Though down from last year, when it aired on broadcast, the Independence Bowl scored its second-largest audience in nearly a decade.
Saturday’s Virginia Tech/Tulsa Independence Bowl drew 3.4 million viewers on ESPN, down 17% from South Carolina/Miami on ABC last year (4.1M) but up 66% from Arizona/Boston College on ESPN in 2013 (2.1M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The Hokies’ high-scoring win, the final game of head coach Frank Beamer‘s career, trails only last year as the most-watched Independence Bowl since Oklahoma State/Alabama in 2006 (3.6M). The near-milestone came despite competition from the Eagles/Washington NFL game on NFL Network, which had 8.1 million.
Of the sixteen bowl games on ESPN or ESPN2 through Monday, the Independence Bowl ranks second in viewership. Only the Foster Farms Bowl later in the night scored a larger audience (4.0M). On a less positive note, Saturday’s game was the 11th of the sixteen to post a year-over-year decline.
(Sat. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
