Alan Verlander Resigns

[spuwho]

Verlander going home to Gator Bowl

Per Jax Daily Record:

By David Chapman, Staff Writer

Alan Verlander says he is coming home.

The City's sports and entertainment director submitted his resignation Tuesday and was named the chief operating officer of the events division of Gator Bowl Sports on Wednesday. The organization is a wholly owned subsidiary of the former Gator Bowl Association, a place he interned at before serving as marketing director in the mid-'90s.

"This is a unique opportunity to come home," he said.

The expanded and rebranded Gator Bowl Sports has a mission of attracting a multitude of sports and other events to Jacksonville. Verlander's job is to be the point man in charge of making the city that destination.

"Personally, I think it fits my skill set really well," Verlander said. "It puts me back in a private nature, which is one of my strengths."

He served in the City capacity since April 2012 and before that was Jacksonville University's athletic director for several years. He begins his new job Jan. 2.

Verlander said he will spend the first three months creating a strategic plan to present to the Gator Bowl Sports' board and its president, Rick Catlett, before the start of the organization's April 1 fiscal year.

At that time, a budget and staffing needs also will be established, Catlett said.

Verlander said he'll also spend those months talking to current Gator Bowl Sports partners and discussing possibilities with companies he has relationships with but currently aren't on board.

The organization has 88 sponsorship partners that can it can draw from in its recruiting efforts.

Catlett said people should not expect the events Jacksonville will attract to be just football, baseball and basketball.

"I think there is absolutely a segment of business community that doesn't care one flip about football, but they care about lacrosse, they care about soccer," he said.

But it's football that could make the biggest news the soonest. Catlett said Wednesday that the organization, likely in January, will make an announcement on a major college football neutral-site game to be played in Jacksonville.

[mbwright]

how is staying in Jacksonville "coming home"?  Did he grow up in the Gator Bowl?

[mtraininjax]

GBA needs him desperately. For the 2nd year in a row they have been stuck with a dud of a game. Georgia fans will easily outnumber Nebraska fans, and I heard last night that Nebraska has cancelled the charter for fans, due to a lack of interest.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Low demand has led to the cancellation of a charter flight that had been lined up to take Nebraska fans to Jacksonville, Fla., for the Gator Bowl.

The Lincoln Journal Star  reports that Pennsylvania-based Collegiate Athletics canceled the Southwest Airlines 137-seat charter that was to fly travelers who booked through Executive Travel of Lincoln, AAA Nebraska and Allied Tour & Travel of Norfolk.

Executive Travel's Steve Glenn said it's the first time in 27 years that he's had a charter to a bowl game cancelled.

how is staying in Jacksonville "coming home"?  Did he grow up in the Gator Bowl?

I thought the same thing, then I read the paragraph up and he was the marketing director in the 90s and an intern before that.

[pierre]

On paper, it looks like an attractive matchup. Two of the bigger programs in the country. But Nebraska ended the year on a down note. Their coach has been fighting with ex-players and fans. He's lucky he did not get fired. They are playing the same team they played in a bowl game  last year in Georgia. And Georgia's best player is out for the season with a torn ACL.

From what I read the game's options were Nebraska or Minnesota. I know Minnesota is not a power program but I would think their fans would at least travel. I doubt they've ever even played in one of the Florida bowls.

But a bigger problem is that the Gator has sunk to a third or fourth tier bowl. It was not that long ago that it was clearly in the second tier, along with the Citrus and Holiday bowl. I remember going in the 90's and seeing Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison and Syracuse play Clemson. I remember it was Notre Dame/Miami one year. Now it's picking Big 10 teams after something called the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl. Last year we had Mississippi State/Northwestern. Woof.

[mtraininjax]

But a bigger problem is that the Gator has sunk to a third or fourth tier bowl. It was not that long ago that it was clearly in the second tier, along with the Citrus and Holiday bowl. I remember going in the 90's and seeing Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison and Syracuse play Clemson. I remember it was Notre Dame/Miami one year. Now it's picking Big 10 teams after something called the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl. Last year we had Mississippi State/Northwestern. Woof.

