Judging by the release of the NFL's 2011 season schedule on Tuesday night, it is clear hat the NFL views itself as the only football that matters in the country.
A full slate of regular season games has been scheduled for January 1, 2012, which of course is a traditional day for college football with bowl games to be played. Because of the NFL schedule most, if not all, bowl games originally scheduled for January 1 will be moved to January 2, including the Rose Bowl.
The NFL has television contracts with CBS and Fox Sports for Sunday games played during the day, NBC for Sunday Night Football and ESPN for Monday Night Football. All four of those networks have bowl game broadcast rights for various bowls and would be reluctant to challenge NFL football, a television ratings monster, with their usual lineup of college football bowl games, especially if postseason spots are on the line in the NFL.
The NFL will begin their season on Sunday, September 11, the ten-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. and a plane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The starting date comes on the first Sunday after Labor Day, and with a 16-game schedule with one bye week the schedule plays out to January 1.
The Rose Bowl has almost always been played on New Year's Day with a few exceptions. Since 1990 he game has been played later than January 1 three times (1995, 2002, 2006). The 2002 and 2006 games were played at a later date as the national championship game. This will be the first time since 1961 that the game will be changed in date without having a factor in the national championship picture.
The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will both be played on January 2 (Sugar Bowl may be played on January 3). The Super Dome in New Orleans is scheduled to host an NFL regular season finale between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers on January 1, so it is more likely that the Sugar Bowl will be played on January 3 in order to allow for the stadium to be prepared for the Sugar Bowl. New Orleans is also the site of this year's BCS Championship game, which is scheduled for January 9, a Monday. If the New Orleans Saints reach the post season the Superdome could host two bowl games and up to two NFL games in a span of nine days. Fortunately the stadium utilizes an artificial turf so field conditions will be practically a non-issue.
The Orange Bowl is scheduled for January 4 or 5. The Miami Dolphins, who play home games in the same stadium, are scheduled to host the New York Jets on January 1, which means Sun Life Stadium could face the possibility of hosting three football games within a week if the Dolphins host a wild card game in the AFC playoffs.
Not to be outdone, the Fiesta Bowl is scheduled for January 3 in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, home of the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are scheduled to host the Seattle Seahawks in the final game of the regular season just two days before the Fiesta Bowl. Assuming the Fiesta Bowl manages to hold on to their bowl license and their spot in the BCS, this will be one more scheduling hassle for the college football side of things to deal with. Like Sun Life Stadium, University of Phoenix Stadium could face having to host three bowl games within the same week if Arizona happens to host a wild card match-up in the NFC playoffs.
How will the movement of January 1 bowl games to January 2 affect them? That remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, January 1 just will not feel the same without a college football game to watch when being forced to watch the NFL, in which many games will be played without anything riding on them.
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