Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995 TAG: 9511210003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
So, what's the difference between playing in a Bowl Alliance game or the Gator Bowl to the state's Division I-A football teams?
We're not talking about TV exposure or recruiting pluses. We're talking bottom line.
And it depends on whether you're talking about Virginia Tech or Virginia. That's because the bowl revenue sharing arrangement in the Big East and ACC are different.
As co-champions of their respective leagues, the Hokies and Cavaliers could be picked for Alliance dates in the Orange or Sugar bowls, although fellow co-champs are more likely to get those bids that go out in two weeks.
The Gator Bowl gets the second choice from the ACC and Big East, but, as the accompanying chart shows, the Jan.1 game in Jacksonville isn't as rich an option, particularly for the Hokies.
According to the dollar signs, Tech would keep $3.5 million of the Big East's $8.33 million check for an Alliance appearance. If Syracuse or Miami goes to the Alliance spot ahead of the Hokies, coach Frank Beamer's program earns $2 million, although the Gator pays only $1.3 million per team.
While the Big East boosts its participating team payoff in bowls in the second-tier and below, the ACC spreads the rewards more through the nine-team conference. And with the Big East qualifying only three of its eight schools this year, that league will take home less than the ACC, which is assured of four and could get five bids if it lands an uncommitted Independence Bowl berth.
If UVa heads to the Sugar or Orange, the Cavaliers keep $1.25 million of the ACC's $8.3 million check, plus gets one of the nine team shares of $867,222. Virginia Tech, in addition to its take for bowl participation, adds a conference share of $422,500 in the first year the Big East has shared bowl revenue.
So, financially, it's more lucrative to play in a bowl from the Big East. It's better, however, to be Wake Forest than Temple. The non-bowlers in the ACC earn nearly twice what the Big East also-rans receive.
The ACC also participates in higher-paying bowls, thanks to a third-tier difference between the leagues. The Peach Bowl pays $1.15 million per team to the ACC. The Carquest, which gets a third Big East pick to go with the ACC's fourth choice, hands out $750,000 - the same as the Liberty, where the Big East has a long-term deal for a fourth team (no qualifier this year).
The Big East numbers, already a revision because there is no fourth team, are expected to be approved at a football league meeting today and Tuesday in Newark, N.J., a session in which the Big East athletic directors also will discuss the potential for creating a tie-breaker in the future to avoid the current co-championship scenario which includes the Hokies.
So, the bottom line?
Tech takes home $3.923 million for an Alliance berth, $2.42 million from a Gator bid and $1.92 if it goes to the Carquest. UVa will get almost $2.18 million if its plays in an Alliance Bowl, $1.77 million if it plays in the Gator, $1.69 million for a Peach appearance and $1.62 million for a Carquest trip.
Then, they just have to pay expenses.
by CNB