Matt Cilley / Associated Press
The rewards don̢۪t seem to stop coming for Fresno State.
The Bulldogs, who defeated Georgia Tech 40-28 in the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 31, received a payout of $478,000 for its efforts.
Every Division I bowl game has a payout for each team ranging from $300,000 for non-Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games to $17 million for BCS bowl games, according to the NCAA.
The money is normally given directly to the conferences of the participating teams. However, BCS bowls differ slightly for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The WAC gave the Bulldogs $400,000 just for playing in the Humanitarian Bowl. Additionally, the WAC gave Fresno State $78,000 as an airplane charter stipend.
However, that money has not stopped flowing. Fresno State will also receive money because of Hawaii̢۪s BCS bowl appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
Michael Uribes / The Collegian
Fresno State Associate Director of Athletics Paul Ladwig said that the checks from the WAC will not arrive for a couple months.
“We usually hope that the checks come in near the end of the quarter,â€Â Ladwig said.
Senior Associate Commissioner of the WAC Jeff Hurd said that the conference expects to see the funds distributed sometime in the early spring.
“We distribute the revenue at the end of the fiscal year, around June 30,â€Â Hurd said.
When Boise State played in the Fiesta Bowl for the 2006-2007 season, the Broncos received about $5.2 million from the WAC in late June from BCS revenue and WAC sharing revenue. Around $4.5 million was awarded to Boise State for its BCS appearance from the WAC. Hawaii is expected to earn around the same this year.
“Generally speaking, BCS money to the five non-guaranteed conferences is distributed in a different manner than it is for the guaranteed conferences,â€Â Hurd said.
The WAC, Mountain West, Mid-American, Conference USA and the Sun Belt are all conferences that are not guaranteed BCS bids. The conferences that are guaranteed BCS bids, with the full payout going to the conference are the Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East.
The BCS provides a total payment of approximately $9 million annually to the non-guaranteed conferences regardless of if a team from one of the conferences plays in a BCS game. The five non-guaranteed conferences are in a sharing agreement where the BCS money is put into a combined pot.
“Should a team such as Boise State or Hawaii qualify for a BCS game, then approximately another $9 million is added to the total pot for the non-guaranteed conferences,â€Â Hurd said. “It is up to the conferences to determine the sharing formula.â€Â
Hurd said that 70 percent of the BCS money earned by the WAC for Hawaii̢۪s appearance in a BCS bowl will go to Hawaii. The remaining 30 percent is distributed equally between the eight other football teams in the WAC.
Hurd said that Fresno State can expect between $500,000 and $600,000 from BCS revenue, although the amount is still to be determined and is subject to change.
Fresno State earned $559,222 when Boise played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007.
Essentially, the WAC does not receive the $17 million payout that Hawaii earned. Hawaii earned an extra shared $9 million for five conferences.
Ladwig said that the money earned from a bowl appearance goes into a general athletic department budget account. Money from BCS revenue goes into the same account.
The money from the Humanitarian Bowl went into the general athletic account, but the money was quickly used for hotel rooms, equipment and training supplies needed for the trip to the Humanitarian Bowl. While the money goes into the account for all athletics, it realistically does not benefit other sports such as the new women̢۪s swimming/diving or lacrosse teams.
Fresno State, even with a smaller bowl payout than previous years, made sure Bronco Stadium in Boise had a presence of Bulldog red.
“We made budget for the trip to Boise even though we had less money to work with than in previous years,â€Â Ladwig said. “We actually have a small surplus from the Humanitarian Bowl, which is an accomplishment.â€Â