I what's even stranger is that the Big East, ACC, Mountain West or the MAC could wind up paying for CUSA's losses.
http://www.dailymail.com/news/Sports/200605258/
From the article:
Quote:C-USA had six bids, getting an extra in a Motor City berth (Memphis) the Big Ten couldn't fill. For those six games and a token $1.050 million distribution from the Bowl Championship Series, C-USA's revenue was just over $5.658 million.
The expenditures, however, created a loss of $578,494. That's a C-USA responsibility, not passed on to the dozen members.
"Sometimes," said Alfred White, C-USA's associate commissioner for football operations, "you wind up upside down on things like this, but another way to look at the bottom line is that it's a net positive for our schools to have these bowl partnerships."
Translated: if C-USA doesn't pay it, the Big East or ACC or Mountain West or Mid-American will.
Gee, even the Sun Belt, regarded as the bottom rung in I-A, made a reported profit of $790,106. The Big Six? Don't even ask. The lowest profit margin among those BCS-bloated conferences was in the Big East, at $15 million and change.
I think you misunderstood the quote. What the CUSA guy was saying was that bowl bids are a sellers' market, and that if CUSA weren't willing to absorb the losses and take the slots, some other league would take the slots instead.
CUSA's posture -- and the losses -- aren't new. But media attention to their pay-to-play policy is new.
BTW, it must Marshall econ degree to figure out how approximately $600K of losses for the league -- which is nothing more than a cooperative undertaking of its members -- isn't somehow, some way passed back through to the membership. Maybe they can grow money on trees down there.
I have no idea where that translation came from, but it is one of the most stunning efforts at "spin" that I have ever seen.
What I took away was essentially what DG wrote: the CUSA Assoc. Commissioner is saying that it's worth it now to take a small loss for the future recruiting, marketing, prestige and revenues the bowl invites will bring.
I would have to agree that despite losing money, getting teams like UCF, Memphis, and Tulsa to bowls and on TV helps the exposure of those programs and CUSA. Having a few bowls may help market a conference. Big Ten has perhaps the best bowl package of any conference.
I don't pretend to understand the bowl finances and how exactly all of the lower tier bowls actually pay, but I did warn Marshall fans two years ago that the move to C-USA may not nearly be as profitable as they were led to believe. This article substantiates my insight back then and certainly made me an unwelcomed guest on their forums. I've been a part of corporate budgeting and forecasting since the late 1980s and the one thing that is always constant, budgeting and forecasting is ALWAYS overstated. Congrats to C-USA officials for all of their bowl tie-ins, but there is no way these can be financially supported over the years as profitable to the league under the current bowl format.
Vandelay Wrote:I don't pretend to understand the bowl finances and how exactly all of the lower tier bowls actually pay, but I did warn Marshall fans two years ago that the move to C-USA may not nearly be as profitable as they were led to believe. This article substantiates my insight back then and certainly made me an unwelcomed guest on their forums. I've been a part of corporate budgeting and forecasting since the late 1980s and the one thing that is always constant, budgeting and forecasting is ALWAYS overstated. Congrats to C-USA officials for all of their bowl tie-ins, but there is no way these can be financially supported over the years as profitable to the league under the current bowl format.
The Conference must keep a share of their tv revenues to absorb costs and of course to pay operating expenses like salaries and office space. And what about membership dues? Do they exist?
From the reports floating around here a couple years ago they get some very nice tv $$$.
Vandelay Wrote:I don't pretend to understand the bowl finances and how exactly all of the lower tier bowls actually pay, but I did warn Marshall fans two years ago that the move to C-USA may not nearly be as profitable as they were led to believe. This article substantiates my insight back then and certainly made me an unwelcomed guest on their forums. I've been a part of corporate budgeting and forecasting since the late 1980s and the one thing that is always constant, budgeting and forecasting is ALWAYS overstated. Congrats to C-USA officials for all of their bowl tie-ins, but there is no way these can be financially supported over the years as profitable to the league under the current bowl format.
I don't see it as noteworthy that Conference USA props up its bowl games, and I'm not sure one can extrapolate from that story that Marshall's financial projections are off.
I do agree that Marshall's move to Conference USA didn't appear very profitable. My thought was that, if not for the fast that donors put up the $2 million entry fee, it would take Marshall 20 years to break even on the move.
And I agree with others that part of the issue may be the location of Conference USA's bowl games. We are in two pretty good situations, and Toronto is an exciting opportunity that ought not to be a burden if we can get it on to the right track.
Bham for Hawaii= more money.
And, 6>2.
