Payouts to Non-Conference Football Opponents

[aeroclone]

http://msn.foxsports.com/wisconsin/...cost-of-big-ten-opponents-keeps-rising-060414

Interesting article on what B1G teams are paying out to their non-conference foes in exchange for avoiding return games, especially in light of the recent announcement of our home and home with Arkansas State. From the article:

Of the Big Ten's 39 nonconference home games in 2014, only six feature a team from another power-five conference -- and all six are the result of some type of home-and-home series. Meanwhile, there are 22 games against non-power-five FBS teams and 11 against the FCS. Only four of those 33 contests feature a return game -- Indiana-North Texas, Michigan State-Eastern Michigan, Rutgers-Tulane and Wisconsin-South Florida.

Breakdowns
-- Total payout for 11 home games vs. FCS teams: $4,820,000. Average: $438,181
-- Total payout for 17 home games vs. FBS teams without return visit: $14,073,246. Average: $827,838
-- Total payout for six games vs. power-five FBS teams with return visits: $1,975,000. Average: $329,166
-- Total payout for four games vs. non-power-five FBS teams with return visits: $2,000,000. Average: $500,000

I find this particularly interesting given the fact that ISU continues to schedule home and home deals with mid-major schools. Based on the numbers from the B1G schools, it looks like the average for a game without a return trip is only $327k higher than the cost of the game with a return game in the future. How can it not pay off to buy out of the return games? I'm sure we net more than enough from the added home games to cover that sort of cost. It seems pretty clear that this is the way to go, as even the bottom feeders in the league appear to be avoiding return games.

 

[CycloneErik]

If the letter about raising ticket prices is any indication, we don't have much extra cash to spend on that.

 

[Incyte]

Obviously we wouldn't clear enough revenue to justify the pay-out. JP isn't stupid people.

 

[SoapyCy]

Countdown to Hawkeye fans everywhere... "We are only 1 of 6 playing a top-tier BCS school for an OOC game!"

 

[aeroclone]

Obviously we wouldn't clear enough revenue to justify the pay-out. JP isn't stupid people.

Posters seem to kick around the $1M per home game figure here a lot, which would more than cover the difference in cost for buying out a return game. $1M per home game is also a lot lower than the numbers mentioned in this article, so that would seem conservative at best. I would get it if the only schools doing this were big football schools like OSU and Michigan, but it is across the board. The whole article circles around the importance of 7 home games and why it is so important to schools (and subsequently how that demand allows the mid-majors to drive up the asking price). What is different in our situation where this is good for everyone else, but not for us?

 

[Stormin]

IMO, it might be worth the cost of "buying" another home game every year. Despite the cost, it would be money well spent.