Good news, everyone: The Ohio men’s basketball team has advanced to the “elite eight” of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, continuing to compete alongside the few NCAA teams still playing this late into March.
That’s good news, right?
There are two sides to that debate, as there are always pros and cons to postseason play.
Pros include the fact that student-athletes gain more experience playing in additional games, and postseason play can generate exposure for universities, which in turn can attract advertisers and potential recruits.
Cons are that additional games oftentimes cost money, both in the form of tournament buy-ins, coaching bonuses and other costs associated with prolonging a season.
The numbers tell us that there are far more negatives than there are positives for the Bobcats’ CIT run:
$36,000 — Each CIT game Ohio chooses to host costs the university this much. The money comes from the Post Season Opportunity Fund, which comes from the General Fee, which comes from students’ pockets.
(Ohio has the chance to make this money back through ticket sales and other revenue streams such as advertising and concessions, though Ohio Athletics has not returned The Post’s request for information about the money earned from its first two CIT games.)
$108,000 — The total Ohio has shelled out to host its three CIT games, including Wednesday’s home contest against the Virginia Military Institute.
$5.12 — How much each undergraduate Athens-campus student paid (via the General Fee) for Ohio to host the three games.
6,794 — The combined attendance of Ohio’s two CIT contests. Those same contests have been the two lowest-attended of any Bobcats home games this season.
$32,642.08 — The amount drawn from the Post Season Opportunity Fund for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, including travel and lodging, for the sake of comparison.
1 — The number of games that Ohio needs to win in order to play a televised game on the CBS Sports Network. It isn’t exactly flagship television, but it’s better than playing in front of a couple thousand fans and livestream audience that we doubt is robust.
??? — Ohio earned $436,505 in bowl revenue distribution and ticket sales for competing in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. But we don’t know what Ohio earns, if anything, each time it wins a game or what the grand prize is for winning the CIT. Ohio Athletics has not returned The Post’s request for comment on that matter.
We don’t doubt games such as these provide seniors one last shot and young stars a chance to shine, and we appreciate the fact that Ohio coach Jim Christian doesn’t pocket the bonus he would have earned if the Bobcats had made the more revered NIT or NCAA Tournament.
We also sincerely hope fans come out and support the team Wednesday and the Bobcats continue to advance in the tournament, but we question whether what Ohio stands to gain from this berth is worth what it’s spending to participate in it.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
