The bloodbath began the moment the contract was signed. Minnesota was obligated to write a check for 10,000 tickets, which were supposed to be resold to fans. Never mind that even the best of teams struggle to unload such sums. For middling squads like the Gophers, it was nothing more than a way for the men in funny yellow blazers who ran the Insight to grab piles of money from a public university.
Minnesota managed to sell just 901 seats. After kicking another 900 to the band, administrators, and cherished hangers-on, the school was forced to eat $476,000 worth of useless tickets.
The contract also required the team to show up a week early, if only to burn as much school money as possible at the restaurants and retailers of greater Phoenix.
One would think school administrators would protest such gall. But one would be wrong. They were quick to see the advantages of a luxury vacation on the school's dime. So they happily signed off.
The school's traveling party was larded up with 722 people, including players, band members, and faculty. Airfare alone ran $542,000. Toss in hotels and meals, and the school had blown $1.3 million before the opening kickoff.
Last year, the nation's bowls paid schools roughly $270 million. Just for playing middlemen and providing 70-degree temperatures, bowl execs grabbed a larger cut, north of $300 million.
Even bowl apologists admit that by implementing a playoff system, like every other NCAA sport does, schools could generate three to four times what they're bringing home now. That's because TV networks will pay far more for a playoff game than they will for straight-to-DVD thrillers like the Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl.
Under a playoff system, the schools' collective take might even approach $1 billion annually. It's the kind of money that could fill budget gaps in nearly every Division 1 athletic department.
The bloodbath began the moment the contract was signed. Minnesota was obligated to write a check for 10,000 tickets, which were supposed to be resold to fans. Never mind that even the best of teams struggle to unload such sums. For middling squads like the Gophers, it was nothing more than a way for the men in funny yellow blazers who ran the Insight to grab piles of money from a public university.
Minnesota managed to sell just 901 seats. After kicking another 900 to the band, administrators, and cherished hangers-on, the school was forced to eat $476,000 worth of useless tickets.
Haven't they ever heard of Stubhub or craigslist?
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
The bloodbath began the moment the contract was signed. Minnesota was obligated to write a check for 10,000 tickets, which were supposed to be resold to fans. Never mind that even the best of teams struggle to unload such sums. For middling squads like the Gophers, it was nothing more than a way for the men in funny yellow blazers who ran the Insight to grab piles of money from a public university.
Minnesota managed to sell just 901 seats. After kicking another 900 to the band, administrators, and cherished hangers-on, the school was forced to eat $476,000 worth of useless tickets.
Haven't they ever heard of Stubhub or craigslist?
Who else would have bought them, if fans of the schools didn't?
AZGrizFan wrote:
Haven't they ever heard of Stubhub or craigslist?
Who else would have bought them, if fans of the schools didn't?
You DO realize, don't you, that about 70% of the people who actually attend bowl games LIVE in the city the bowl is in, don't you? Or did you think that 70,000 people were going to travel from Berkley and from Oklahoma to watch the Fiesta Bowl?
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
Grizalltheway wrote:
Who else would have bought them, if fans of the schools didn't?
You DO realize, don't you, that about 70% of the people who actually attend bowl games LIVE in the city the bowl is in, don't you? Or did you think that 70,000 people were going to travel from Berkley and from Oklahoma to watch the Fiesta Bowl?
I don't know about the stats for all bowl games, but I can tell you that at the one and only bowl game I've ever attended (1/1/95 Rose Bowl between Penn State and Oregon) the stadium was half blue and half green. They were not local fans for the most part.
I also saw a shitload of LSU fans at DFW airport headed to the Cotton Bowl when I was headed to Frisco last year.
You DO realize, don't you, that about 70% of the people who actually attend bowl games LIVE in the city the bowl is in, don't you? Or did you think that 70,000 people were going to travel from Berkley and from Oklahoma to watch the Fiesta Bowl?
I don't know about the stats for all bowl games, but I can tell you that at the one and only bowl game I've ever attended (1/1/95 Rose Bowl between Penn State and Oregon) the stadium was half blue and half green. They were not local fans for the most part.
I also saw a shitload of LSU fans at DFW airport headed to the Cotton Bowl when I was headed to Frisco last year.
How much, exactly, is a shitload?
And I'm talking about the 2nd tier bowls, not the BCS bowl games.
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
A quick craigslist search revealed over 1000 offers for Insight Bowl tickets.
