Arkansas State and the GoDaddy Bowl didn't wait long to reach agreements after each of the past three seasons.
In 2011, ASU accepted a bid to the Mobile, Ala., bowl game before the regular season ended.
A return trip was booked the day after the 2012 season ended.
Last year an agreement was announced two days after ASU's final game.
If ASU makes a fourth consecutive bowl trip -- whether it be Mobile or somewhere -- the news might not come for a while.
The Red Wolves (7-5) closed their regular season with a resounding 68-35 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday in Jonesboro, one in which it set Sun Belt and school record with 764 yards of total offense.
Athletic Director Terry Mohajir said Sunday that the Sun Belt Conference bowl process is being held up while Georgia Southern awaits for word on its appeal requesting bowl eligibility. Appalachian State (7-5) is also a first-year FBS member awaiting word on a bowl waiver.
Georgia Southern (9-3) wrapped up an outright Sun Belt title on Saturday, but it is not eligible for a bowl because it is in its first season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Georgia Southern's initial request for a waiver was denied last week, but the school has appealed that decision.
Once the decision is finalized, the Dec. 20 New Orleans Bowl, which gets first pick of Sun Belt teams, can make its selection. The Jan. 4 GoDaddy Bowl gets the next pick, followed by the first-year Camellia Bowl, which will be played on Dec. 20, can make their picks.
Mohajir said he spoke with officials from the GoDaddy Bowl and the Camellia Bowl, which will be held in Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday. He said he also spoke with ESPN Events, an offshoot of ESPN, that owns 11 bowl games.
"I don't skirt around, I just don't know," Mohajir said. "I've had conversations with both bowls today and they don't really know. It could be tomorrow, it could be the next day, it could be a few days from now."
The Sun Belt will be left with four bowl eligible teams if Georgia Southern's appeal is denied, meaning one team won't be playing in one of its three contract bowls. Whether the leftover team gets into another bowl depends on the College Football Playoff process.
There are currently 80 bowl eligible teams for 76 spots. The playoff committee will make its selections for the four-team playoff and its four contract bowls Sunday, and those selections could leave bowls looking for at-large teams.
If TCU and Baylor each get selected to one of the playoff or contract bowls, and Oklahoma State loses on Saturday to Oklahoma, the Big 12 will have four teams for its six slots. According to the Big 12 pecking order, the Cactus Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., and the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, would be needing to find at-large teams to fill the Big 12 slot.
"It could change some things," Mohajir said.
Coach Blake Anderson said he thinks his team made a statement with its victory over New Mexico State. Anderson and his staff were scheduled to begin recruiting today.
"Terry is working hard, he's having communication," Anderson said. "I definitely want to play, and I think the kids deserve it for what they've done. But, proud of what they did. If we don't get the phone call, to me, it's just the beginning of what we're trying to get done."
Mohajir said he's' pitching ASU's victories in the past two GoDaddy Bowls in his conversations with bowl and network executives, as well as its fanbase's ability to travel, which was touted as the reason the GoDaddy Bowl selected it over Western Kentucky last season. Texas State and South Alabama, if selected, will be making their first bowl appearances as FBS members.
Mohajir said he's also selling the "storyline," of ASU's season, which includes its annual coaching turnover, trick plays that have grown an Internet following and how the team has dealt with the death last season of defensive tackle Markel Owens.
"You've got five coaches in five years, you've got the Fainting Goat, you've got the crosses, you've got one of your players who was tragically killed," Mohajir said. "You've got all kinds of story lines and you can go from there. It's all kinds of different things."
Sports on 12/01/2014