The $1 billion college football bowl bill
Northern Illinois, which made an unexpected run to the Orange Bowl through a Mid-American Conference championship, spent about $7.1 million on its football program in 2011-12. Its Orange Bowl opponent, Florida State, spent more than three times as much: $22,052,228.
That's one of many facts that comes from analyzing the 2011-12 athletic department and football finances of the 2012 bowl teams. In all, 68 of the 70 teams (excluding Army and Navy, which aren't required to report figures) spent a combined $1.084 billion last year to help build their programs into contenders for these bowl bids, according to U.S. Department of Education figures.
The money earned is even more staggering. The same 68 teams took in a combined $3.066 billion in football-related revenue in 2011-12. That was 58 percent of those schools' total athletic department revenue for the year.
Some are on equal ground. Minnesota ($16,177,355) spent almost exactly the same amount on football as Texas Tech ($16,202,114), its opponent in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Others are not. Washington ($25,368,852) spent 197 percent more on football than MAACO Bowl opponent Boise State ($8,537,612).
Find these and other financial statistics about the 2012 bowl teams in this searchable database compiled by Cox Media Group Ohio:
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2012 Bowl Schedule | |||
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Date | Bowl | Matchup/Result | Time (TV) |
Dec. 15 | New Mexico Bowl | Arizona 49, Nevada 48 | Â |
Dec. 15 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Utah State 41, Toledo 15 | Â |
Dec. 20 | Poinsettia Bowl | BYU 23, San Diego State 6 | |
Dec. 21 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | Central Florida 38, Ball State 17 | |
Dec. 22 | New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana-Lafayette 43, East Carolina 34 | |
Dec. 22 | MAACO Bowl | Boise State 28, Washington 26 | |
Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | SMU 43, Fresno State 10 | |
Dec. 26 | Little Caesars Pizza Bowl | Central Michigan 24, Western Kentucky 21 | |
Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | San Jose State 29, Bowling Green 20 | |
Dec. 27 | Belk Bowl | Cincinnati 48, Duke 34 | |
Dec. 27 | Holiday Bowl | Baylor 49, UCLA 26 | |
Dec. 28 | Independence Bowl | Ohio 45, Louisiana-Monroe 14 | |
Dec. 28 | Russell Athletic Bowl | Virginia Tech 13, Rutgers 10 | |
Dec. 28 | Meineke Car Care Bowl | Texas Tech 34, Minnesota 31 | |
Dec. 29 | Armed Forces Bowl | Rice 33, Air Force 14 | |
Dec. 29 | Fight Hunger Bowl | Arizona State 62, Navy 28 | Â |
Dec. 29 | Pinstripe Bowl | Syracuse 38, West Virginia 14 | |
Dec. 29 | Alamo Bowl | Texas 31, Oregon State 27 | |
Dec. 29 | Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | Michigan State 17, TCU 16 | |
Dec. 31 | Music City Bowl | Vanderbilt 38, North Carolina State 24 | |
Dec. 31 | Sun Bowl | Georgia Tech 21, USC 7 | |
Dec. 31 | Liberty Bowl | Tulsa 31, Iowa State 17 | |
Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | Clemson 25, LSU 24 | |
Jan. 1 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Oklahoma State 58, Purdue 14 | |
Jan. 1 | Gator Bowl | Northwestern 34, Mississippi State 20 | |
Jan. 1 | Capital One Bowl | Georgia 45, Nebraska 31 | |
Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | South Carolina 33, Michigan 28 | |
Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Stanford 20, WIsconsin 14 | |
Jan. 1 | Orange Bowl | Florida State 31, Northern Illinois 10 | |
Jan. 2 | Sugar Bowl | Louisville 33, Florida 23 | |
Jan. 3 | Fiesta Bowl | Oregon 35, Kansas State 17 | |
Jan. 4 | Cotton Bowl | Texas A&M 41, Oklahoma 13 | |
Jan. 5 | BBVA Compass Bowl | Mississippi 38, Pittsburgh 17 | |
Jan. 6 | GoDaddy.com Bowl | Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 | |
Jan. 7 | BCS National Championship | Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14 |
-- Story and graphics by Kyle Nagel, staff writer