New Years Eve will be split bill for Duke fans across the country. In Greensboro, N.C., the Blue Devils will tip off against Elon on the hardwood at 1 p.m. for their final game of 2013 and nonconference play. Later that night, Duke will square of with Texas A&M on the gridiron in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at 8 p.m. in Atlanta.
One of the primary concerns for the Blue Devils since the bowl announcement was the conflict between getting local fans to make the trek to Atlanta despite the basketball game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
USA Today's Dan Wolken reported Friday that when making their decision to invite the Blue Devils to the bowl game, officials at the Chick-fil-A Bowl actually looked into moving the Duke-Elon game to Phillips Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks, so Blue Devil fans could be accommodated with the ultimate doubleheader.
By that point, discussions with the Blue Devils were so advanced that Stokan had even inquired with Phillips Arena about the possibility of moving Duke's basketball game with Elon on New Year's Eve from Greensboro, N.C. to Atlanta.Wolken's piece also delves into some of the more interesting intricacies of Duke's bowl selection process and previews the changes in bowl selection processes under the new college football playoff system.
Duke will take on Elon in its originally-scheduled 1 p.m. slot in Greensboro, but the prospect of a basketball-football doubleheader in Atlanta would have made it a great way for Blue Devil fans to ring in the new year.
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