A quick stubhub.com search revealed over 400 offers (consisting of 1579 tickets) ranging in price from $14 to $471/ticket available for the Insight Bowl.
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
SDHornet wrote:
Don't tell that to the UConn and Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl matchup of a season ago.
There's an exception to every rule, jackwagon. And the fact that there weren't any UCONN fans here doesn't mean the place wasn't packed.
True, but that doesn't change the fact UCONN lost seven figures on the game. These schools, especially the BCS league schools do make money back on the bowl payouts though when they get their cut from their leagues. I think each Big Ten & SEC schools gets in the ballpark of 2.5M each annually.
AZGrizFan wrote:
There's an exception to every rule, jackwagon. And the fact that there weren't any UCONN fans here doesn't mean the place wasn't packed.
True, but that doesn't change the fact UCONN lost seven figures on the game. These schools, especially the BCS league schools do make money back on the bowl payouts though when they get their cut from their leagues. I think each Big Ten & SEC schools gets in the ballpark of 2.5M each annually.
This. Basically the way is seem is it is best for a university to sit at home and not blow a load of cash attending a bowl game fans have no interest in. That way they don’t eat through their share of the conference bowl/TV revenue via unsold tickets and contracted extended stay at hotels the bowl games require.
bluehenbillk wrote:
True, but that doesn't change the fact UCONN lost seven figures on the game. These schools, especially the BCS league schools do make money back on the bowl payouts though when they get their cut from their leagues. I think each Big Ten & SEC schools gets in the ballpark of 2.5M each annually.
This. Basically the way is seem is it is best for a university to sit at home and not blow a load of cash attending a bowl game fans have no interest in. That way they don’t eat through their share of the conference bowl/TV revenue via unsold tickets and contracted extended stay at hotels the bowl games require.
10,000 unsold Fiesta Bowl tickets on ebay/craigslist/stubhub @ $100 each = $1,000,000.
"Ah fuck. You are right." KYJelly, 11/6/12
"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Barack Obama, 9/25/12
Through Monday, Nevada had sold 10 tickets to the Hawaii Bowl.
Nevada isn't sure how many of its fans plan to show up for the Hawaii Bowl, but if the phone sales are any indication, it's not many: As of Sunday evening, the Wolf Pack had sold just 10 tickets through phone sales. Yeah, 10. And Virginia Tech was getting a ribbing for its lack of ticket sales.
∞∞∞ wrote:Through Monday, Nevada had sold 10 tickets to the Hawaii Bowl.
Nevada isn't sure how many of its fans plan to show up for the Hawaii Bowl, but if the phone sales are any indication, it's not many: As of Sunday evening, the Wolf Pack had sold just 10 tickets through phone sales. Yeah, 10. And Virginia Tech was getting a ribbing for its lack of ticket sales.
Avg flight from Reno to HI -$750 per ticket
Avg flight from Blacksburg to NO - $350
Average cost of 3 days in HI (hotel, food, transportation, tickets, other fun stuff) well over a grand....unless you sit in the hotel and do nothing other than the game.
Grizalltheway wrote:Also, who under the age of 60 still buys shit over the phone?
"What I'm saying is: You might have taken care of your wolf problem, but everyone around town is going to think of you as the crazy son of a bitch who bought land mines to get rid of wolves."
Settle down JaBBer, it doesn't count if you do it at 2am while shit faced.
Hey. I have bought some stuff on Ebay after getting home from the bars too... It is like getting a surprise in the mail a week later.
"What I'm saying is: You might have taken care of your wolf problem, but everyone around town is going to think of you as the crazy son of a bitch who bought land mines to get rid of wolves."
Avg flight from Reno to HI -$750 per ticket
Avg flight from Blacksburg to NO - $350
Average cost of 3 days in HI (hotel, food, transportation, tickets, other fun stuff) well over a grand....unless you sit in the hotel and do nothing other than the game.
Average cost of 3 days in NO.....a lot less.
And then you have to watch Nevada play football for three hours.
SDHornet wrote:
This. Basically the way is seem is it is best for a university to sit at home and not blow a load of cash attending a bowl game fans have no interest in. That way they don’t eat through their share of the conference bowl/TV revenue via unsold tickets and contracted extended stay at hotels the bowl games require.
10,000 unsold Fiesta Bowl tickets on ebay/craigslist/stubhub @ $100 each = $1,000,000.
That is assuming the $100 per ticket can cover the original cost the schools pay for each ticket from the bowl, otherwise its just minimizing the loss.
