OU is budgeted to have a loss of about $25,800 in expenses from the Camellia Bowl.
Though Ohio University lost at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl on Dec. 19, the game might end up causing another loss financially.
OU is budgeted to have a loss of about $25,800 in expenses from the football bowl game, according to the approved university budget.
Those expenses are about $25,800 more than OU's last bowl game, the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl in 2013, when it broke even with about $470,000 in both revenue and expenses. That year, OU Athletics pulled about $32,600 from its Post Season Opportunity Fund to cover the expenses, which comes from OU's General Fee that students pay, according to a previous Post report.
It is unclear whether the university will pull money from the Post Season Opportunity Fund again this year. Michael Stephens, the senior associate athletic director for external operations, said OU Athletics won't comment on the matter until expenses are finalized.
OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said actual expense reports can typically take a couple months to finalize following the event. The Opportunity Fund was created as part of the General Fee in 2010 to cover postseason expenses, according to a previous Post report.
The university has received approximately $500,000 in "bowl revenue distribution" this year, in addition to $15,000 in ticket revenue and $5,000 from student attendees. Bowl revenue distribution is money the university receives from the Mid-American Conference, Stephens said. Teams participating in the bowls pay into the MAC, and that money is distributed to each team, he said.
That is countered by budgeted expenses, including about $263,300 for air travel, $49,000 in ground transportation and $86,400 in lodging.
The majority of 2013 expenses included approximately $222,800 for the air travel, $56,000 for lodging, $45,000 for meals after arrival and $26,000 for ground transportation. Revenue from the Beef 'O’ Brady's Bowl included $400,000 from bowl revenue distribution and the $32,600 from the Ohio Athletics Post Season Opportunity Fund.
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Stephens said the Camellia Bowl was a good experience for the team even though it lost to Appalachian State University, with a final score of 31-29.
“Our participation in the Raycom Camellia Bowl was a success on many levels,” Stephens said in an email. “While the final score was not in our favor, our student-athletes certainly left it all out on the field and put in a fantastic effort during one of the bowl season’s most entertaining games.”
Stephens said the game attracted 1.9 million viewers on ESPN2, a 73 percent increase from last year’s game. The game was the fifth consecutive Ohio contest that was broadcast by an ESPN network, he said.
“This worldwide exposure provides positive benefits for athletics, alumni relations, university enrollment and school spirit,” Stephens said.
One of those viewers was Brandon Blaha, who said he watched the game at home. While Blaha, a junior studying history, enjoyed the game, he said "a bigger turnout would have been nicer."
OU fans at the game were outnumbered by the Appalachian crowd, and there were fewer attendees than at the 2013 bowl, but Stephens said the turnout was still appreciated.
“(Even with a smaller turnout), fans did their part and were loud and supportive and helped bring additional energy to our team,” Stephens said.
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