The Wiz of Odds

Big 12 Bailout Helped Oklahoma Turn Fiesta Profit

Oklahoma reported a profit of $9,350 for its trip to the Fiesta Bowl, but had the Big 12 not come to the rescue, the Sooners would have faced a financial mess, according to the Hartford Courant.

Oklahoma was responsible for selling 17,500 tickets for its matchup against Connecticut. The Sooners sold only 5,567, leaving 11,933 unsold or withheld tickets.

The Big 12 stepped in and absorbed 10,403 tickets at a cost of $1,884,250. That left Oklahoma on the hook for the remaining 1,530 at $337,080.

Connecticut, which sold only 2,771 tickets, lost nearly $1.8 million on the trip. However, the Big East has a policy not absorbing costs from unsold or withheld tickets.

West Virginia Turns Profit, but Was Trip Worth It?

West Virginia cleared $144,750 from its December trip to the Champs Sports Bowl, but does that mean Mountaineer Nation is a better place?

No so, according to Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette.

He writes: "Consider the situation. WVU's athletic department funded this expensive football team. It took that team to another city to make money for that city and ESPN; it entertained the nation; and it walked away with $144,750. There are incentive bonuses in coach Dana Holgorsen's new contract that pay more.

"You might remember that last September, WVU and BYU agreed to play a 2016 football game at Washington's FedEx Field. Each school will be paid $2.25 million.

"Yet WVU went to Orlando and played for a net of $144,750. It's the definition of ludicrous."

West Virginia and opponent North Carolina State were each responsible for selling 12,500 tickets. The Mountaineers sold only 4,700. That included 500 the school had to buy for the marching band.

"You read correctly. Not only do the schools' bands provide halftime entertainment, that have to pay to do so," Vingle writes.

The Wisconsin-Iowa Game Narrated As a Nature Film

And now, for something entirely different, the 2010 Wisconsin-Iowa game in the form of a nature film. Thanks to Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein of Solid Verbal.

Virginia Tech's Orange Bowl Cover Charge: $1.6 Million

The state of Virginia is facing a reported $2.2 billion budget shortfall over two years, but that didn't slow the Virginia Tech football team from throwing money around at the 2011 Orange Bowl.

The Hokies lost $1.6 million on their trip to South Florida, according to Dan Wetzel, the Yahoo! columnist who posted the information to his Death To The BCS blog.

It can be argued that losing "only" $1.6 million is progress for Virginia Tech. The team lost $2.2 million on its trip to the 2009 Orange Bowl. For those of you scoring at home, that's $3.8 million on the Hokies' past two trips to the Bowl Championship Series game.

Virginia Tech ran up $3,343,689 in expenses and was reimbursed $1,725,000 by the Atlantic Coast Conference, which like most conferences pools bowl revenue and pays each member a percentage. But the Hokies' cut didn't come close to covering the bills.

The biggest culprit was again unsold or withheld tickets. The Hokies got stuck with 9,500 of them totaling $1,243,988.

Ohio State Reports $288,876 Sugar Bowl Payday

Not only did Ohio State defeat Arkansas, 31-26, in the Sugar Bowl, it returned to Columbus with a pocketful of cash.

Ohio State bucked the trend and earned $288,876 from its trip to New Orleans, according to Zack Meisel of the Lantern, the university's student newspaper.

That's a turnaround from the Buckeyes' appearance in the 2010 Rose Bowl, when the university reported a loss of $79,597.

Ohio State spent $702,809 on meals and lodging for the week-long trip to the Big Easy. Transportation costs were $678,924.

The next largest expense resulted from unsold tickets. The university reported 1,064 unsold tickets, which ranged in price from $140-170 apiece. The university also incurred the cost of 609 tickets that the conference failed to sell, all of which cost $120. Together, the total was $222,410.

The Buckeyes' victory over the Razorbacks ended a skid of nine consecutive postseason losses to teams from the Southeastern Conference.

Officials in the business office of Arkansas' athletic department did not return calls or emails to the Lantern.

Update: Arkansas reported a profit of $5,525, according to Whole Hog Sports.

Auburn Lost More Than $600,000 on Title Game Trip

Auburn's Bowl Championship Series title came at a deep cost.

The university reported a loss of $614,106 for its nine-day trip to Glendale, Ariz. The Tigers weren't alone. Oregon, Auburn's opponent in the game, reported a deficit of $285,437 for its 10-day stay.

Ticket-allotment issues were once again at the center of the financial setbacks.

Auburn lost $781,825 because it withheld 2,456 tickets from its allotment of 17,400. Oregon, according to the Birmingham News, lost $555,575 because it withheld 1,761 of its 17,400 tickets.

Schools withhold tickets and keep them from public sale in order to meet demands of staff, the families of players and coaches and the band. Thus, the tickets become an expense for the university.

Auburn and Oregon were not alone in losing money. Kentucky reported a loss of $253,396 for its trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham. The school was required to purchase 10,000 tickets and sold only 4,460. That led to a loss of $276,740 in unsold tickets.

Pittsburgh, the Wildcats' opponent in Birmingham, declined to provide its report. The school did say it distributed approximately 2,500 of its 10,000 tickets.

It was reported earlier this week that Connecticut lost nearly $1.8 million on its trip to the Fiesta Bowl.