy bowl even more now to be honest.

[BisonBones]

Sounds like an everyone gets a trophy bowl even more now to be honest.

I can't imagine being so sensitive that I'd complain about people organizing a football game, let alone projecting that sensitivity onto the people organizing and playing the game

[Bisonfan from FLA]

Interesting comments and replies. I would like to turn this thread back to the original concept of some other location to take the up the matter of host a D2 Bowl Game. I offered Little Rock and still see it as a great location. The Little Rock Touchdown Club hosts the Harlon Hill Award. Does anyone here have input to this group to consider helping to start a bowl game there? The GAC and the LR Touchdown Club works together to host the game and finds a sponsor. Maybe even the United Way of Central Arkansas and continue with the "Live United Bowl" name and concept.

If you have contact/input with the presidents of the GAC schools and to the GAC commissioner, get the word out and get them to thinking about continuing the bowl game. Losts of teams/conferences to pull from the states that border Arkansas.

And consider the original idea of also hosting a D3 bowl game as well as the D2 game.

[Finchwidget]

Interesting comments and replies. I would like to turn this thread back to the original concept of some other location to take the up the matter of host a D2 Bowl Game. I offered Little Rock and still see it as a great location. The Little Rock Touchdown Club hosts the Harlon Hill Award. Does anyone here have input to this group to consider helping to start a bowl game there? The GAC and the LR Touchdown Club works together to host the game and finds a sponsor. Maybe even the United Way of Central Arkansas and continue with the "Live United Bowl" name and concept.

Little Rock might be thinking too big, in my opinion. Look at the locations of most other D2 bowls: Texarkana, AR, Excelsior Springs, MO, Corsicana, TX, Hobart, IN. All smaller cities with about 20k people that stood to benefit from an event like a D2 bowl game happening there. My understanding is that these games are like community events, and with how big of a city Little Rock is, I don't see a D2 bowl game there has something a lot of people would rally behind given how much else is going on there