Bahamas to Host Texas Southern v Central State

[TexasTerror]

Seems this would've gained more national traction even if FCS game... not much out there as far as I can tell. Neat idea. The release below does not say much, but I wonder if this is a 'test game' for the Bahamas Bowl?


---
NASSAU, Bahamas-The Texas Southern University Athletics Department announced today that the football teams' upcoming game versus Central State has been moved to Nassau, Bahamas.

The contest is slated to take place on September 13 at 5:00 pm at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

"We're extremely excited to announce our partnership to play in Nassau," said TSU Director of Athletics Dr. Charles McClelland. "This game will give our fans the opportunity to watch exciting Tigers football in a city that is known as one of the premier tourist destinations in the world. This partnership will undoubtedly give us a great opportuntiy to showcase our brand of football as well as the electrifying Ocean of Soul Marching Band in a new region."

Travel packages for the event will be available starting June 1 and more information will be available in the next few days. For the latest breaking news regarding TSU Tigers football please continue to visit www.tsuball.com (https://mail.tsu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dAeGp4IAvk2a1740Ke0PQwFkFJX7SNEI86bax 5D_Fa0-4yD3uEsT4IS8sCte2XcgrqXzWXILpqo.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tsuball.com).

Full Story (http://tsuball.com/news/2014/5/21/FB_0521142901.aspx)

[walliver]

Seems this would've gained more national traction even if FCS game... not much out there as far as I can tell. Neat idea. The release below does not say much, but I wonder if this is a 'test game' for the Bahamas Bowl?


---
NASSAU, Bahamas-The Texas Southern University Athletics Department announced today that the football teams' upcoming game versus Central State has been moved to Nassau, Bahamas.

The contest is slated to take place on September 13 at 5:00 pm at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

"We're extremely excited to announce our partnership to play in Nassau," said TSU Director of Athletics Dr. Charles McClelland. "This game will give our fans the opportunity to watch exciting Tigers football in a city that is known as one of the premier tourist destinations in the world. This partnership will undoubtedly give us a great opportuntiy to showcase our brand of football as well as the electrifying Ocean of Soul Marching Band in a new region."

Travel packages for the event will be available starting June 1 and more information will be available in the next few days. For the latest breaking news regarding TSU Tigers football please continue to visit www.tsuball.com (https://mail.tsu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=dAeGp4IAvk2a1740Ke0PQwFkFJX7SNEI86bax 5D_Fa0-4yD3uEsT4IS8sCte2XcgrqXzWXILpqo.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tsuball.com).

Full Story (http://tsuball.com/news/2014/5/21/FB_0521142901.aspx)

http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/uploads/4/ChinaModel.jpg

Interesting choice. The Bahamas are beautiful islands but Nassau is not.

I wonder if the schools will charter a cruise ship or two so that fans can stay on the ship and only enter Nassau for the games.

[Dane96]

I don't see this as a good thing. In fact, if I'm a player I am pissed off. First, they won't be "enjoying" the Bahamas so there is no real cultural/social gain. Second, they will be playing in front of NO ONE. Tourists are not going to flock there (plus it's border line heart of Hurricane season).

So why do this? Total ridiculousness.

[bonarae]

Wow. The Bahamas? Not sure if American football is known at all there... remember that college sports there only gained a footing with the Battle 4 Atlantis in-season tournament in 2011.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Weren't there some games staged at the Bahamas in the past? Also, isn't there an upcoming bowl game scheduled for the Bahamas?

[JSUBison]

I don't see this as a good thing. In fact, if I'm a player I am pissed off. First, they won't be "enjoying" the Bahamas so there is no real cultural/social gain. Second, they will be playing in front of NO ONE. Tourists are not going to flock there (plus it's border line heart of Hurricane season).

So why do this? Total ridiculousness.

Somebody is getting paid, that's why.

[walliver]

Weren't there some games staged at the Bahamas in the past? Also, isn't there an upcoming bowl game scheduled for the Bahamas?

C-USA/AAC/MAC has a bowl game there starting this winter. Mostly is seems to be a made-for-ESPN event held in a 15,000 seat stadium. I suspect there will be little local interest in the game, so the question is: Can a C-USA school and it opponent both sell 7000 tickets? Visiting the Bahamas in early winter could be attractive to many fans. On the other hand, the game is scheduled for Christmas Eve, and a lot of fans will have other Christmas plans.

The HBCU Classic scheduled for mid-September has its own challenges, hurricane season being one of them.

It will be interesting to see how both games turn out, since it is virtually impossible for any fans to drive to the game.

I wonder if any special deals are in place concerning player passports. The HBCU players have 3 and a half months to get their passports, but the Bahamas bowl players will only have about 3 weeks to get their passports in order.

[TexasTerror]

I wonder if any special deals are in place concerning player passports. The HBCU players have 3 and a half months to get their passports, but the Bahamas bowl players will only have about 3 weeks to get their passports in order.

When something like this gets announced, I always wonder about those 'behind the scenes' or 'technical' questions. No one really asks or perhaps we get a story after the fact. It's like the Houston buying out Tennessee Tech situation to replace with UNLV. I wonder about Tennessee Tech when others are focused on UH/UNLV... of course, this community stepped up!

[BluBengal07]

xcoffeex

[dbackjon]

No college game has ever been played in the Bahamas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_college_football_games_played_outside_the_ United_States