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The 2023 bowl season kicks off on December 16th and wraps up with the College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 8 in Houston after the finalists have been decided in the Sugar and Rose bowls.
Many things have changed over recent years with regards to which teams wind up where, and why. Only have a handful of bowl games have the true capacity to 'invite' who they wish. The majority of the decisions begin with which teams are selected for the Final 4 by the College Football Playoff Committee. Those 4 teams play in 2 of the New Year's Six Bowls. The committee also places teams in the other four New Year's Six Bowls - Cotton, Peach, Sugar, Fiesta, Rose and Orange. After that, conference committees get involved in determining which members will play where. You can bet that ESPN, which operates 17 of the games, also has significant input.
Currently, the playoff generates roughly $600 million that is doled-out to the FBS conferences and schools, and certain conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision received approximately $3.08 million in aggregate. When the playoff expands to 12 teams next season, that total will grow exponentially.
We have not been able to find specific payouts generated by most bowl games since the 2018-2019 season.
Simple answer. The NCAA grants each bowl school up to 20 hours practice per week leading up to their game. The later you play on the bowl calendar, the more practices you can accumulate. The more you can keep your team in touch with your coaches, the less likely you are to lose some players to the portal.
This does not mean that all of the players are buying in to these postseason games. If the player thinks he has a shot at transferring to another school for more playing time, media attention, or even NIL money, he's gone. If the player is a potential high-round draft pick, it's become more and more common for that player to walk away from the team to avoid injury and the possible wrecking of his professional career.
Without wading deep into the weeds, win 6 games and you are in. The exceptions can include schools on an NCAA-imposed bowl band, a school-imposed bowl ban,and programs which are in the process of an NCAA-imposed 2-year transition period from the FCS to the FBS. The 'transition ban' exists to prevent FCS schools from attempting to stockpile players from the transfer portal while avoiding the more restrictive requirements of FBS schools.
But still, those schools that are moving up to the FBS are not completely out of the postseason picture. If they win 6 games, and the pool of qualified teams isn't large enough to fill 41 bowl slots, they have to be taken in front of schools with fewer than 6 wins.
This year, we can call that the James Madison and Jax State loophole. Therefiore, both of those schools can right now be classified as 'qualified alternates'.
But wait. There's more. Win 5 games, but be among the schools at the top of the Academic Progress Rate (APR) list, and you could also go bowling. Since 2011, 10 teams have received bowl invitations for this direct reason.
AAC (AMERICAN)
(1) Qualified
Tulane (6-1)
On the cusp:
SMU (5-2)
Memphis (5-2)
Eliminated
None
ACC:
(3) Qualified
Florida State (7-0)
Louisville (6-1)
North Carolina (6-1)
On the cusp:
Duke (5-2)
Miami (5-2)
Eliminated
None
BIG 12:
(2) Qualified
Oklahoma (7-0)
Texas (6-1)
On the cusp:
BYU (5-2)
Kansas (5-2)
Kansas State (5-2)
Oklahoma State (5-2)
Eliminated
None
B1G:
(5) Qualified
Michigan (8-0)
Ohio State (7-0)
Penn State (6-1)
Rutgers (6-2)
Iowa (6-2)
On the cusp:
Maryland (5-2)
Wisconsin (5-2)
Eliminated
None
CUSA:
(2) Qualified
Liberty (8-0)
New Mexico State (6-3)
Contingently Qualified:
Jax State (7-2)
On the cusp:
None
Eliminated
None
INDEPENDENTS:
(1) Qualified
Notre Dame (6-2)
On the cusp:
None
Eliminated:
UMass (1-7)
MAC:
(3) Qualified
Toledo (7-1)
Miami, O. (6-2)
Ohio (6-2)
On the cusp:
None
Eliminated:
Akron (1-7)
Kent State (1-7)
MWC:
(3) Qualified
Air Force (7-0)
Fresno State (6-1)
UNLV (6-1)
On the cusp:
Wyoming (5-2)
Eliminated:
None
PAC-12:
(5) Qualified
Washington (7-0)
Oregon (6-1)
Oregon State (6-1)
Utah (6-1)
USC (6-2)
On the cusp:
UCLA (5-2)
Eliminated:
None
SEC:
(5) Qualified
Georgia (7-0)
Alabama (7-1)
Missouri (7-1)
Ole Miss (6-1)
LSU (6-2)
On the cusp:
Florida (5-2)
Kentucky (5-2)
Tennessee (5-2)
Eliminated:
None
SUN BELT:
(1) Qualified
Georgia State (6-1)
On the cusp:
Georgia Southern (5-2)
Texas State (5-2)
Troy (5-2)
Eliminated:
None
Contingently Qualified:
James Madsion (7-0)