I agree, the third or fourth tier is a real problem for the Gator. The last sellout was with FSU in 2010. I remember being part of the GBA in 2006 and having a fan come up to me and show me an inch depth of tickets he could not give away for the Virginia-Louisville clash. Since 2001, the Gator Bowl has not had a top 10 team. That shows you how far the game has fallen, essentially a matchup of 8-4 teams.  Teams not good enough to get to their conference championships, but who had a nice season.

Rick Catlett works hard for the Gator Bowl Association, but under his leadership, our presence as a major bowl game has really gone down the toilet. He let Atlanta and the old "Peach Bowl", the Capital One (in Orlando of all places) and the Outback Bowl (old Hall  of Fame Bowl) essentially pick ahead of this game. Nice guy, but if he is allowed to remain (and it would appear that Verlander is being groomed as his replacement) it would not be good for this association or our great city.

[Tacachale]

^Minnesota had a decent year but their football team doesn't draw particularly well and the fans aren't known for traveling well. Nebraska bumped them in the Big 10 standings anyway. They had initially hoped to grab Michigan (who was behind both of them, but they draw very, very well - and they didn't just play Georgia last year), but they were grabbed up. Nebraska's the obvious choice out of what was left.

The Gator Bowl was a higher prize back before the BCS jacked up college football. They've actually been very good at rolling with the punches that have come since then. They did well for years with the #2 ACC and Big East players. Unfortunately, that became a less and less feasible option as the conferences declined, and they couldn't count on just picking FSU every year (no insult intended to ACC or Big East fans). They then jumped over to the current SEC/Big 10 deal, with ACC back in the mix now; they've had to start at the bottom of the ladder but they're showing their creativity in moving back up. Hiring Verlander is a definite sign that they know what needs doing.

[Dapperdan]

I am excited about the other games and events they say they will be bringing. Its not just all college football anymore.

[Traveller]

I've said it before, but I don't believe the Gator Bowl will ever be able to move up in the team selection order until it is willing to sell the "Gator" name to a corporate sponsor.  That means going from the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" to simply the "TaxSlayer.com Bowl".  It's how the higher tier bowls (non-BCS of course) are able to afford the higher team payouts that allow them first dibs at SEC & B1G teams.  I'm actually surprised the Cotton Bowl has kept its name as long as it has, but I suppose there's money in the Metroplex that simply doesn't exist here.

For example...
Tangerine Bowl = Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Bowl
Hall of Fame Bowl = Outback Bowl
Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

[pierre]

I've said it before, but I don't believe the Gator Bowl will ever be able to move up in the team selection order until it is willing to sell the "Gator" name to a corporate sponsor.  That means going from the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" to simply the "TaxSlayer.com Bowl".  It's how the higher tier bowls (non-BCS of course) are able to afford the higher team payouts that allow them first dibs at SEC & B1G teams.  I'm actually surprised the Cotton Bowl has kept its name as long as it has, but I suppose there's money in the Metroplex that simply doesn't exist here.

For example...
Tangerine Bowl = Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Bowl
Hall of Fame Bowl = Outback Bowl
Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

That  has been the biggest issue. Another reason why the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl is allowed to pick ahead of the Gator. I know they jumped at the SEC/Big Ten tie-in. But with each conference getting two BCS games, they are stuck with the 7th SEC team and the 6th Big Ten team. So you are either getting a big program on a down year (like this year) or a small program on an up year (like last year). Neither brings much excitement.

[tufsu1]

I've said it before, but I don't believe the Gator Bowl will ever be able to move up in the team selection order until it is willing to sell the "Gator" name to a corporate sponsor.  That means going from the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" to simply the "TaxSlayer.com Bowl". 

you mean like the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Cotton Bowl have done?

[Traveller]

you mean like the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Cotton Bowl have done?

I alluded to each of these in my post.  The BCS bowls get broadcast money that no other bowl comes close to.  Like tens of millions more.

And I did express surprise that the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic has been able to keep the "Cotton" name while maintaining its selection order.  I did neglect to mention how they moved the game from New Year's Day to avoid competition from other bowls.  I have heard speculation of the Gator moving to December 30th or 31st after the playoff system is implemented for similar reasons.

