How the Music City Bowl could be part of the College Football Playoff
If the College Football Playoff expands to an eight- or 12-team format, TransPerfect Music City Bowl officials want a seat at the table.
"We certainly want to compete at the highest level," Music City Bowl president and CEO Scott Ramsey said. "I think our city can host those games as good as any from an environment standpoint and I'm confident in our ability to put on an event that is equal to or better than any other city's."
Six bowl games — Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Fiesta and Peach — rotate as hosts for the semifinals of the four-team playoff system.
The alternative to involving additional bowls would be for playoff games to be played at campus sites leading up to the semifinals.
The College Football Playoff management committee met this week to discuss expansion and is expected to vote on Dec. 1.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last week he prefers a 12-team playoff system over an eight-team model.
"You've got to look at how the 12 teams are going to be comprised — are half of them going to be conference champions and half at-larges?" said Ramsey, whose bowl currently has a tie-ins with the SEC and Big Ten. "With Texas and Oklahoma coming into the SEC, that's a pretty beefed up conference lineup to get what we want to do here, which is to fill up Nissan Stadium and put on a great event for the city."
Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli sent the College Football management committee a letter last week requesting the bowl system be included in any playoff expansion plan.
Ramsey said he believes the Music City Bowl is in the tier below the New Year's Six bowls along with the Outback, Citrus, Alamo and Las Vegas, putting it in prime position to be included.
"It will be a matter of us asking can we rotate in, can we host some of those games in an eight- or 12-team system?" Ramsey said. "Those are questions we're just going to have to work on in the next few months or possibly couple of years."
This year's Music City Bowl is Dec. 30 (2 p.m., ESPN). The bowl was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Zac Stacy partners with the Music City Bowl
Speaking of the Music City Bowl, former Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy, the 2012 most valuable player, will be part of the game again serving as this year's Youth Football Ambassador.
Stacy will virtually visit local teams and promote youth football at leagues across Tennessee through a program that has assisted more than 20 leagues since its inception in 2003.
Stacy capped his college career by leading the Commodores to a 38-24 win over North Carolina State in the Music City Bowl. He had 119 total yards and a touchdown.
Belmont men are second, women fourth in Mid-Major Top 25
Belmont's men's basketball team is No. 2 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll and the women's team is fourth.
Gonzaga is No. 1 in the men's poll and Missouri State is first in the women's. The women received one first-place vote.
The women also received votes in the USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association preseason Top 25 for the first time.
Tennessee Tech's women are 25th in the Mid-Major Top 25.
Belmont is picked to win the OVC men's and women's championships.
The men return every starter from the 2020-21 team, which won the conference title and posted a 26-4 record. The women also have every starter back from last year's team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 21-6 record.
MTSU's Blankenship, Memphis' Austin invited to Shrine Bowl
Two college football players from Tennessee — Middle Tennessee State's Reed Blankenship and Memphis' Calvin Austin III — have been invited to play in the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl.
The 97th annual all-star game is Feb. 3 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Blankenship, a senior safety from Athens, Alabama, is MTSU's all-time leading tackler and was also invited last year, but the game was canceled because of COVID-19. Austin is a senior wide receiver from Memphis.
TSU's Durley playing in Legacy Bowl
Tennessee State All-OVC offensive tackle Cam Durley accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl
The all-star game will be played Feb. 22 at Tulane's Yulman Stadium and broadcast on the NFL Network.
Durley is a senior from Houston who transferred from Kansas after the 2018 season. He made the 2020 All-OVC team and is sidelined recovering from a knee injury.
Vanderbilt bowler rolls perfect game
Vanderbilt bowler Angelica Anthony rolled a perfect 300 game, helping the Commodores win the Dezy Strong Classic at Coram Country Lanes in New York. Strong's 300 came against Tulane, which finished second.
It was only the second 300 in the history of the 18-year-old program. The last came in 2011-12 by All-American Brittni Hamilton against Prairie View. It was the fifth in Anthony’s career.
The senior from San Antonio, Texas, had come close to rolling a perfect game the week before when she had 10 straight strikes.
Dangerfield, Wiel inducted into Blackman hall of fame
Basketball great Crystal Dangerfield and baseball standout Zander Wiel were in inducted into the Blackman Athletics Hall of Fame.
Dangerfield was a two-time Class AAA Miss Basketball (2015, 2016) who led the Lady Blaze to back-to-back state championships (2014, 2015), went on to play at Connecticut and then for the Minnesota Lynx, where she was named the 2020 WNBA rookie of the year.
Wiel led Blackman to its first state tournament appearance in 2009 and was an all-state selection in 2011. He went on to play at Vanderbilt and helped the Commodores to their first College World Series championship before being drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2015.
