MEMPHIS (May 20, 2005) – To borrow and tweak a phrase of a popular commercial concerning a corporate sponsor of one of the post-season bowl games, "Capital One, what's in your bowl game press operation?"

Actually, it wasn't just the Capital One Bowl's press operation we were interested in. It was all the bowls, which is why we tried to get media surveys from as many post-season games as possible.

What the surveys told us that that there's a clear line between the operation of the BCS bowls and a few of the upper level bowls, and the rest of the bowls that seem to spring up every other year like acne.

Understandably, the BCS bowls should have an edge. They have more money, bigger budgets and there's a reason they are BCS bowls. They are professional operations with year-round personnel.

They also listen to FWAA when we have suggestions. We don't ask for much.

All we really care about is good access to players and coaches during the week, a press room at the press hotel where brochures and updates may be obtained, plenty of phones and electrical outlets on game day or night and an efficient post-game operation for writers battling deadline.

Anything else that we get is gravy. Which is why covering the Fiesta and Cotton Bowls is a dream. Both bowls bring a wave of key players and coaches to the media hotels for interviews, and they back it up with extensive quote sheets.

The media hospitality at both bowls is a dream. They actually have several events for the media and spouses/or girlfriends. And it's nice to have transportation to and from these events, and to and from the game.

In our survey, other bowls got high marks for innovative ideas. At the Orange Bowl, press conferences with the teams and players were broadcast on TV in the media hotel.

Brilliant!

The Outback Bowl drew raves for just about everything, but rated the highest for its media center, media hospitality suite and bowl staff and volunteers. The main gripes came from photographers, who said the "standing only" policy in end zones was dangerous, and added too many sideline passes were issued on the Wisconsin sideline.

Also, there were a couple of complaints about lack of access to Wisconsin players during the week, but that's often something a bowl can't control. And frankly, it has been my experience, having been spoiled by covering the mostly-media friendly SEC, that Big Ten schools treat their media like the enemy.

The smaller bowls seem to struggle handling the basic needs of the media.

At the Mobile Bowl (one of two bowls I covered this year), they didn't have a press room. When I asked the bowl's alleged media director for press guides of both teams, as well as a bowl press guide, he said, "I have some in the trunk of my car." I never got the press guides and didn't see any until game night.

And then on game night, I almost fell out of my chair when the pre-game media notes informed us that the press box would close at 12 p.m., and that the press box must be clear.

Why? Nobody knows. Maybe they had all the electricity on a timer.

What about writers who had to file more than one story? When I walked out of the press box at 11:45, there were about six or seven guys left hammering away. I hope they made it out before midnight. They may still be locked in up there for all we know. Maybe they've gotten the post-game quotes by now.

The Liberty Bowl, which may have been the most competitive and most entertaining non-BCS bowl this year featuring Louisville and Boise State, also received mostly critical surveys. One writer put it best on our survey when he wrote, "For the most part, it seemed like the media was on its own."

There were breakdowns in several areas. The press conferences for both coaches the day before the game were held at separate locations. The bowl media guide came out late and no information was provided on directions to and from key locations.

Also, there were no free-use phones in the press box, and the post-game interview area was in a tent in a parking lot with a band playing outside. The tent was also so far from the Boise State locker room that Boise State was gone by the time the press conference ended.

Living in Memphis and having covered games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, I can't blame all the post-game problems on the Liberty Bowl media operation.

Post-game has always been a pain in that stadium. There's no large post-game interview room where it's quiet. Unless you in the post-game hastily set up an interview tent at midfield, halfway between the dressing rooms, there is no good location.

There's also the fact they remodeled the press box and made it even worse. One writer wrote in his survey that it would be nice to have high-speed internet in that stadium. Hey, they're lucky to have electricity that works most of the time in that dump. The only real way to improve Liberty Bowl Stadium is to implode it.

The good news from all surveys tell us that more and more bowls are getting their press operations in line.

But we're shooting for 100 percent. All they have to do is listen to us. If they do that, they may get there yet.

A wag can dream the possible dream, can't she or he?