The LA Bowl has been performed for the final time as organizers introduced Thursday that Washington’s win over Boise State in December was the ultimate iteration of the five-year-old postseason occasion. That brings the overall variety of bowl video games anticipated to end out the upcoming 2026 season to 40, which might lower additional within the coming years for among the small occasions with additional School Soccer Playoff growth doubtlessly on its method sooner or later.
“After 5 nice years, the LA Bowl at Sofi Stadium will now not be shifting ahead. It has been an honor for our workers and volunteers to carry school soccer to one of many world’s biggest venues,” a press release from LA Bowl organizers stated. “We need to thank the athletes and soccer applications who participated and, most significantly, the school soccer followers who joined us over these previous 5 seasons.”
The LA Bowl had been performed in Inglewood, California, since 2021 and featured groups from the Pac-12 and Mountain West. The sport by no means had a repeat matchup and Boise State was the one group that performed within the occasion twice.
Mountain West extends partnership with CBS Sports activities: League pronounces new soccer media rights package deal
Shehan Jeyarajah
Bowl season as we all know it faces uncertainty shifting ahead given the game’s unruly December calendar and singular switch portal window in January. Bowl Season government director Nick Carparelli stated final season that bowl video games will all the time have their place, however their complete quantity can be dictated by the variety of taking part groups.
Greater than a half-dozen applications declined bowl alternatives in December, together with Notre Dame. There have been even a pair video games that featured five-win groups as there was a scarcity of applications who met the minimal six-win eligibility requirement.
“The bowl system is a market-driven system. By the 100 years of bowl video games, nobody has ever dictated what number of bowl video games there are,” Carparelli informed The Athletic. “They have been strictly a operate of host communities that need to host them and groups that need to take part. If at any time limit, the establishments resolve as a lot as we love the bowl system, we could need to take part at a distinct degree, then the bowl system will regulate accordingly.However nobody’s ready to say what the quantity is, or to make any of these selections. The market will dictate it.”
An rising variety of participant opt-outs in non-CFP video games is an apparent concern from a aggressive standpoint, to not point out bowl practices getting in the best way of recruiting.
Bowl video games aren’t usually seen because the “reward” they as soon as had been for an admirable end, particularly with school soccer’s all-in push towards the playoff.
