I'm betting the new AD definitely had a hand in this pathetic decision. He is on board. No way Aranda has ability to decline a bowl.

Stefano DiMera said:

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Don't think we'll be fined. Kstate and Iowa St were fined because of contractual conference obligations.

This was a random bowl scrambling for a 5-7 team.

And. Remember folks.. we don't get that full 1.5.million. Many bowls you pay your way.. the band.. cheerleaders out of that purse.. plus the split we share with the other conference schools.

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This. Apparently some of the keyboard geniuses on this message board only majored in rainbows and unicorns at Baylor.

Bull***** Put the traveling band on a bus But I don't dispute that some here majoried in rainbows and worse.

2Bears said:

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Baylor will not be fined for failing to fill in for other teams that didn't play. It is very likely players have scattered and moved on. They have known for 2 weeks there was no bowl game. It is difficult to gather everyone back to play a game they hadn't planned on. Last year LA TECH was added as a last-minute addition. It was easy for them because they are on the quarter system and the players hadn't scattered. I would have liked to see them play, but with all the drama lately, the decision was probably a good one to just move on to next year.

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Every 5-7 P4 team knows they've got a chance of getting an invite to a bowl game

Maybe be prepared for that

The new AD is taking the team to Colorado for salmon fishing.

I'm glad we're not playing. I'll just leave it at that.

Reports say SEVEN schools declined their offer to play in the Birmingham Bowl: Auburn, Baylor, Rutgers, Kansas, UCF, Florida State and Temple.

Appalachian State then said yes.

This bowl needs a new nickname now.

"Dad, what was it like when there were awesome bowl games on TV every day for the holidays?" pic.twitter.com/ckLOWu74fb

— parker fleming (@statsowar) December 7, 2025

Before getting worked up about declining a bid from a nothing bowl, consider what senior players who may have NFL hopes, would decline to play ? Sawyer/Trigg for starters

boognish_bear said:

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BEAR 45 said:

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Before getting worked up about declining a bid from a nothing bowl, consider what senior players who may have NFL hopes, would decline to play ? Sawyer/Trigg for starters

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If Sawyer sat out that would give us a chance to test drive one of the backup QBs ahead of next season... assuming they are sticking around.

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We could also have some players that are headed to the portal. Either way if Baylor stinks up the place , the negatives outweigh any positives. It is certainly not about the money, we would likely lose money on the deal overall.

robby44 said:

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Shortsighted
The extra practices are valuable
Plus we need to see what we have at QB

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Exactly. And as you well know, we ALL want one more game. One more game for the Seniors who will never play organized football again. And a chance to put some sugar on a stinker of a season

Notre Dame also declines a bowl

Notre Dame declines a bowl bid after being left out of the playoff. I think this will become more and more common as playoff grows. Top players aren’t playing in bowls now. Selling tickets will also become more difficult. The entire bowl business will collapse. Feels inevitable. pic.twitter.com/Z5CxPhvHzi

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 7, 2025

Give one to UMHB. They got snubbed by the DIII playoff.

. . . after reading this thread, I am c convinced we have a completely delusional fanbase.

Do NIL seniors go to class? Probably not.

I'm not convinced we could have fielded a full team, considering those headed to the NFL, the likely portal transfers, etc.

In the case of BU, I wonder if this means...

Selected players & coaches have already been told there will be no room for them on the roster next year. Other key players would opt out for a bowl game, so we could not field a team for a bowl.

I agree with Clay Travis take below on the future of the bowls.

Quote:

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Top players aren't playing in bowls now. Selling tickets will also become more difficult. The entire bowl business will collapse. Feels inevitable.

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The impact of college football becoming pro football...

Quote:

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AI: Several teams declined invitations to the 2025 Birmingham Bowl, including Kansas, Baylor, Auburn, Florida State, UCF, Central Michigan, and Temple, with many citing coaching transitions, player availability/health, or a desire to focus on the offseason as reasons, leading the bowl to eventually feature a Sun Belt matchup between Georgia Southern and App State**.

