The Cincinnati USA Sports Commission is considering plans for a new college football bowl game, the Chili Bowl, which would air on the CW network.
Jackie Lo, the dynamic CEO of GameDay Communications, and the Cincinnati USA Sports Commission are hoping to add the Queen City to the ever-growing lineup of December college football bowl games.
They announced plans Thursday for a potential Cincinnati Chili Bowl to be held next year at TQL Stadium and “broadcast exclusively on the CW Network once the event is officially approved,” according to a media release.
Courtesy of GameDay Communications
The Cincinnati Chili Bowl was inspired by a business plan that was developed as a class project in a sports management class I attended at Xavier University about seven years ago, Leo said.
According to the announcement, the game will be “a matchup between two Division I conference teams, with two bowl-eligible teams being invited to play in postseason game play in December. Discussions with the conferences are ongoing. Pending official approval, the three-hour television broadcast will air on the CW network and be available to more than 100 million households nationwide.”
How can the CW get the Chili Bowl when most college football bowl games are broadcast on ESPN?
“ESPN owns some college bowl games, but this one is new and they chose to partner with The CW,” Reau told me.
Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Chili, has a big backer in The CW, which was acquired in October by Nexstar Media Group, the nation's largest owner of television stations. Sean Compton, Nexstar's president of networks, overseeing The CW, Antenna TV, NewsNation and Chicago's WGN TV/radio, began his career at WLW-AM in Cincinnati. He is the son of Dale “Truckin' Bozo” Somers, a former late-night host at WLW.
“It's exciting that it's a bowl game based in Cincinnati,” said Compton, who usually orders three cheese cones without onions at the drive-thru. “Cincinnati is where my career began and it's a place with great people. Especially with the recent success of the Bengals, the city has rightfully been put in the national spotlight and Cincinnati is becoming a football town again.”
“This is just the beginning of exciting announcements for The CW Network,” he added.
“Sean Compton is our CW champion,” said Leo, who likes to pour super hot sauce on his cheese cones.
Beth Feldman, senior vice president of communications for The CW, said the network is committed to the bowl game. “We’re excited for Cincinnati to partner with The CW to provide exclusive coverage of the Chili Bowl,” she said.
Compton never forgot his roots. After Clear Channel acquired Cincinnati-based Jayco Communications, he rose through the ranks to become vice president of programming. In 2008, he joined Tribune Media in Chicago with former Jayco/Clear Channel executive Randy Michaels, which was acquired by Nexstar in 2019. During his time at Tribune, he launched and oversaw Bill Cunningham's national daytime TV talk show on the CW.
The releases are as follows:
Cincinnati USA Sports Commission considering plans for new college football bowl game to be broadcast exclusively on CW Network
The Cincinnati Chili Bowl will be held at TQL Stadium.
December 29, 2022 (Cincinnati, Ohio) — The Cincinnati USA Sports Commission Board of Directors announced today that they are considering a new college football bowl game to be held at TQL Stadium and broadcast exclusively on The CW Network once the event is officially approved.
The new event, called the Cincinnati Chili Bowl, will feature two Division I conferences and invite two bowl-eligible teams to play in a postseason game in December. Discussions with the conferences are ongoing. Pending official approval, the three-hour telecast will air on the CW network and be available to more than 100 million households nationwide.
Cincinnati USA Sports Commission officials studied best practices from college football games over the past year and came up with the following ideals: a professionally managed football game that would be nationally televised to promote the Cincinnati region, a fiscally responsible opportunity for participating universities, a unique fan engagement event, and an opportunity for student-athletes to network with area executives for future employment opportunities.
The day after the bowl game, 30 area business leaders will be invited to the Bigwigs Business Brunch, where student-athletes from both schools will have the opportunity to meet with business leaders to network and discuss career opportunities.
Additionally, the Player Gift Suite will focus on professional apparel and tools that student-athletes can use for internships and job hunting.
Proceeds from the Cincinnati Chili Bowl benefit the Cincinnati USA Sports Commission and are used to attract new sporting events to the region and increase economic impact.
As such, the Cincinnati Chili Bowl Champions, a group of area executives, are invited to support the bowl game through financial support, sponsorship opportunities and the purchase of bowl game tickets.
The feasibility study for the Cincinnati Chili Bowl will be led by GameDay CEO Jackie Lo and local businessmen Stephen Young and John Schenck.
Financial support needed to move forward will include corporate sponsorship, hospitality, ticket sales and tickets to local events.
Initial fan engagement plans include bourbon and craft beer tours, culinary tours, collegiate marching band, cheer and dance team challenges, an esports tournament between the two schools, a fan festival and more.
