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FBA Celebrates Post Season Football April 17, 2015

The annual meeting of the Football Bowl Association (FBA) celebrated a record-setting year of payouts, honored an individual for his career-long contribution to post-season football, and brought together representatives of the 39 college football bowl games. Attendees included conference and television partners, sponsors, and vendors.

The meeting was held April 13-15 at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., and was hosted by the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. The gathering looked back on another successful year of post-season college football.

The NCAA announced that the 2014-15 slate of bowl games paid out a total of $505.9 million, the first time the $500 million mark has been surpassed.

The bowl games also honored Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive with the annual Champions Award.

“The Football Bowl Association was honored to recognize Commissioner Slive,” said Wright Waters, executive director of the FBA. “Not only has he been a huge supporter of the bowl system, he always kept the welfare of the student-athlete his highest priority.”

The Champions Award is bestowed upon an individual who has provided distinguished service to college football with an emphasis on being a contributor to post-season football bowl games. Past Champions Award winners include Roy Kramer, SEC; Tom Hansen, Pac-12; LaVell Edwards, BYU; Bobby Bowden, Florida State; Grant Teaff, Baylor/American Football Coaches Association; Dennis Pope, NCAA; and Lee Corso, Indiana/ESPN.

Along with a trade show, the annual FBA meetings featured guest speakers, seminars, panels, and a sharing of best practices. Subjects included, but were not limited to, ticket sales, sponsorships, social media, public relations, operations, hospitality, and marketing. There were also discussions about improving the student-athlete experience and the economic impact of the host bowl communities.

The FBA also announced its slate of officers for 2015-16:

Chair - Bruce Binkowski (San Diego Bowl Game Association)
Vice-Chair - Bernie Olivas (Hyundai Sun Bowl)
Treasurer - Kevin McDonald (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)
Secretary - William B. Flinn (Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual)

The Football Bowl Association is a non-profit organization established to help build upon the traditions of the bowl games and bring to light the many benefits of the games. The FBA embraces the games and honors the bowl experience for present and future generations. For more information about the Football Bowl Association, visit www.footballbowlassociation.com.