[Tacachale]

I've said it before, but I don't believe the Gator Bowl will ever be able to move up in the team selection order until it is willing to sell the "Gator" name to a corporate sponsor.  That means going from the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" to simply the "TaxSlayer.com Bowl".  It's how the higher tier bowls (non-BCS of course) are able to afford the higher team payouts that allow them first dibs at SEC & B1G teams.  I'm actually surprised the Cotton Bowl has kept its name as long as it has, but I suppose there's money in the Metroplex that simply doesn't exist here.

For example...
Tangerine Bowl = Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Bowl
Hall of Fame Bowl = Outback Bowl
Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

That  has been the biggest issue. Another reason why the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl is allowed to pick ahead of the Gator. I know they jumped at the SEC/Big Ten tie-in. But with each conference getting two BCS games, they are stuck with the 7th SEC team and the 6th Big Ten team. So you are either getting a big program on a down year (like this year) or a small program on an up year (like last year). Neither brings much excitement.

If they'd stuck with the old deal there's be even less excitement, as the Big East doesn't even exist anymore. The jump was clearly necessary, but obviously it required starting at the bottom rung. The key will be moving up, as the Citrus Bowl did; if they're able to pull that off the bowl will be in a strong position again.

[pierre]

I've said it before, but I don't believe the Gator Bowl will ever be able to move up in the team selection order until it is willing to sell the "Gator" name to a corporate sponsor.  That means going from the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" to simply the "TaxSlayer.com Bowl".  It's how the higher tier bowls (non-BCS of course) are able to afford the higher team payouts that allow them first dibs at SEC & B1G teams.  I'm actually surprised the Cotton Bowl has kept its name as long as it has, but I suppose there's money in the Metroplex that simply doesn't exist here.

For example...
Tangerine Bowl = Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl = Capital One Bowl
Hall of Fame Bowl = Outback Bowl
Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl = Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

That  has been the biggest issue. Another reason why the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl is allowed to pick ahead of the Gator. I know they jumped at the SEC/Big Ten tie-in. But with each conference getting two BCS games, they are stuck with the 7th SEC team and the 6th Big Ten team. So you are either getting a big program on a down year (like this year) or a small program on an up year (like last year). Neither brings much excitement.

If they'd stuck with the old deal there's be even less excitement, as the Big East doesn't even exist anymore. The jump was clearly necessary, but obviously it required starting at the bottom rung. The key will be moving up, as the Citrus Bowl did; if they're able to pull that off the bowl will be in a strong position again.

I know. Next year the Gator Bowl will have an ACC tie-in again as they will rotate Big Ten/ACC with the Music City Bowl. The new ACC will now include Louisville and Notre Dame (non member school but will have their bowl tie-in).  Could provide better matchups but to points to make. It shows the game is now on par with the likes of the Music City Bowl. And the Gator Bowl is behind the Russell Athletic Bowl in the pecking order for the ACC. Hopefully Verlander can give the game the shot in the arm it desperately needs.

[fieldafm]

Just to clarify
Verlander's primary focus will be on non-Gator Bowl events.. like college basketball tournaments, neutral site college football games (Notre Dame and Navy will finally be coming here the weekend before the Florida-Georgia game in 2015 or 2016-announcement is forthcoming, with another possible Florida State game not far behind), college baseball tournaments, possibly SEC women's basketball tournament, pro sports exhibition games and even things like large youth baseball/lacrosse/softball tournaments, etc.

Not having to spend so much time accomodating public records requests for every piece of scratch paper you ever threw away will probably allow him to be much more productive in bringing these types of things to the city. 

[edjax]

^^agree 100% here. Let him really focus on the other events.  The Gator Bowl is what it is.  Who knows if it ever will be anything more again.  Personally I think when the bowls went to the conference ties ins that ruined them.  Especially for the second tier bowls.  Just limits your options way too much.  and allows for repeat games and teams coming back too,often which eliminates interest.  Let them each come up with their best effort money wise each year and go for the games they really want.  I understand the reasoning behind conference tie ins but it all gets back to doing what is easiest and less risky. The new American way I guess.  Perhaps if we went back to it there would be fewer bowls which would be a good thing.