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Stranger said:

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. . . after reading this thread, I am c convinced we have a completely delusional fanbase.

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You and I finally agree on something.

Robert Wilson said:

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2Bears said:

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Baylor will not be fined for failing to fill in for other teams that didn't play. It is very likely players have scattered and moved on. They have known for 2 weeks there was no bowl game. It is difficult to gather everyone back to play a game they hadn't planned on. Last year LA TECH was added as a last-minute addition. It was easy for them because they are on the quarter system and the players hadn't scattered. I would have liked to see them play, but with all the drama lately, the decision was probably a good one to just move on to next year.

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Every 5-7 P4 team knows they've got a chance of getting an invite to a bowl game

Maybe be prepared for that

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This is my take. It's like we weren't prepared for this possibility. You would have to think there are enough young hungry guys wanting to play to field a team. I don't care if we lost. We would have gained practice time and been able to see what the young guys can do. Its a missed opportunity for learning and evaluating.

With that said it seems like we aren't alone in this decision. They must have sent everyone home at the end of the season.

I'm all for the non blue bloods sayin FU to this new system. I probably won't watch a single non CFP bowl this year and suspect I'm far from alone. I'm sure the AD's know that's out there.

BearFan33 said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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2Bears said:

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Baylor will not be fined for failing to fill in for other teams that didn't play. It is very likely players have scattered and moved on. They have known for 2 weeks there was no bowl game. It is difficult to gather everyone back to play a game they hadn't planned on. Last year LA TECH was added as a last-minute addition. It was easy for them because they are on the quarter system and the players hadn't scattered. I would have liked to see them play, but with all the drama lately, the decision was probably a good one to just move on to next year.

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Every 5-7 P4 team knows they've got a chance of getting an invite to a bowl game

Maybe be prepared for that

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This is my take. It's like we weren't prepared for this possibility. You would have to think there are enough young hungry guys wanting to play to field a team. I don't care if we lost. We would have gained practice time and been able to see what the young guys can do. Its a missed opportunity for learning and evaluating.

With that said it seems like we aren't alone in this decision. They must have sent everyone home at the end of the season.

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I agree with you. Prior to K-State saying no, all the slots were expected to be filled. I can't imagine anyone seeing what happened as a possibility, with ND saying no and all the people before they got to Baylor saying no. I would love for them to have played, but if everyone is gone, that would be difficult. I would imagine we will see lots of changes in the process next year after this debacle. There has to be some change, and some penalty for teams that qualify not playing.

2Bears said:

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BearFan33 said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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2Bears said:

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Baylor will not be fined for failing to fill in for other teams that didn't play. It is very likely players have scattered and moved on. They have known for 2 weeks there was no bowl game. It is difficult to gather everyone back to play a game they hadn't planned on. Last year LA TECH was added as a last-minute addition. It was easy for them because they are on the quarter system and the players hadn't scattered. I would have liked to see them play, but with all the drama lately, the decision was probably a good one to just move on to next year.

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Every 5-7 P4 team knows they've got a chance of getting an invite to a bowl game

Maybe be prepared for that

---

This is my take. It's like we weren't prepared for this possibility. You would have to think there are enough young hungry guys wanting to play to field a team. I don't care if we lost. We would have gained practice time and been able to see what the young guys can do. Its a missed opportunity for learning and evaluating.

With that said it seems like we aren't alone in this decision. They must have sent everyone home at the end of the season.

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I agree with you. Prior to K-State saying no, all the slots were expected to be filled. I can't imagine anyone seeing what happened as a possibility, with ND saying no and all the people before they got to Baylor saying no. I would love for them to have played, but if everyone is gone, that would be difficult. I would imagine we will see lots of changes in the process next year after this debacle. There has to be some change, and some penalty for teams that qualify not playing.

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5-7 teams have been in bowl games several years just lately. It's a completely foreseeable possibility.