The Knight Time Wrote:Bham for Hawaii= more money.
And, 6>2.
Well, first the MAC has 3 bowl tie-ins for sure this fall.....not 2.
Second, 6 looks great perception wise and recruiting wise.......but after losing money so many years in a row it is really going to suck. Even the Sun Belt conference made a profit on bowl games. lmfao
Schadenfreude Wrote:Vandelay Wrote:I don't pretend to understand the bowl finances and how exactly all of the lower tier bowls actually pay, but I did warn Marshall fans two years ago that the move to C-USA may not nearly be as profitable as they were led to believe. This article substantiates my insight back then and certainly made me an unwelcomed guest on their forums. I've been a part of corporate budgeting and forecasting since the late 1980s and the one thing that is always constant, budgeting and forecasting is ALWAYS overstated. Congrats to C-USA officials for all of their bowl tie-ins, but there is no way these can be financially supported over the years as profitable to the league under the current bowl format.
And I agree with others that part of the issue may be the location of Conference USA's bowl games. We are in two pretty good situations, and Toronto is an exciting opportunity that ought not to be a burden if we can get it on to the right track.
Well,
I was at the GMAC Bowl and there were twice as many Rocket fans as UTEP fans. How did the BG contingent compare to Memphis?
The Knight Time Wrote:Bham for Hawaii= more money.
And, 6>2.
And, 3>-5.5
LakelandRocket Wrote:I was at the GMAC Bowl and there were twice as many Rocket fans as UTEP fans. How did the BG contingent compare to Memphis?
Memphis brought a ton more people. It isn't too far.
LakelandRocket Wrote:Schadenfreude Wrote:Vandelay Wrote:I don't pretend to understand the bowl finances and how exactly all of the lower tier bowls actually pay, but I did warn Marshall fans two years ago that the move to C-USA may not nearly be as profitable as they were led to believe. This article substantiates my insight back then and certainly made me an unwelcomed guest on their forums. I've been a part of corporate budgeting and forecasting since the late 1980s and the one thing that is always constant, budgeting and forecasting is ALWAYS overstated. Congrats to C-USA officials for all of their bowl tie-ins, but there is no way these can be financially supported over the years as profitable to the league under the current bowl format.
And I agree with others that part of the issue may be the location of Conference USA's bowl games. We are in two pretty good situations, and Toronto is an exciting opportunity that ought not to be a burden if we can get it on to the right track.
Well,
I was at the GMAC Bowl and there were twice as many Rocket fans as UTEP fans. How did the BG contingent compare to Memphis?
Bowling Green didn't play Memphis in the Motor City Bowl. Akron did.
rocketfootball Wrote:The Knight Time Wrote:Bham for Hawaii= more money.
And, 6>2.
Well, first the MAC has 3 bowl tie-ins for sure this fall.....not 2.
Second, 6 looks great perception wise and recruiting wise.......but after losing money so many years in a row it is really going to suck. Even the Sun Belt conference made a profit on bowl games. lmfao
Well, it's not too hard to make money on your ONE AND ONLY bowl game.
BTW- Do you think recruits are looking at the financial side of the bowls, or the fact that last year CUSA provided bowls for half of it's members all of which were on national tv? Honest answer, please.
There were 2 bowl games last year, and you included them in your inflated 6 bowl statistic. Remember when UT beat down UTEP?
Justify it all you want. We'll play any C-USA opponent whenever we get the chance.
LakelandRocket Wrote:There were 2 bowl games last year, and you included them in your inflated 6 bowl statistic. Remember when UT beat down UTEP?
Justify it all you want. We'll play any C-USA opponent whenever we get the chance.
2 bowl games?
Right, GMAC and Motor City. Yes you beat Akron.
Did UCF win their bowl game or did the amazing Tattoo boy miss his field goal?
LakelandRocket Wrote:Right, GMAC and Motor City. Yes you beat Akron.
Did UCF win their bowl game or did the amazing Tattoo boy miss his field goal?
I guess we can wash the thought of any mature conversation out the window?
LakelandRocket Wrote:Right, GMAC and Motor City. Yes you beat Akron.
Did UCF win their bowl game or did the amazing Tattoo boy miss his field goal?
We didn't beat Akron. Memphis did. I don't follow Memphis. 8-)
And UCF lost to Nevada. I think the lost revenue Conference USA took in the bowl season is why the Hawaii Bowl is rotating the game between CUSA and the Pac-10 versus a team from the Western Athletic Conference.
Can you imagine how much is costs to send Central Florida clean across the continental United States AND halfway across the world's largest ocean?