The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Popeyes Bahamas Bowl has been the subject of much scrutiny and sparked dialogue in regard to fan attendance at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium. However, the television ratings continue to improve.

According to Sports Media Watch, the Christmas Eve matchup which saw the Western Michigan Broncos top the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, drew in 2.1 million viewers on ESPN. The 45-31 win for the Broncos was the first bowl win in school history.

Jamauri Bogan rushed for a Popeyes Bahamas Bowl record 215 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. He was named the offensive MVP.

Broncos quarterback Terrell finished 18-26 for 297 yards and two scores. As expected he targeted his All-Conference weapons on the outside - Corey Davis and Daniel Braverman. Davis finished with eight catches for 183 yards and a touchdown while Braverman caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

The offensive display between the two teams featured six touchdowns of 40 yards or more.

Those viewing numbers from 2015 represented a 43 per cent increase from the 2014 game, its inaugural edition.

The high scoring matchup between the Central Michigan Chippewas and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers drew in an estimated 1.5 million viewers.

In total, the inaugural Popeyes Bahamas Bowl locked in 11 million views on ESPN, was featured in 401 news segments and there were 1,587 news articles written about the game.

The game easily became one of the most famous NCAA football games for 2014 and was nominated for an ESPY Award.

In comparison to other games in the 2015 bowl season, the Bahamas Bowl ranked among the top three at games played at the time the study was published last Thursday.

The Las Vegas Bowl netted 3.7 million viewers while the GoDaddy Bowl produced 2.4 million viewers. It was also the fourth bowl game to post an increase the following year, including the GoDaddy, Las Vegas and Camellia bowls.

In comparison to other bowl games played on Christmas Eve, the Hawaii Bowl produced 1.6 million viewers.

In 1995 there were 18 bowl games and now that number has increased to 40. The Bahamas Bowl is a part of a group of 13 owned by ESPN Events.