Team Selection
At the start of the 2001 college football season, the Gator Bowl Committee held contracts with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East Conference, and Notre Dame, allowing the committee to select either Notre Dame or a team from each of the conferences to fill the two available slots. According to contract, the committee had the first selection of teams from each of the two conferences after the conferences' champions were given automatic bids to a Bowl Championship Series game.
According to contract, the Gator Bowl was allowed to select any bowl-eligible Big East team as long as it was within two wins of the second-place team in the conference. This clause generated controversy when Virginia Tech (8–3 record) received the Big East's Gator Bowl spot instead of Syracuse (9–2 record). Syracuse fans, coaches, and players protested the selection of the third-place Hokies ahead of second-place Syracuse. Representing the Atlantic Coast conference was Florida State, which finished second in its conference with a record of 7–4.
Read more about this topic: 2002 Gator Bowl
Famous quotes containing the words team and/or selection:
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