Potential Bowl Payout

[professorjackson]

Here is the Sentinel Tribune Story on the bowl $$$ situation. I am pleased Dr. Cartwright is spending some of her budget to help the bowl game break even, but I feel like it should be asked where would the money have been spent if not on this? Dr. Cartwright's email also says the Foundation is kicking in to help it break even. Again, one wonders where that money would have been spent if not on the bowl game. Also, evidently the public statements about how much these bowl payouts are overstate things quite a bit. Glad to see our AD publicly recognize this. Also, does this model of breaking even account for our ticket allotment? Also, there is still the question of intercollegiate athletics evidently routinely overspending by millions. Finally, it is wonderful to see the real costs and benefits of intercollegiate athletics discussed publicly.

Bowling Green wants to break even on the athletic portion of its trip to Boise, Idaho for the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 30.
The Falcons face the University of Idaho with kickoff at 4:30 p.m.
Greg Christopher, Bowling Green's athletics director, said the budget for the bowl game is approximately $250,000.
The money will come from the bowl committee, the Mid-American Conference's bowl fund and Bowling Green's ticket sales. Bowling Green gets to keep all the revenue from the tickets it sells. Fans wanting to purchase tickets, but who are not planning to attend the game, can donate the tickets to the Boys and Girls Club of Boise.
"The expectations that have been put on me is that the athletic piece of the trip needs to break even," Christopher said Thursday afternoon. "I don't know the whole history, but my understanding that sometime in the last two years, the NCAA É essentially de-regulated bowls to some degree. Whereas the payout used to be a minimum of $750,000, it's not that any longer."
From the cost estimates, Christopher said Bowling Green should be very close to the $250,000 figure. The major cost is the charter flight to the game which leaves on Dec. 26 and returns after the game. That flight will be for team, coaches and support staff. Christopher said the number of support staff traveling to the game has been cut in order to save money. Also, the team will be spending fewer nights in the hotel than in Bowling Green's last bowl trip to the GMAC Bowl.
"This year, given the economy, given the finances, we know there is no safety net behind us and we need to make that $250,000 work," Christopher said, "We're trying to be prudent with every single expense related to the bowl."
Another plane is scheduled to depart on Dec. 28 and return after the game. It will carry band members, cheerleaders, members of the Bowling Green Board of Trustees and a president's party. Christopher said BGSU Foundation money is being used to pay for BG President Dr. Carol Cartwright and Vice President for Student for Student Affairs Ed Whipple.
"It's tough. You would love for the whole band to go. You would love for all the cheerleaders to go," Christopher said. "That's probably the impact that we least like. The idea that we have to affect some students who played a big role in the atmosphere at home games."
The Humanitarian Bowl involves the most travel of the five bowl games in which MAC teams are playing.
"This is a great matchup, a terrific football matchup where you have two teams that look a lot like each other," Christopher said. "By everything that we've heard from other schools that been there, it's a great bowl. They do a great job with hospitality and making the student-athletes and coaches feel at home.
"It's great exposure, a great time slot for ESPN," he continued. "It's a positive in so many ways and I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
"The unfortunate piece and you just can't get around it - it's hard on the fans."
BOWLS: All four of Bowling Green's non-conference foes this fall - Troy, Missouri, Marshall and Boise State - are in bowl games along with Central Michigan and Ohio from the MAC. BG was 1-5 against those teams.
LAST YEAR: This could very well be the last year for the International Bowl in Toronto.
However, BG's appearance in the Humanitarian Bowl could be a prelude to an agreement with the MAC to provide a team each year to that game.
MARYLAND: BG's scheduled game with Maryland in 2010 has been changed. The Falcons are now scheduled to play Maryland in 2015 and 2016.
Christopher said Maryland's spot on the schedule will probably be filled with a road game. Also on the schedule in 2010 are games at Troy and Michigan and a home game with Marshall.

[falconjw]

How much would it cost to get 3 million people watch BGSU anything??? I think the exposure of the university and the athletic department period is worth the president and the foundations money. They are ovbiously making an effort to trim the fat when it comes to bowl expenditures.

[freefalcon]

There is no justification for BGSU to participate in any bowl game this year. A record of 7-5 is mediocre at best and the cost of it is indefensible in today economy.

[VDub26Falcon]

How about you jump into your avatar and go wherever it takes you...or even better...JUMP OUT OF IT!!! (with no parachute)

[Falcon Commander]

[freefalcon]

VDub26Falcon = everyone gets a trophy and a snack too!!

[TG1996]

If you're looking strictly financially, there's no justification for 55 teams to play in bowl games EVERY year. And I'd think 7-5 would be mediocre AT WORST and is a pretty good record considering the schedule, the 1-4 start and the coaching circumstances. They earned the bid, plain and simple.

[footballguy51]

When I read that the President would be donating money from her budget to this cause, I actually wondered the same thing. But, I came to a big conclusion: Dr. Cartwright is using her budget to promote the University nationally. She is using her budget for marketing. BGSU goes to a bowl, and people watch the game. Freddie Barnes could quite possibly set an NCAA FBS record, which would place BGSU in the NCAA history books. To me, having BGSU in the national spotlight is worth it. If they didn't get this money to go, Barnes wouldn't have a chance to set a record, BGSU football wouldn't get an extra month's worth of practice, and A LOT of BGSU athletics fans would be EXTREMELY angry.

Again, the benefits outweight the costs on this one.

Where could the money being used to make facility upgrades be used if it wasn't used for those things? They are doing a ton of stuff currently, and will be doing a ton of stuff this summer. Take that money and reduce tuition. In other words, the argument can be made in more than one way, and the President chose to use HER budget the way SHE wanted to.

[Pete Segaard]

Perhaps the administration is also billing this game in this manner as a way to draw donations for the remainder of the FMB and spirit crew?