Boston College's Pinstripe Pitch Bowls Over Selection Committee

Great article in yesterday's Boston Globe about how this year's Boston College-Penn State Pinstripe Bowl matchup came about. DAP to Bates and Addazio for making it happen.

Mark Holtzman, the Pinstripe's executive director, said the selection committee was bowled over by BC's presentation [ed. note: PUNS!], particularly when Bates laid out the figures on the fan base, and estimated how many could attend given their proximity to the game.

"I was staggered when Brad Bates made a presentation and he showed me the amount of alumni within 60 miles, the amount of kids who are going to be home from school,'' Holtzman said. "I mean, it's incredible. So that really stood out.

"In Brad and Coach Addazio, I don't think you could have two better salespeople for their school.''

Once the Music City Bowl scooped up Notre Dame, the ACC's remaining "Tier I" bowls—the Belk, Sun and Pinstripe—had to decide between Louisville, Duke, Boston College and N.C. State. Though BC is the closest geographically, it wasn't a slam dunk for the Eagles as Penn State, making its first bowl appearance since 2011, will likely generate plenty of ticket demand on their own. Duke, which finished with a 9-3 record, 5-3 in the conference, also made a strong push for the Pinstripe as well.

As I've mentioned before, even though the Pinstripe is the closest ACC-affiliated bowl game to the Heights, there's no guarantee that BC gets back to this particular bowl game any time soon—especially with the bowl's status as one of the league's "Tier I" bowls and Notre Dame sidling into the conference's bowl lineup most years. Addazio and Bates certainly understand that, so big ups to both for getting this done.

One of us, one of us.