UConn Lost Nearly $1.8 Million In Trip To Fiesta Bowl

[Bulls Are We]

Courant.com

UConn Lost Nearly $1.8 Million In Trip To Fiesta Bowl

By DESMOND CONNER, dconner@courant.com

The Hartford Courant

5:22 PM EST, March 2, 2011

In what should not be a surprise to anyone, the UConn football program took a hefty financial loss at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

But nearly $1.8 million?

According to a document filled out by UConn and submitted to the NCAA, the school's total expense for the Jan. 1 game against Oklahoma in Glendale, Ariz., was $4,280,998. UConn received a payout of $2,523,200 from the Big East for a loss of $1,757,798.

Teams get more than $17 million for the Bowl Championship Series game but the Big East pools its bowl money and it is divided among the eight conference teams. So in the past, UConn got money when it didn't go to BCS games.

According to the report, UConn's big loss came in ticket sales. It sold only 2,771 of the allotted 17,500 tickets, resulting in a $2,924,385 million loss, which all but offset the conference payout it received.

UConn said Wednesday it actually sold about 4,600 tickets, the same number it reported sold in December.

"When we go to the Fiesta Bowl bid, we received zero tickets free," said UConn associate athletic director Mike Enright. "Yet we had some internal responsibilities before we could even start a public sale. We had to buy 400 tickets for the band, we had to buy tickets to fulfill corporate sponsorship packages, which generate $7.5 million to the athletic department, we had to fulfill obligations for tickets for coaching staff per contracts and student-athletes' families. So the number of tickets we sold was 4,600."

In December school officials said the Huskies would have better attendance had their BCS bowl game been in Miami instead of Arizona. UConn didn't have that choice and the Huskies were shipped out to Arizona, a much more expensive trip, where it lost to Oklahoma, 48-20.

When financial losses are pointed out, UConn and other FBS programs counter there is a long-term financial gain based on the hype and exposure of playing in a major event such as a New Year's Day bowl. UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway, who couldn't be reached Wednesday, said in December the school has seen a financial ripple effect of NCAA titles in men's and women's basketball, and he credits athletic success for helping to raise money throughout the university.

"You can bet that it's significant for the UConn Foundation as the primary fundraising arm of the university," Hathaway said in December. "They're using this as a sense of pride and a rallying point, just as the UConn Alumni Association is. So, this is a significant piece of history."

Hathaway compared a BCS bowl berth to a Final Four. When the UConn men and women both won NCAA basketball titles in 2004, school officials boasted about the national exposure for the university and the uptick in interest from prospective students across the country.

Simply participating in a BCS bowl, Hathaway said, would have the same impact.

"The [basketball titles] were significant events for our university that brought additional exposure to every corner of this institution academically, every corner of this institution as far as a student experience, [for] the recruitment, not only for student-athletes but the recruitment of the general student population," Hathaway said.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-uconn-fiesta-bowl-loss-20110302,0,2015541.story

[DELdaBull]

bowl system is a scam

[Guest Sunburned]

bowl system is a scam

Then why are USF and Bull's fans so thrilled to be a part of it?

[BDYZR]

Better start saving now. The upcoming bowl season could be the most expensive yet for us BULLS fans.

[gobulls83]

I'm sure in the long run it's overall still been a profit for UConn to be in the Big East. How much total have they made from the BCS payout in the years they didn't go to a BCS game? More than $1.8 million.