Bowl Games: Are they Getting too Expensive for Schools to Participate?
No one is happy with the current BCS bowl system, and now there may be a new problem regarding the million lessor bowls - expensive. With travel costs on the rise and ticket rules creating problems, will schools even want to participate in bowls?
Financially, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for many teams. Last year, for example, Texas Tech lost over $200,000 to appear in a bowl game. And for those of you who’ve forgotten, they weren’t just in some dinky bowl that no one ever watches - they were in the Gator Bowl!
There are two problems when it comes to paying for bowl appearances: Travel and Tickets.
First, when teams travel, they don’t just take their A- and B-list players. The whole team goes. So does a myriad of coaches and staff members. So do a fleet of cheerleaders (and all associated staff). So does the college band (and, again, all associated staff). When a school appears in a bowl game 600-900 people travel to that site on the school’s dollar. The travel expenses paid to the school rarely cover that entire cost.
Secondly, did you know that schools are required to sell a certain number of tickets? They have to promote to students, staff, alumni, and so forth, attempting to get them to travel for the big game. That’s a problem if you bowl is on a weekday (when many people can’t travel because of work) or really far away (so many fans can’t afford the travel costs). If the school doesn’t sell all of their tickets, they have to buy them anyway.
Another important factor to consider? When a team appears in a bowl, there is a payout for their time. Texas Tech, for example, got $2.5 million for playing in the Gator Bowl.
Or, rather, the payout was $2.5 million. Over half of that went to the Big 12 conference.
In the future, if the BCS system doesn’t change, we might start to see some schools, especially smaller schools, opt out of bowl games. Right now, I feel like we’re on the edge - yes, they end up losing money on the deal, but it is still worth it to appear because of the prestige and the experience for players. If it begins to get even more expensive, it might not be worth it anymore.
Picture from sxc.hu.
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POSTED IN: BCS Frenzy, Debates, Texas Tech
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