Although Ohio failed to win its third consecutive bowl game, expenses for Ohio football’s four-day trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., in December totaled less than the team’s previous two postseason trips, according to a report released by Ohio Athletics last Tuesday.
Of the $469,147.08 in total expenses for the Bobcats’ trip to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, Ohio University paid $32,642.08 out-of-pocket from the Post Season Opportunity Fund — a $120,000 annual allotment from the General Fee. The total is less than half of the $78,569 OU pulled from the same pool in 2012 for the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl, according to a previous Post article.
“We’re going to start making money off of (bowl games),” said Tom Symonds, Ohio assistant athletic director for media relations. “There’s going to come a time when we get increased funding from the league to go to these bowls — don’t be surprised if you see a couple years down the road that we’re making money off (games).”
Ohio Athletics received $400,000 in payout from the bowl in addition to $36,505 from ticket revenue from the game. The decrease in money pulled from the Post Season Opportunity Fund was a result of an increase in ticket revenue compared to 2012, when Ohio Athletics brought in $23,876 in Independence Bowl ticket sales.
“From where we were, we’re spending far less money to go to these bowl games,” Symonds said. “We’re getting better bowl deals. … Five years ago we weren’t getting that ($400,000) guarantee.”
OU also sponsored a bus trip for about 350 students, who for $50 apiece were transported to and from Florida, stayed one night at a resort and were given a ticket to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Expenses for the bus trip totaled $45,684, but OU made $13,800 of that cost back in revenues from students who bought tickets for the trip.
Revenue for the student trip came from multiple sources. The Ohio Bobcat Club — a fundraising arm of Athletics — financed the largest portion of the student trip, donating $15,844.
“We wanted to have our players know that our students are behind us … even down in Florida.” Symonds said. “When bowls see what we do with our student attendance and getting students to games, that’s a big deal to them.”
The President’s Office Budget and VP Student Affairs Budget each paid $8,000 to cover the remaining costs of the trip, so the university wouldn’t lose money.
According to a statement from Athletics, “The significant exposure received can benefit enrollment, fundraising, campus life and school pride to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.”
Athletics had taken until the first week of March to release its bowl game expenditure report because it was waiting to receive final transportation costs, Symonds said. Past bowl expenditure reports have been issued in a similar timeframe in years past, and representatives from the Ohio Bobcat Club and Athletics marketing department did not return requests for comment.
Ohio lost the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl to East Carolina 37-20 on Dec. 23. The game was the Bobcats’ fifth consecutive postseason appearance and Ohio is one of 21 programs to play five straight bowl games.
“Just like a cross country runner that is able to go to the NCAA tournament and compete in the nationals, — and we’ve got five wrestlers that are able to go to the nationals and compete — we’re in the business to provide those opportunities for student-athletes.” said Dan Hauser, Ohio senior associate athletic director for external operations. “When they have the chance to compete in the postseason, we’re going to support those opportunities.”
cl027410@ohiou.edu
@ChadLindskog