Also inducted: Megan (French) White (golf, 2001), Alana (Hicks) Grey (basketball and softball, 2004) and Adam Smith (football, 2008).
Sounds announce times for home games
The Nashville Sounds announced game times for their 72-game home schedule at First Horizon Park. The 2022 season begins April 5 when the Sounds host the Durham Bulls, Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, at 6:35 p.m.
All Monday through Saturday games from April 5 to May 21 begin at 6:35 p.m. Monday through Saturday game times switch to 7:05 p.m. on June 7 and remain that way for the remainder of the regular season.
The first five Sunday home games will start at 2:05 p.m. Beginning June 26, all remaining Sunday home games will begin at 6:05 p.m. The one Sunday schedule exception is a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on July 17 when the Sounds host the Memphis Redbirds.
Game times for the 72 road games will be announced at a later date.
Michael House wins Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway championship
Michael House from Columbia won the pro late models feature championship at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway by winning the final race Sunday during the All American 400 weekend.
House, whose father-in-law is two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin, also won the championship in 2018. He was in the top five in every race this season, with two wins and two runner-up finishes.
Dylan Fetcho from Lebanon was second in the points standing while Cole Williams, from Borden, Indiana, was third, Hunter Wright from Gladeville was fourth and Bryson Shaffer from Milan was fifth.
House also ran in the All American 400 Sunday and finished 12th.
John Burns from Murfreesboro won the super trucks title. Nicholas Formosa from Brentwood was second and Tanner Arms from Nashville was third.
The final races in the other divisions — limited late models, pure stocks, street stocks, front runners, legends and Bandoleros — were rained out and rescheduled for Nov. 20.
Reghan Grimes commits to Tennessee Tech
Ravenwood basketball standout Reghan Grimes committed to play for Tennessee Tech.
Grimes is a 5-foot-10 forward who is also on Ravenwood's volleyball and track and field teams. She is the daughter of former Hunters Lane and Alabama football star Reggie Grimes.
Her brother Reggie II is a sophomore defensive end on the Oklahoma football team and her sister Maya Perry-Grimes runs track at Austin Peay.
MTSU opens new golf facility
MTSU had a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday for its new golf practice facility. It was built in College Grove in partnership with The Grove Club.
The $1.1 million facility, which will be shared by the men’s and women’s teams, was funded entirely by donations.
"(Our donors) have done a great, great thing," athletics director Chris Massaro said. "And now our golf teams have even better opportunities to compete on a national scale. We expect to have more trophies and fill up these walls with more accolades."
The building features three indoor hitting bays and an indoor putting green with multiple slope changes.
Two of the indoor hitting bays include TrackMan simulator studios that provide players with real-time feedback on the distance, speed, and rotation of their shots and can simulate play on more than 90 courses.
There also is a players' lounge, locker rooms, training facilities and a study area.
TSU's Hickbottom is OVC player of the week
TSU quarterback Geremy Hickbottom was named the OVC offensive player of the week and co-newcomer of the week after leading the Tigers to a 27-21 win over Murray State.
The Grambling transfer ran for three touchdowns, including a 65-yarder, and threw for a fourth while accumulating 246 total yards.
UT Martin linebacker Eyabi Anoma, a transfer from Alabama, shared the newcomer award with Hickbottom.
Austin Peay linebacker Koby Perry was the co-defensive player of the week along with Anoma. Perry returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown while also recording a career-high 16 tackles.
Belmont has OVC cross country coach of the year
Longtime Belmont cross country coach Jeff Langdon was named the OVC coach of the year after the Bruins women claimed their first OVC team title at Percy Warner Park. The men's team finished second.
Brentwood natives and siblings Kaitlyn and Kevin Vanderkolk led the women's and men's team, respectively, and both were named All-OVC.
Langdon, who ran for Belmont (1979-83), has coached at the school since 1986, when he started as a part-time assistant.
Free volleyball lessons
Free youth girls volleyball lessons are being offered each Thursday at Sevier Park Community Center.
The community center is located at 3021 Lealand Drive. The lessons are for all skill levels.
For more information call 615-862-8466 or visit https://bit.ly/2ZKF6ht.
Free basketball camp at McGavock
A free Anti-Violence Youth Basketball Camp is Nov. 13 at McGavock High School.
The camp is for ages 4-18 and presented by the Forever Don Foundation.
For more information call 615-480-6610.
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
Sports on Nashville TV
The five highest-rated sports events locally for the week ending Oct. 31 in Nashville:
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Could the Music City Bowl be part of the College Football Playoffs?
