When local residents heard that both Maryland and Navy received invitations to play in bowl games, many automatically assumed it meant a sunny vacation for spoiled football players and mounds of cash for the schools.
As college football announcer Lee Corso would say, “not so fast, my friend.”
“Basically our schools get an expense allotment and they have to live on that allotment. It handles all their hotel expenses and ticket expense and all those things,” said Mike Finn, associate commissioner for football for the Atlantic Coast Conference. “It’s part of the overall distribution, and all the schools in our league share from it equally.”
At 9-3 this year, the United States Naval Academy has earned a trip to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Last year, Navy received $750,000 for playing in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Francisco, compared to $1 million this year for a trip to Charlotte, N.C., hardly a tropical paradise.
“[Revenue] covers football costs … any balance goes to the Olympic sport support,” Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuck said in an e-mail exchange. “We never budget bowl revenue. It is all supplemental dollars. [Leftovers go to] operating budgetsof all programs if dollars are available.”
For the University of Maryland, their 8-4 season is being rewarded with a trip to the Champ Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Granted, it is a visit to “The Sunshine State,” but the only money Maryland receives is a stipend to cover expenses like planes, buses, food and lodging. The Terps have been allotted $1 million for their trip to Orlando, the same dollar amount as all other ACC teams headed to the South in the next two weeks.
Unlike the situation with Navy, rarely are there chances to have a few dollars left over to help plaster cracks elsewhere in the athletic budget.
“There is no payout to the member institutions for appearing in a bowl game, as has been suggested in some recent articles,” Larry Leckonby, Maryland senior associate director of athletics told The Examiner. “Each participating institution receives a bowl game expense account to help offset all of the travel expenses occurred on the trip.”
That’s not to say a holiday trip is exactly hell for the players. They do get their fair share of perks to make the trip memorable.
“Good stuff. That’s why you want to go to a better bowl game,” said Maryland tight end Joey Hanos, of the gift bags participating players receive. “You get better gifts. We got a nice ring for winning [in 2004], a digital camera, all kind of clothes.”
