ABC-7 Xtra Sunday – The Future of the Sun Bowl
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- What is the future of the Sun Bowl and the college football bowl game system overall - and could it be in jeopardy?
An increasingly common phenomenon is top players with draft aspirations sitting out the end-of-season games that were seen in years past as a reward and capstone for teams with the best records.
A notable escalation this year was Notre Dame refusing any bowl invitation in response to being snubbed from the college football playoffs.
And the trend can be traced back to the Sun Bowl game.
In 2016, then-Stanford Cardinal player Christian McCaffrey announced he would sit out the game so he could begin his "draft prep immediately" - one of the first ever to do so for non-medical reasons.
And now, with further changes such as the NCAA student athlete payment settlement and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) licensing possibilities, what will this mean for schools, teams, coaches, players and fans going forward?
Join host Andrew J. Polk as he talks with Sun Bowl Executive Director Bernie Olivas and ABC-7 Sports Anchor Bea Martinez about how the college football playoffs, bowl economics and more could affect the Sun Bowl and dozens more going forward. Tune in Sunday at 10:35 p.m., right after ABC-7 at 10 Weekend.
