Green keeps Crimson in black
I've been doing a little number-crunching in the down time before fall camp starts. Utah athletic director Chris Hill told me the Utes made about $140,000 off their Poinsettia Bowl appearance once all the expenses were taken care of, with a little help from the conference in covering the costs. (The payout for the Poinsettia Bowl was $750,000, which goes into a pool that includes all MWC teams' bowl payouts and then is divided among the conference teams).
So how much does it cost to send a Ute football team to a bowl game?
A lot.
Total expenses were $531,771, according to the school's records. That figure includes a transportation expense of $179,926 ($160,633 for the team and staff, $17,080 for the band and cheerleaders and $2,213 for the athletics department's official party members).
Meals and lodging for all those folks cost $239,978 (most were in San Diego for four days). Then there are several miscellaneous costs such as entertainment ($23,685), awards ($22,080) and equipment ($56,267).
Unsold tickets could have hurt the Utes badly, but luckily the conference covers much of the difference. Utah was committed to buy 10,000 tickets at $35 for a total of $350,000. However, the Utes sold just 2,361 tickets to recoup $82,635.
Most of difference was covered by the conference, which does what it can to make sure bowl teams don't lose money, according to Hill.
Not included in the school's official bowl expenses, but included in Hill's bottom line in determining whether the school made money or not, was the $133,887.72 that went to coaches and members of the athletic staff for getting to a bowl game. The biggest bonus, of course, went to coach Kyle Whittingham ($31,020) followed by coordinators Gary Andersen ($15,208.33) and Andy Ludwig ($14,791.66).
And no, Hill wasn't among those to receive a bonus.
***********
Have you forgotten about the whole recruiting saga over Benji Kemoeatu? He was the Hawaiian standout who for the longest time couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to be a Ute or not then signed with West Virginia. Well he isn't going to end up in Morgantown either — at least any time soon. He didn't qualify academically and could be headed to Mesa Community College according to media reports.
Oh, and thanks for making me laugh about the comments regarding the choice of color in the photo. I promise it wasn't intended, and for the record the shirt is actually black with just a little bit of blue. However, I know even a little blue is too much for die-hard Ute fans!
So how much does it cost to send a Ute football team to a bowl game?
A lot.
Total expenses were $531,771, according to the school's records. That figure includes a transportation expense of $179,926 ($160,633 for the team and staff, $17,080 for the band and cheerleaders and $2,213 for the athletics department's official party members).
Meals and lodging for all those folks cost $239,978 (most were in San Diego for four days). Then there are several miscellaneous costs such as entertainment ($23,685), awards ($22,080) and equipment ($56,267).
Unsold tickets could have hurt the Utes badly, but luckily the conference covers much of the difference. Utah was committed to buy 10,000 tickets at $35 for a total of $350,000. However, the Utes sold just 2,361 tickets to recoup $82,635.
Most of difference was covered by the conference, which does what it can to make sure bowl teams don't lose money, according to Hill.
Not included in the school's official bowl expenses, but included in Hill's bottom line in determining whether the school made money or not, was the $133,887.72 that went to coaches and members of the athletic staff for getting to a bowl game. The biggest bonus, of course, went to coach Kyle Whittingham ($31,020) followed by coordinators Gary Andersen ($15,208.33) and Andy Ludwig ($14,791.66).
And no, Hill wasn't among those to receive a bonus.
***********
Have you forgotten about the whole recruiting saga over Benji Kemoeatu? He was the Hawaiian standout who for the longest time couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to be a Ute or not then signed with West Virginia. Well he isn't going to end up in Morgantown either — at least any time soon. He didn't qualify academically and could be headed to Mesa Community College according to media reports.
Oh, and thanks for making me laugh about the comments regarding the choice of color in the photo. I promise it wasn't intended, and for the record the shirt is actually black with just a little bit of blue. However, I know even a little blue is too much for die-hard Ute fans!
10:10 AM
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