Ohio Athletics released a report today detailing the football team’s expenditures in relation to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The summary, which has taken more than a month to materialize, details a finalized budget for the six-day trip.
Expenses total $486,682.43, which includes everything from transportation and lodging to championship rings and more than $23,000 worth of miscellaneous costs.
The largest expense of the trip was the trip itself — Ohio’s charter plane cost $215,748.78.
Second to the airfare was lodging expenses, which were $68,204.63. Players sleep two to a room per athletic department standards.
All but $9,722.43 of the final sum was accounted for in bowl revenue, which was $475,000. Ohio received an additional $1,960 from ticket sales.
The necessary funds are drawn from the Athletic Department Post Season Reserve Budget, which was established in 2009 and is included in the university’s General Fee.
There was no cost incurred to the day-to-day operational budget of the athletic department or other university entities.
The press release details several attributes of attending a bowl game. It stated that the university will “generate millions of dollars in exposure” because of the exposure on ESPN, which reaches 95 million homes. Ohio was also able to run its “Promise” commercial during the broadcast free of charge, which is the case for all interscholastic competitions aired on the ESPN family of networks.
The release also touched on the recruiting benefits of playing in a different region of the country and stated that the game “provides the football team with extra practice to improve their talent for next year.”
“Having success nationally by reaching a bowl game enhances the image of Ohio University and Bobcat athletics throughout the country,” the release explained. “The significant exposure received can benefit enrollment, fundraising, campus life and school pride to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.”
