MIKE ROSENBAUM

Special to The Jewish News

I

f you're organizing a top col-
lege football game like the
Rose Bowl, there are many
things you don't have to worry
about: a sellout crowd, a large
national television audience and two
top teams.
When you're organizing a smaller
game like the Ford Motor City
Bowl, however, you can't take any-
thing for granted. Metro Detroit's
only college bowl game is fortunate
to have a detail-oriented man like
Ken Hoffman running the show.
Prior to the Dec. 26 contest
between Mid-American Conference
(MAC) champion Marshall and
Mississippi, most observers knew the
game featured high-powered offens-
es.
But how many could tell you that
Mississippi's participation would
generate extra local interest?
"Two or three generations ago,
when there was a lot of work to be
had in the Detroit area because of
the auto industry, a lot of southern-
ers in general, and Mississippians in
particular, came up to Detroit,"
Hoffman said. "So there are many
second- and third-generation folks
who are still here."
Those ex-Mississippians were no
doubt pleased with the first Motor
City Bowl, as Ole Miss won a wild
34-31 shootout over Marshall's
Thundering Herd.
The game also marked the culmi-
nation of many years of work by its
founder, Hoffman.
Five years ago Hoffman approached
then-MAC Commissioner Carl
Benson with the idea of pitting the
MAC champ against an at-large team
in an annual bowl game at the
Silverdome.
"I've been interested in the bowl
business for some six or seven years,"
Hoffman said. "It's kind of an off-
shoot of my previous job as sports
information director at Michigan
State University. There was some-
thing that appealed to me about the
opportunity to bring all the compo-
nents of athletic administration
together and oversee them in a bowl
structure."
It didn't come together immedi-
ately, but in the spring of 1996, cur-
rent MAC Commissioner Jerry

Mike Rosenbaum is a Southfield-

based freelance writer.

1/9
1998

102

George interested in something and
involved in something, he takes it on
much like he did the Michigan State
football program," Hoffman said.
"And of course, he led MSU to the
Rose Bowl championship (in 1988).
He certainly is a very successful,
well-qualified leader and that's the
kind of teammate I want."
Hoffman's next plan was to get
national exposure. The first coup
was getting ESPN to sign a five-year
contract to broadcast the game
nationally. He then struck a deal
with the Ford Motor Company for
the title sponsorship. The auto
builder signed a one-year deal with a
four-year option, which comes up
for renewal next month. "All indica-
tions are they're very, very pleased,"
Hoffman said, after the game.
On the field, the inaugural Motor
City Bowl was clearly a success. The
game began with two touchdowns in
the opening minute. There were four
lead changes in the fourth quarter
and Ole Miss scored the winning
touchdown with 31 seconds remain-
ing.
Nevertheless, much of the post-
game speculation focused on
whether the new bowl was an off-
the-field success.
The crowd of 43,340 wasn't small,
but appeared to be in an 80,000-seat
facility. Some commentators were
left asking whether the Silverdome
was half-full or half-empty.
Some recalled the Silverdome's
former bowl game, the Cherry Bowl,
which lasted only two years, 1983-
84. But Hoffman accentuated the
positive.
"We had a great bowl. We were
very, very happy with the response.
We had a lot of people; some 20,000
came into town from out of town.
All the hotels were extremely happy
— they were filled up," he said.
Motor City Bowl founder and organizer, Ken Hoffman.
"The restaurants, everyone in town
had a nice payday. It was one of the
most exciting games you could ask
for. We had a good crowd of over
40,000 here in the Silverdome. We're
going to build on it, but we couldn't
be happier."
Earlier, Hoffman said that he'd
benefited by the Cherry Bowl's mis-
takes of not having the three funda-
mental advantages to putting on a
strong bowl game.
"There was no national television
the Motor City Bowl. He brought in
Ippoliti "took this proposal and ran
contract like we have with ESPN,
former MSU head football coach
with it," Hoffman said.
who wasn't a player then. There was
George Perles as the game's executive
With the MAC locked in,
a regional television package
director.
Hoffman left MSU and took the
(Raycom) for the Cherry Bowl," he
"I know that when you get
post of associate executive director of

Coin' llowlin

Ken Hoffman has rejuvenated the
bowl game scene at the Silverdome.