The Truths about Bowl Games.

[comfortably numb]

The November 15 issue of SI has an article about the uphill fight a playoff system has.
Here are some of the interesting tidbits from that article.

Salaries of bowl game executives:
$377,245 - Kraft Fight Hunger
$607,500 - Sugar Bowl
$600,00 - Fiesta & Insight

The Sugar Bowl received $3 million from Louisiana despite its $341 million budget deficit.
Most Bowls enjoy tax exempt status.
Since 2000 the Fiesta Bowl has spent more than $4 million on BCS bigwigs and politicians.
Their 2008 golf tournament for coaches and ADs cost $400,000.

Most bowls keep more than 50% of the revenue they create.
2007 Chick=fil-A generated $12.3 million and paid $5.9 million to Auburn 7 Clemson.

Tickets
Schools are required to buy a certain number of tickets
2009 Outback required Iowa to buy $22,490 face value tickets for each of its 346 band members---the game was not a sellout.
2009 Orange required Virginia Tech to buy 17,500 tickets---they could only sell 3,342, losing $1.77 million.
2009 Fiesta---Ohio State was stuck with $1.01 million in unsold tickets.
Texas Bowl - Western Michigan could sell only 548 of its 11,000 required buy---they lost $462,535.

2010 Rose Bowl - Do the Math
$18.5 million to Ohio State
Divided by 12 because they have to share - one share for the league office
Equals 2.2 million minus
$357,727 team travel costs
$144,814 unsold tickets
$366,814 transportation & lodging for band & cheerleaders
$??????? for various gifts & expenses
$79,597 loss

"The fact that we did not go to a bowl game the last two years means we actually made money."
~~ former Michigan AD Bill Martin

[midtown]

2010 Rose Bowl - Do the Math
$18.5 million to Ohio State
Divided by 12 because they have to share
Equals 2.2 million minus
$357,727 team travel costs
$144,814 unsold tickets
$366,814 transportation & lodging for band & cheerleaders & various gifts & expenses
$79,597 loss

Shouldn't that be divide by 11 as the Big Ten hasn't expanded yet? And how do you get $2.2M from $18.5M by dividing by 12? That makes $1.54M

[comfortably numb]

Corrected

[mstove]

Unless it has changed in the last few years, the teams that made the Rose Bowl received more than the others in the form of a travel stipend. The bulk is split up throughout the conference, but an additional amount goes to the team that is actually selected. I imagine this is the same for any BCS bowl. This was incorrectly reported in a similar manner as the OP locally (and eventually corrected) when the Badgers last went to the Rose Bowl.

[MichaelP]

Equals 2.2 million minus
$357,727 team travel costs
$144,814 unsold tickets
$366,814 transportation & lodging for band & cheerleaders & various gifts & expenses
$79,597 loss
Uh... where do you get a $79,597 loss .... even at the corrected 1.54 million those numbers don't come close to adding up to a loss.

[cheeseczar]

It's cold and Bucky is doing well. I don't think there will be a problem selling the alloted tix in Madison.
The radio reported this morning that UW fans drank the Rose Bowl out of Miller products and the local area ran seriously low on brandy on the last visit.

Paging Lewis Black on drinking in Wisconsin.

[Niseguy]

The big 10 shares all the bowl game revenue across all the teams, so money from the outhouse bowl, etc gets added into their coffers. They didn't lose money

sorry missed MSTOVE response above

[9rows]

i have no idea what is what when it comes to money and where it goes and who gets paid what. but i am fairly certain of one thing: if teams continued to lose money on bowl games on a regular basis, they would stop participating.

[comfortably numb]

Equals 2.2 million minus
$357,727 team travel costs
$144,814 unsold tickets
$366,814 transportation & lodging for band & cheerleaders & various gifts & expenses
$79,597 loss
Uh... where do you get a $79,597 loss .... even at the corrected 1.54 million those numbers don't come close to adding up to a loss.

I should learn to type slower than I read.
The gifts etc. were separate expenses.

[midtown]

Good thing IU, Purdue and Minnesota didn't make it to any bowl games. They're making some good coin.

[mstove]

i have no idea what is what when it comes to money and where it goes and who gets paid what. but i am fairly certain of one thing: if teams continued to lose money on bowl games on a regular basis, they would stop participating.

That would be the real bottom line.

[SandWedge]

i have no idea what is what when it comes to money and where it goes and who gets paid what. but i am fairly certain of one thing: if teams continued to lose money on bowl games on a regular basis, they would stop participating.

They've started. Cal refused to accept the Humanitarian Bowl last year in order to save money. If you want a little further detail on this Dan Wetzel's "Death to the BCS" book has all the details via tax/financial forms (public info since they are non-profits via FOIA requests). The part the equation above is missing is that Ohio States revenue has to cover the ginormous loses from the Beef O'Brady's Bowl or the Motor City Bowl the other Big Ten members participate in.

So while you split their profit from the Rose Bowl 11 ways, you also split the huge losses other conference members get 11 ways. Its why the BCS was created, to guarantee the 6 BCS conferences have at least 1 team in a big bowl to offset the losses from their other members in crummy money losing bowls. in essence, increase their profits; has nothing to do with "settling a champion"

Many studies have proven a playoff would make almost triple the money, but it wouldn't be guaranteed to always funnel to the current 6 BCS conferences which is why they won't do it.

[Truth Detector]

All of those bowls can still exist in a tournament format.

[Truth Detector]

Good thing IU, Purdue and Minnesota didn't make it to any bowl games. They're making some good coin.

[MoparsRule]

"The fact that we did not go to a bowl game the last two years means we actually made money."
~~ former Michigan AD Bill Martin

Yep.