re: Pre 1970 was the Sugar Bowl a lot less prestigious?

What a stupid topic. I'd expect this type of topic from a Arky moron.

Shame on you.

In the SEC, the Sugar Bowl is the most prestigious bowl and has been for a long, long time. Even prior to 1970 the SEC teams and fans wanted a Sugar Bowl invite first and foremost.

Now, a Texas guy probably wanted to go to the Cotton Bowl and that was the bowl all the little aggies and longhorns and sooners dreamed of seeing their team play in on New Years Day.

It's the effin Sugar Bowl man. Never go full retard.

WAOM.....playing in the Sugar Bowl.

I don't care that it upsets you. I actually find it very amusing.

If it weren't for #WAOM then we'd have won the SEC.



Happy with a Sugar Bowl invite though. I've said for years that I just want to see the Rebels win the SEC and play in the Sugar Bowl before I die.

One down....

Wow, OP. Another stupid Aggie.

Your sole national championship was secured at the 1940 Sugar Bowl.

LINK

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Pre 1970 was the Sugar Bowl a lot less prestigious?

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The selection of the SEC champion wasn't formalized until 1975.

Prior to then, you still had a lot of top ten matchups in the Sugar Bowl, but you were all too often missing the conference champion.

Here's the years from 1950 onwards that didn't feature the conference champion (conference champ listed first, then SEC team that went to Sugar instead)

'53: #13 Bama in Cotton Bowl, #8 Georgia Tech in Sugar Bowl
'55: #10 Ole Miss in Cotton Bowl, #7 Georgia Tech in Sugar Bowl
'57: #1 Auburn did not play in a bowl game because on probation due to pay for play scandal, #7 Ole Miss in Sugar Bowl
'59: #5 Georgia in Orange Bowl, #3 LSU in Sugar vs. #2 Ole Miss
'64: #1 Bama in Orange Bowl, #7 LSU in Sugar
'65: #4 Bama in Orange Bowl, unranked Florida in Sugar
'67: #2 Tennessee in Orange Bowl, unranked LSU in Sugar
'69: #11 Tennessee in Gator Bowl, #13 Ole Miss in Sugar
'71: #2 Bama in Orange Bowl, #4 Tennessee in Sugar
'72: #4 Bama in Cotton Bowl, No SEC team in Sugar
'74: #2 Bama in Orange Bowl, #18 Florida in Sugar

So a *lot* less prestigious?

Definitely less prestigious. Still a lot of top ten matchups and top teams. Mostly due to losing out on Bama 5 times during Bryant's prime.

The Orange Bowl landed a top 5 ranked SEC champion 6 times between 1950 and 1975. That had to suck for the Sugar Bowl and they finally fixed that in 1975. But it came at the price of losing the Big Eight champ as the Orange Bowl inked a similar deal in 1976.

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1985 Southwest Conference Champions 1986 Southwest Conference Champions 1987 Southwest Conference Champions 1991 Southwest Conference Champions 1992 Southwest Conference Champions 1993 Southwest Conference Champions 1998 Big 12 Conference Champions

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LSU beat most of those Champions, and K-State was a cute upset.

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Orange, Sugar and Cotton were all considered to be the best of the best type bowls.

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Correct.

I think it's fair to say the Orange was slightly more prestigious though.

The Rose was locked in early to the Big Ten and what became the Pac 12. Interestingly enough, segregation (or rather lack thereof) played a role in the Big Ten/Pac 12 matchup. The Cotton Bowl integrated in 1948, the Orange in 1955 and the Sugar in 1956.

No doubt segregation also played a major role in the bowl selections for SEC schools prior to 1970. I read somewhere that LSU did not play a non-Southern team, at home or on the road, from 1942 to 1970. But that must not include bowl games as LSU played Syracuse in the '65 Sugar Bowl.

Here's an interesting article on that '65 Sugar Bowl:
LINK

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How LSU and Syracuse Met in the 1965 Sugar Bowl

Seven days after the Alabama-Ole Miss football game, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Louisiana statute requiring racial segregation of public entertainment and athletic events was unconstitutional. Ernest N. Morial and A.P. Tureaud (Tureaud was first African American to attend class at LSU. Tureaud Hall is named for him), who argued the case for Horace Bynum, were the winning attorneys. Both were trailblazers in the civil rights' years and Morial, 14 years later, would become the first black mayor of New Orleans.

That decision removed a barrier that had hindered the Sugar Bowl from being the national game it had been before 1957. There was no reason New Orleans shouldn't pick up the bowl tempo again. Meanwhile, the Orange Bowl, in one of the most farsighted moves any postseason game ever took, changed its kickoff from early afternoon to prime television time-in the evening. The Rose Bowl, because of the time difference, had always started later than the other three bowls. That, combined with the tie-up between two of the country's most populous areas, had given Pasadena control of the ratings and a much larger TV contract than the others. Miami, no longer bound to the Big Eight, would now also be unopposed. Eventually, the money would be an inducement to help the Orange Bowl get the games it most desired. This was the real start of the television age for the bowls.

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So -- that sheds a lot of light on what was holding the Sugar Bowl back.

Also, love this part of the story featuring Buddy D:

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That left a great deal of leeway in the 1964 season. States-Item columnist Peter Finney and his Times-Picayune counterpart Buddy Diliberto felt one team filled both bills for the Sugar Bowl: Syracuse - the East's best team - featured an incredible running tandem in fullback Jim Nance and half-back Floyd Little. The two accounted for 1,779 yards and 25 touchdowns.
The problem was the Orangemen had two defeats and one game to go before the Bowl invitations would be extended. Finney and Diliberto continued to plug for Syracuse.

"For one thing," said Diliberto, "we thought it would be a dramatic way to end the segregation thing. Secondly, there was talk beginning then that New Orleans might be in line for a National Football League franchise. If there was any doubt about racial problems in the city, it could have endangered that move."

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I didn't learn this history about the '65 Sugar Bowl until researching for this thread. Pretty amazing how much the world has changed in 50 years.

Now I know...

That's some real interesting reading

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"For one thing," said Diliberto, "we thought it would be a dramatic way to end the segregation thing. Secondly, there was talk beginning then that New Orleans might be in line for a National Football League franchise. If there was any doubt about racial problems in the city, it could have endangered that move."

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The Aggies have the most appearances in the Sweet'N Low Bowl.