Plus, based on what I've been told from those who follow social media, the players want to play.

This is hand-wringing adults not wanting to go compete because it looks like work and has some risk involved.

I love bowl games but you have to many when 5-7 teams get invited every year. Every year more and more players sit. Supply and demand… decrease supply and increase demand

TenBears said:

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I'm all for the non blue bloods sayin FU to this new system. I probably won't watch a single non CFP bowl this year and suspect I'm far from alone. I'm sure the AD's know that's out there.

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College ball is pro ball now so I suspect we are moving toward a 16-team playoff, and the rest of the bowl games will disappear. Seems inevitable with NFL quality players opting out of the bowls and other players opting out to head to the portal to chase NIL money.

Exit question...

If a playoff team were to fall behind by 21 points at halftime, will the NFL prospects on that team make a business decision and opt out of the 2nd half?

boykin_spaniel said:

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I love bowl games but you have to many when 5-7 teams get invited every year. Every year more and more players sit. Supply and demand… decrease supply and increase demand

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The reason there are so many bowl games is that there is demand. The TV ratings are good. People like watching live football. And you get paid to do it. Players should want to play. Coaches should want to coach. Hanging a bowl game banner on the masthead is a good thing (even if it's a minor bowl).

I bet if you polled our roster of players they'd have voted to play. Just a hunch combined with the take of younger folks who follow them on social media.

Jacques Strap said:

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TenBears said:

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I'm all for the non blue bloods sayin FU to this new system. I probably won't watch a single non CFP bowl this year and suspect I'm far from alone. I'm sure the AD's know that's out there.

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College ball is pro ball now so I suspect we are moving toward a 16-team playoff, and the rest of the bowl games will disappear. Seems inevitable with NFL quality players opting out of the bowls and other players opting out to head to the portal to chase NIL money.

Exit question...

If a playoff team were to fall behind by 21 points at halftime, will the NFL prospects on that team make a business decision and opt out of the 2nd half?

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Very few of these players are going to the NFL, and most that do will be hoping to get drafted or picked up as a free agent. Most of them are going to want to play.

And I don't at all understand the "bowl games disappear because there's a playoff."

These minor bowl games never "mattered" in the sense that people who use that term mean it. The Independence Bowl means just as much now as it never did, for better or worse. It never had any relevance to anything other than your record, pride in playing, maybe an AP ranking if you're lucky. Same now as it ever was. But it's football. It's fun. It's profitable. You should want to play.

No money to be made in a bowl of that caliber, best you can hope is to recoup expenses.

In this case the payout is $1.4mm, $700k per team. In the B12, team expenses are reimbursed first and then the balance goes to the conference. Conference takes 10-20% and then distributes prorata to conference members. Liklihood of doing more than recouping expenses for BU, zero. Even if conference got. and paid out $700k @90% that's less than $40k per team. This was purely a money decision.

CorsicanaBear said:

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No money to be made in a bowl of that caliber, best you can hope is to recoup expenses.

In this case the payout is $1.4mm, $700k per team. In the B12, team expenses are reimbursed first and then the balance goes to the conference. Conference takes 10-20% and then distributes prorata to conference members. Liklihood of doing more than recouping expenses for BU, zero. Even if conference got. and paid out $700k @90% that's less than $40k per team. This was purely a money decision.

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Maybe the answer is these small payout bowls just have to pay more. But there's a reason the conference is fining KSU and ISU. Those bowls do make money. Not playing in them costs the conference money, and by extension costs the conference members money. But I agree the very minor bowls ... it's negligible. And, as usual, economics is probably the underlying factor here. If ESPN wants the minor bowls to be filled with teams, they need to increase the payouts.

What type of Everyone Gets A Ribbon and A Trophy world are some of you living in where you want us to go schlep to a bowl with a 5-7 record?!

Some of y'all's athletic stances are very inconsistent with your political beliefs.. Borderline hypocritical.