Will ESPN Reward BYU With Better Bowl Options?

PROVO, Utah – BYU’s football media day came and went without an announcement regarding its media rights package with ESPN, but Cougar fans should not worry as athletic director Tom Holmoe gave a reassuring update on the progress.

“We’re in a good spot. We’re in the tail end. We’ve been with ESPN for a long time,” Holmoe said at the State of the Program. “They’ve done a lot of our games. We look forward to working with them in the future.”

BYU Athletic Director @TomHolmoe gives an update on contract negotiations between BYU and ESPN, and says that "we are in a good spot." #BYUMediaDay #BYUFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/GqS4ilIQ2m

— BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) June 18, 2019

It does seem that it is just a matter of time before the two sides agree to a contract extension because BYU has a great fan base across the country and the Cougars have been able to attract good opponents to come to Provo. Plus, being out west helps give the ESPN family of networks flexibility to have games kick early in the afternoon or late at night.

Bowl Game Announcement Is The Hold-Up

The reason for no official announcement is due to postseason play. The past deals between the two sides seemed like two parts with part of the deal broadcasting the five home games per season and then bowl announcements. This time around it seems the deal will include both.

“You have the home games side of it and the bowl season part, but the bowl season is a little bit more nuanced,” said Holmoe.

The bowl game that BYU will likely be part of  will be one of the ESPN owned-and-operated contests which there are 16 and include: the Park, Cure, Myrtle Beach, Frisco, Hawaii, Texas, Gasparilla, Las Vegas, Armed Forces, New Mexico, First Responder, Bahamas, Boca Raton, Camellia, Birmingham, and the Famous Idaho Potato games.

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BYU media day coverage:

• Gameday experience improved at LaVell Edwards Stadium
• BYU wants to “make Utah pay”
• Cougar Tracks podcast recaps media day
• Kalani Sitake loves BYU even more since becoming  the head coach

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What about flex bowl options?

One thing that is being considered is to allow the better BYU does to work its way up the bowl ladder for a better game. KSL Sports Alex Kirry explains why all parties should want an agreement like this and why it is worth the wait.

“The thing that is getting tied up in this, which is in ESPN’s interest, and should be in your interest as a fan, because if they win 10 games or six wins and barely get in they would have gone to the Idaho Potato Bowl (last year) and would have gone to the Hawaii Bowl this year,” Kirry said on KSL’s Unrivaled.

“The idea is that they want to make it exactly where BYU is in a bowl that is the most interesting for ESPN and the most interesting to fans.”

This will give the players, coaches, and fans some added excitement as the season progresses to be able to play up into a better bowl matchup. In the past, the Cougars bowl game has been locked in with a particular game which lacked excitement.

There was a trade last year to have BYU play in the Idaho Potato Bowl which mixed things up, but typically once the Cougars reached six wins the specific bowl game was locked down and then there was not much to look forward to.

KSL Sports host Scott Mitchell points out how garnering a better bowl game is a win-win for all parties involved.

“I love what they are actually considering here for BYU. What’s the thing to look forward to in independence, are we bowl eligible? That is the only thing, it is not a conference championship,” Mitchell said. “The fact that you are not tied into one bowl and having this season and going to Idaho, nothing against Idaho but bowl games are not really exciting in Idaho.

“To have the opportunity to go to a higher-tiered bowl I think is the very best news that BYU and BYU fans could ever get, and hopefully, it will work out based upon what we hear is being negotiated that the potential to get into bigger name bowls is a very exciting thing for BYU.”

With the relationship that BYU and ESPN have had for decades, it is worth the wait to find the best possible options for the postseason and help each party out.