Actually I'm kinda kidding, but I truly believe our AD is a genius. And I think he does a wonderful job with the bowl committees. Here is an article from the Indy Star.

Trumped by Northwestern
What to make of Purdue’s bowl bid to Little Caesars Pizza Bowl?

The easy answer is Penn State. Blame the scandal that engulfed the football program and the university as the reason why the Boilermakers were pushed out of Dallas to Detroit.

It’s simple. It’s tidy, but probably misguided.

If the Nittany Lions were so toxic, why are they in Dallas?

A month to talk about the program in a major market?

Don’t fault the TicketCity Bowl for bringing in Penn State. When will the seventh selection in the Big Ten pecking order get another chance to host one of the nation’s premier programs? Probably never, assuming the school hires the right coach.

Other bowls passed on the Nittany Lions. They ran scared of the publicity. They didn’t want to be associated with the Jerry Sandusky story.

Purdue is in Detroit because of Northwestern. Yes, the Wildcats, who have a 6-6 record, just like the Boilermakers. Not all 6-6 records are created equal.

The difference? Athletic director Jim Phillips and coach Pat Fitzgerald sold the program to the Meinike Car Care Bowl in Houston. They saw an opportunity to move up in the selection process, and the Penn State situation helped. Dallas wasn’t bringing Northwestern back for a second straight year. That left Detroit.

Phillips and Fitzgerald pounced on the opportunity and won — big time. Better bowl, bigger payout, high-profile opponent in a warm weather climate full of potential recruits.

They trumped every Big Ten team below them in the selection process, including Purdue. In fact, the Boilermakers were probably the only competition and it was game Phillips and Fitzgerald knew they could win.

Instead of Morgan Burke calling the Gator Bowl and questioning why they were taking Ohio State — which is also 6-6 — he should’ve kept a closer eye on Chicago’s Big Ten team. Bowl CEO’s don’t care Purdue beat Ohio State, unless coach Danny Hope’s team had eight or nine wins. They care more about the loss to Rice.

It was clear late Saturday night that Purdue was headed to Dallas, as long as TicketCity Bowl officials were choosing between the Boilermakers, Northwestern and Illinois. Once Northwestern moved up and Penn State entered the equation, the picture change.

The reality — Purdue’s not an attractive program right now. Just think if Illinois had one more win, where would the Boilermakers be headed? San Francisco or Shreveport.

Bowls want points, excitement and a buzz. The Boilermakers don’t feature the offense that Northwestern does and beating six teams with a combined record of 21-49 isn’t appealing.

They also look at attendance. Seeing about 120,000 unsold seats at Ross-Ade Stadium is a factor moving forward and going to Detroit won’t jumpstart next year’s season ticket sales.

So, the Boilermakers will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Detroit. It’s not where they think they should be, but it’s where they belong.

There might be worse spots to go for a bowl than Detriot, but I can't think of one.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I don't think Northwestern had much of anything to do with it. It's obvious that Purdue wasn't going to any bowl besides the TicketCity Bowl. A 6-6 team where the fans are apathetic after years of being spoiled isn't going to be sold very well. If they had beaten Rice maybe the fans would be more excited and worth consideration.

Illinois would not have jumped Purdue. The same stuff is true for them too.

I doubt this is true, at least in regards to Northwestern jumping us. Purdue went over 40k in attendance in 3 out of 4 Big Ten games with a low of 38k. Northwestern did it twice with a low of 26k.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It was fun and cheap in 2007. The entire cost of it was equal to the plane fight for me alone to any other bowl destination. Obviously the weather sucks but the area close to Ford Field provides enough amusements to survive and Ford Field is a pretty good place to watch a game. Just don't walk two blocks in the wrong direction or you can become a statistic.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!