A bowl game for Jackson?

Talk of a proposed bowl game for Jackson, which first surfaced a couple of years ago, is buzzing a little bit again.

An area concert promoter, Rodney Shumpert, told the Journal on Tuesday that he’s preparing to file paperwork with the NCAA’s bowl committee for a game – the Magnolia Bowl? – that would be played at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“It just seems like a natural, as much as people in Mississippi love football,” said Shumpert, who played football at Nettleton High School (Class of 1999) and at ICC.

(People in Alabama love football, too, but that state provides rather tepid support for its bowl games in Birmingham and Mobile.)

We’re skeptical – it seems like there are too many bowl games already, and Jackson may be problematic as a possible destination – but Shumpert says he’s getting his ducks in a row. He’s talking to potential title sponsors, insists he has a handle on obtaining the required $2 million line of credit the NCAA requires just to be considered, and has talked with officials in the offices of the SEC, ACC and Big 12.

“My main deal is to try to put together two of the power conferences,” he said.

The 2010-11 bowl schedule is likely to already see an inaugural bowl at the new Yankee $tadium added to the mix, but at least one of the lower-tier bowls could fizzle out between now and then if the economy continues to struggle.

More likely, a first appearance for the Mississippi group before the bowl committee would serve as a get-to-know-you session that might lead to a more serious effort down the road.

We’ll keep our ears open.

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Um no thanks this is worse than the bowl at Legion Field.