The Pop Tarts Bowl: A “Hinky-Dink” Game Notre Dame Avoided

For nine years prior to the NFL and AFL merger, the league held a Runner-up Bowl where second-place finishers in each division competed for third place.

This format was widely regarded as an anticlimactic end to the season—a title no team sought.

Vince Lombardi, then head coach of the Green Bay Packers, famously dismissed it: “a hinky-dink football game, held in a hinky-dink town, played by hinky-dink players.”

The decision by Notre Dame to skip the Pop Tarts Bowl echoes that sentiment.

The Fighting Irish have one clear goal each season: securing a spot in the College Football Playoff and winning the national championship. Any other outcome is secondary.

When final playoff pairings were announced, Notre Dame—a team with ten wins and two losses—was left out of the field in favor of Miami.

The alternative offered was a game against BYU in what critics have labeled “the breakfast dessert bowl,” an event widely considered meaningless.

Channeling Lombardi’s wisdom, the university chose to decline participation.

Multiple sports media outlets criticized Notre Dame for refusing to participate in such low-stakes games, arguing that the school has an obligation to provide content for television networks and employment opportunities for sports reporters.

Additionally, athletic directors and various observers warned that avoiding these bowls could harm local economies, as hotels might not be able to increase room rates or require minimum stays without a strong attendance base.

The city’s tourism tax could also decline if the game fails to attract fans.

In response: “So what?”

What do athletes lose by skipping such contests?

Fancy dinners, swag, and fleeting hero worship—experiences typically associated with recruiting weekends for scholarship players and those in the NIL space.

Notre Dame’s decision to pursue a larger playoff field also signals the end for these defunct bowls. Accepting a “Temu significance” bowl game merely extends the season without tangible rewards for student-athletes.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian—another team that missed the playoff—has argued that such games offer experience and camaraderie. However, the authors note it’s unclear if these contests would provide incentive payments in coaching contracts.

Ultimately, players gain nothing from these bowls beyond what they receive during the regular season.

For student-athletes, the game carries risks without rewards.

The school might add a trivial trophy and a check to its athletic department—a basketball equivalent of a bake sale with potential ACL injuries.

By Michael Reagan and Michael R. Shannon