BCS game means big money for Big 12
Nov. 30, 2007
The berth of a Bowl Championship Series Game isn't the only thing on the line as the Missouri Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners face off on Saturday in San Antonio. A win for the Tigers can lead to a big payout for MU as well as the rest of the Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 Conference schools face a potentially big payday as the college football season heads into the bowl games.
BCS bowl game berth payments are at $17 million per team this year.
If Missouri wins the Big 12 Championship Game, Oklahoma will represent the conference as the second Big 12 team in the BCS and have the opportunity to receive more BCS money for the conference.
Athletic department spokesman Chad Moller said getting a second team in the BCS makes a difference in the amount all schools receive.
"The money that is shared among the Big 12 is going to differ every year," Moller said. "In the years the Big 12 gets two teams in the BCS, all the schools get more money."
Moller said the Big 12 equally divides the money the schools receive once the bowl game expenses are paid for.
"You get a certain amount of money to pay for your expenses," Moller said. "The rest of the money goes into a pot of money that gets split up among the other schools."
Last year, each school in the conference received approximately $1.6 million in addition to their individual bowl allowance.
MU's allowance for the Brut Sun Bowl last year was more than $1.1 million, but Moller said after paying for ticket allotment, incentives, travel, equipment, and room and board, there was a net loss of $33,324.
Overall, the athletic department gained almost $1.6 million after the expenses for the 2006 Sun Bowl were paid for.
According to the Big 12 Conference Web site, in the conference's 11-year history, the conference has distributed $913.2 million to its 12 member institutions.
After the MU athletic department receives the equally divided money from the Big 12, Moller said the money is put to use by the department.
"The rest of the money goes to the athletic department budget, and it goes into the general operating revenue," Moller said. "It pays for the other things that it cost to run the department."
The Big 12, which is entering its 12th season as a conference, is a fresh league when compared to the other BCS conferences.
"It is a young league that had the challenge of coming together, but it has done relatively well in comparison to other conferences," Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said at a press conference in September.
The Big 12 is performing well from a football standpoint. It leads the other BCS conferences with a team representing the conference in five of the nine championship games in the history of the BCS, according to the Big 12 Conference Web site. The Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East Conference trail with three representatives each.
If MU wins Saturday night against Oklahoma, the trend of having two BCS teams will continue.
More Nov. 30, 2007 News Stories
- 'Spoof' e-mail sent to MU faculty and staff — 1,200 e-mails asked users for their passwords and other personal information.
- ASA organizes dinner, film discussion — The African Students Organization also held a culinary event.
- BCS game means big money for Big 12 — The berth of a Bowl Championship Series Game isn't the only thing on the line as the Missouri Tigers and ...
- Bill requires free file-sharing service — The U.S. College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, which cleared its committee Nov. 15, will call for colleges and ...
- Campus Blotter — Monday, Nov. 26 Police are investigating the theft of a satellite radio from a vehicle between 8 p.m. on Nov. ...
Most recent News Stories
- Green Team collects recyclables on game day — The group collected 24 tons of recyclables last year.
- MSA, KCOU disagree on how to fund tower — KCOU thinks MSA's plan is too ambitious.
- New Children's Hospital at Columbia Regional Hospital — All Children's Hospital branches will relocate to Columbia Regional.
- School of Education hopes to raise $3,000 for UNICEF — Some students have personal ties to the organization.
- Faculty Council suggests grievance policy remix — Ballots on the new process are due in one month.