ACC elevates Champs; may cut Gator Bowl tie

The Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando has been elevated to the number three spot in the ACC's contracted bowl selection order for 2010 through 2013, conference officials announced Wednesday.

That position behind the BCS/Orange Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Bowl previously had been occupied by the Gator Bowl, whose longstanding relationship with the ACC is in jeopardy.

ACC associate commissioner for football operations Michael Kelly said it appears now that the Gator Bowl won't have a contracted tie with the ACC. Kelly said ACC officials had rejected a proposal by Gator Bowl officials to eliminate the "one-win rule" from the conference's bowl selection process.

That rule states that when a bowl selects its ACC representative, it must choose a team with a conference record that's within one win of the team with the best available ACC record.

In other words, if a team with a 5-3 conference record was available to a bowl, it can select a team with a 4-4 record, but not a team that's 3-5 in the ACC. Kelly said Gator Bowl officials wanted to the freedom to select any bowl-eligible ACC team.

"That requirement was something we weren't prepared to live with," Kelly said.

Efforts to reach Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett for comment were unsuccessful. The bowl has had an agreement to take a team from the ACC since 1995.

Bowl executives in general like to have flexibility to select teams that might sell more tickets instead of teams with stronger won-loss records but fewer or less passionate fans.

Kelly said that with the third slot resolved, the ACC will begin working on the rest of the bowl selection order for 2010 to 2013. That is expected to include Charlotte's Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Meineke Bowl executive director Will Webb said the bowl is in talks with the ACC and looks forward to getting those negotiations finished.