Outrageous news from Tampa, as the Outback Bowl has selected the 9-3 Wisconsin Badgers to represent the Big Ten on January 1. The Badgers are the first Big Ten team to accept a bowl bid; Ohio State and Illinois are still waiting on other games and hoping to upgrade their bids.

Even more shocking is this quote from Jim McVay, president and CEO of the Outback Bowl:

"Everything about Wisconsin says 'New Year's Day bowl game.' Whenever we have a shot, we take them."

No, everything about Wisconsin says "goofy-talking white people with a hard-on for Schlitz and Brett Favre."

Of course, no team has as legitimate gripe about the selection as Iowa. The Hawkeyes are "technically bowl-eligible" with six wins, which ought to lock them into a January bowl. Wisconsin fans may take the easy route and point to rules that stipulate that a team may not accept a bowl bid if another in the conference has at least two more wins. And yes, Wisconsin is, at first glance, three games ahead of the Hawkeyes. But that's crap!

We wish it wouldn't have to come to this, but we at BHGP are going to make our wallets do the talking. We're organizing a boycott. That's right. We're calling on Hawkeye Nation to stay away from Tampa on January 1. We're not buying a single hotel room. We're not buying a single flight. We're not buying a single ticket to the game. If you thought we Iowa fans were impressive when we travel by the tens of thousands to bowl games, watch what power we wield when we stay home.

When BHGP staff phoned the local Outback Steakhouse for comment, a representative demanded that we "cool it with the prank calls."

Boycotts aren't pranks, Outback.