the Fiesta Bowl in 2018 and they had 8.5 million viewers. That's not remotely a game that nobody cares about. BTW - The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl? 1.3 million viewers. The Military Bowl, which had Cincinnati (AAC Conference) vs VA Tech had a viewership of 2.7 million viewers. The Armed Forces Bowl with Houston (AAC Conference) had a viewership of 2.5 million. Clearly, there is benefit to being in a conference.