JONESBORO, Ark. (6/26/13) – Arkansas State Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir announced Wednesday a one-game contract has been signed that will send the Red Wolves’ football team to Los Angeles, Calif., in 2015 to play Pac-12 member USC for the first time in school history.

A-State will face the Trojans on Sept. 5 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, giving the Red Wolves two announced non-conference opponents on their 2015 schedule. ASU is also slated to host SEC foe Missouri on Sept. 12, 2015, in the second game of a home-and-home series in Jonesboro.

“With its outstanding tradition and history of success, we are excited to add a program the caliber of USC to our 2015 football schedule,” said Mohajir. “This will be a great opportunity for our program to be displayed in one of the largest media markets in the world. USC is very selective with their scheduling, so to be able to secure a game with them for the first time in our history is a great testament to our players, coaches and overall program.”

Not only will A-State face 11-time national champion USC for the first time, it will be the first ever meeting between a Sun Belt Conference team and the Trojans as well. Although USC has played former and future Sun Belt member Idaho eight times, it was never while the Vandals were a part of the league.

The contest will also mark the Red Wolves second all-time game against a current member of the Pac-12. A-State’s only other meeting against a member of the league came in its 2012 season opener against Oregon.

Under the direction of head coach Lane Kiffin, the Trojans finished 2012 with a 7-6 overall record that included a 21-7 setback to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.

That's great. Hopefully with some conferences not scheduling some FCS teams the amounts will go up.
Totally unrelated but just saw where Oregon of the same conference, got put on probation today. Really light, lose one recruit a year
and some visits but can go to bowl games.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/oregon-put-.../12598163/

at USC and Missouri at home. Nice schedule so far for the Red Wolves.

(06-26-2013 02:10 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  at USC and Missouri at home. Nice schedule so far for the Red Wolves.

If the contract gets signed, we also will play Miami at home that year. Throw in an FCS to snack on, and we could have 7 home games that year. There has been talk we might try to move the Mizzou home game until 2014 though.

Our plan is to play one guarantee game a year, one home and home game against a marquee opponent, one home and home against a midmajor and one FCS. That is ideal but we have to keep hitting that 26K and up attendance to do so in my opinion.

(06-26-2013 02:32 PM)chiefsfan Wrote:  

(06-26-2013 02:10 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote:  at USC and Missouri at home. Nice schedule so far for the Red Wolves.

If the contract gets signed, we also will play Miami at home that year. Throw in an FCS to snack on, and we could have 7 home games that year. There has been talk we might try to move the Mizzou home game until 2014 though.

Think you are wrong about the Miami date.

Excellent payday. Congrats!

Wow congrats stAte! I'm jealous.

1.3 MILLION. What a payday. We (Ga. Southern) are playing at Navy, Ga. Tech and N.C. State in 2014 and only getting 1.9 million for all three games combined.

Too bad that these type games are almost always season openers. A sound drubbing on Sept 5 will most likely kill any hope ASU has of cracking the AP Top 25 for that season. If ASU can keep it close, they'll get some good publicity and gain some votes. If ASU could pull off the upset and beat USC, i think we'd see ASU in the AP Top 25 that very week! The national sports writers love USC. Other than a win over Alabama or Notre Dame, a win over USC would probably about the most valuable win a G5 team could post early in the season.

(06-27-2013 06:45 AM)BRtransplant Wrote:  Too bad that these type games are almost always season openers. A sound drubbing on Sept 5 will most likely kill any hope ASU has of cracking the AP Top 25 for that season. If ASU can keep it close, they'll get some good publicity and gain some votes. If ASU could pull off the upset and beat USC, i think we'd see ASU in the AP Top 25 that very week! The national sports writers love USC. Other than a win over Alabama or Notre Dame, a win over USC would probably about the most valuable win a G5 team could post early in the season.

that is not necessarily the case. we got thumped by bama, and had we pulled off the ULM win, we would have made it. Kent got ROCKED by UGay, almost made the BCS. it is doable.

The best part is that USC could be really bad by then. Lane Kiffen is an idiot and if he is still the coach they could be horrible. So it could be a 1.3 million pay to beat a giant.

This looks really nice, but think about the expenses. WKU got paid 1 mil + each to go to Tuscaloosa and to Knoxville. Flying 100 people out to LA is going to cost more than 300k. It looks like you are pulling extra $, but you are spending more as well. It is god for your branding (which is priceless) to play some exotic teams like Oregon and USC.

If you are going to play a game for a check either get someone you can upset or play someone of a massive national stature. Losing to Arizona is worse than losing to USC.

Go to USC play them close and lose and win the rest of them, you can bust the BCS. NIU busted with a quasi-home loss to Iowa and then ran the table.

(06-26-2013 09:30 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  1.3 MILLION. What a payday. We (Ga. Southern) are playing at Navy, Ga. Tech and N.C. State in 2014 and only getting 1.9 million for all three games combined.

Very nice payday indeed.... But in our defense, those three aren't exactly on the level that USC is.

(06-27-2013 11:48 AM)TOPPERSonTOP Wrote:  This looks really nice, but think about the expenses. WKU got paid 1 mil + each to go to Tuscaloosa and to Knoxville. Flying 100 people out to LA is going to cost more than 300k. It looks like you are pulling extra $, but you are spending more as well. It is god for your branding (which is priceless) to play some exotic teams like Oregon and USC.

I think $300k is a bit overstated. I think you can make it half that or less.
Round trip bus to either Memphis or Little Rock for 100 at $120 per: $12,000
I think they can get a rate of $650 or lower for the flight from either MEM or LR: $65,000
Two nights in a hotel with many doubling up -- 60 rooms x 2 x $200/night: $24,000
Bus Routing in LA for 100 x $70: $7,000
8 meals for 100, 8 x 100 x $25: $20,000

There's probably more hidden costs -- but that is just $128,000 right there.

(06-27-2013 03:59 PM)MemTGRS Wrote:  

(06-27-2013 11:48 AM)TOPPERSonTOP Wrote:  This looks really nice, but think about the expenses. WKU got paid 1 mil + each to go to Tuscaloosa and to Knoxville. Flying 100 people out to LA is going to cost more than 300k. It looks like you are pulling extra $, but you are spending more as well. It is god for your branding (which is priceless) to play some exotic teams like Oregon and USC.

I think $300k is a bit overstated. I think you can make it half that or less.
Round trip bus to either Memphis or Little Rock for 100 at $120 per: $12,000
I think they can get a rate of $650 or lower for the flight from either MEM or LR: $65,000
Two nights in a hotel with many doubling up -- 60 rooms x 2 x $200/night: $24,000
Bus Routing in LA for 100 x $70: $7,000
8 meals for 100, 8 x 100 x $25: $20,000

There's probably more hidden costs -- but that is just $128,000 right there.

Part of the guarantee is also in Visitor tickets, many of which will not be sold, where as we sold our full allotment to Bama and will probably sell it for UT this year. At schools like USC and UT, those tickets run 50ish or more x a few thousand.

In theory Arkansas State can charter out of Walnut Ridge but as yet hasn't done it even though the city has been lobbying for the business.

Congrats on nailing down this game. Now go do us proud and take the W as well as the $...

Great payout. And a real chance for a win. USC is going downhill fast.