College Football Bowl Season Proves That It Really IS All About The Benjamins

by Nick Weaver - BlockONation Contributor

Since it is bowl season, I figured would show a summary of what the Buckeye football program does for the rest of the athletic programs.

The Ohio State football program brought in $60,837,342 last year alone.

The program spent $34,373,342 last year, meaning the University banked $26,463,498!!!

That put them 17th on the most profitable list out of 50. That revenue includes media, ticket sales, and memorabilia (individual player memorabilia sales and tattoos-for-autographs excluded).

The Big Ten Network pays $19.3 million annually for football and basketball games combined. This figure is a few million less because the Buckeyes had one less home game this year than last year.

The football program supports 36 sports programs. It is broken down by 17 women’s programs, 16 men’s programs, and 3 coed programs. Each of those programs is fully funded by scholarships that are allowed by the NCAA. That is 1,076 student athletes who reap the benefits of the football program.

When it is all said and done, the athletic program only shows a $93,678 profit. This profit doesn’t even cover all the other expenses associated with the athletic programs.

Operations cost another $40 million, with over $5 million going back to the university to pay for the athletic department’s share of overhead, which includes insurance, payroll services, purchasing and accounting.

Where does the rest of the money come from? The university gets grants, endowments, and the money given to the “Buckeye Club”.

This is why bowl season is so important to college football and the universities.

The bowl payouts range from serious money (tens-of-millions) from the BCS games combined, down to "chump change" (one million or less per) in the nobody bowls.

That is why it will be a hard sell to ever see a playoff system in lieu of bowl games.

There are 35 bowl games this year with 70 teams in the competition and a lot of money to be earned, whereas a playoff system would likely only involve four, or eight, or 12 or 16 teams at most.

As they say, money talks -- always.


Follow Nick on Twitter @nick_weav

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Like Autographs? Join the BlockONation College Football Bowl Mania Group on ESPN and Follow us on Twitter

Hey Buckeye fans, it's that time again to match wits and strut your college football knowledge in Bowl Mania, 2010. It's free and it's for any and all Buckeye fans!

Test your bowl pick'em skills against other Ohio State fans by clicking on the bowl mania logo below to join the group!

The group is open to all OSU fans, so invite all the Buckeye fans you know and see who knows really knows their college football!


Picks can be made starting Sunday night as soon as the ESPN bowl special announcing the pairings ends. It airs at 9PM right after the final BCS standings are revealed.

So join the group, invite your friends on Facebook, Twitter, AOL, etc, and let's find out who is the cream that rises to the top!

P.S., the person with the winning entry at the end of this years bowl mania will win a certified authentic autograph from former Buckeye punter A.J. Trapasso!



Also, if you have not done so as of yet, follow us on Twitter to have a chance at winning an autographed Ohio State football once we hit 1,000 followers (984 and counting as of this moment). More details to come!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL & GO BUCKS!


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College Football 2009: How the North Conquered the South Once Again

Written By BT
BleacherReport.com Senior College Football Writer / Featured Columnist


The War Between the States, also known as the Civil War or the War of Northern Aggression, has been over for 145 years.

Still, there are those in both geographic areas who continue to follow the adventures of only schools in a specific state, conference, or region.

Fans do take issue with teams across the state or throughout conference affiliation, but any criticism of league or region brethren is often met with resistance.

Less than two weeks ago a friendly discussion erupted among several Bleacher Report writers concerning the projected outcome of the Miami-Wisconsin bowl game.

Ohio State and Penn State fans rose to champion the Badger cause and a long time Florida State supporter rose in defense of the Hurricanes.

The conversation ended with each side claiming the other doesn't understand the skill and coaching ability available in the region they live in.

Fascinating to read, but what causes this sudden "Mother Hen" feeling during the bowl season? During the year no Buckeye or Nittany Lion fan would bother to speak on behalf of the Badgers, and no Seminole fan would ever rise up in defense of Miami.

Could it be that all too often the Bowls pit the "North" versus the "South"? Thus generating a territorial conflict among supposedly separate allegiances?

Perhaps that is the intent of the match-makers when they schedule so many intersectional battles with the conference tie-ins to a specific bowl game.

Southern football fans are an interesting lot. Many feel it is their duty to support the teams of their region against opponents from other areas.

For those unfamiliar with the terms being used, let's explain that "the South" is the 11 states of the old Confederacy stretching from Texas to Virginia.

In addition, since Maryland and Kentucky are below the Mason-Dixon line, they account for the remainder of the region.

The South is a multi-BCS conference region with a dozen teams from the SEC, 11 of the 12 in the ACC, four of the Big 12, and two from the Big East in the form of USF and Louisville.

Those are 29 BCS programs to choose from, not to mention the two in the BCS Title Game.

Add to this several teams from the Sun Belt, Conference USA, Mountain West(TCU), and WAC (Louisiana Tech), and the Southland is well represented in the pigskin market.

It seems Southerners do not consider Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or Tulsa as "northern". In fact, no one seems to know what to call them.

So, how well did this avalanche of southern schools perform in the 34 bowls?

In six bowls both teams were from the south so they do not factor in this equation. These clashes include the BCS Title Game along with the Independence Bowl, Music City Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Liberty Bowl, and the New Orleans Bowl.

The Cotton Bowl found Ole Miss beating Oklahoma State, the Sun Bowl provided the opportunity for Oklahoma to defeat Stanford. As stated earlier, there is really no logical way to approach the Oklahoma teams, so let us put them aside for the time being.

In all, 15 Bowl games matched southern teams directly against those from outside the South. The following is a specific listing of those bowl games, along with the outcome.


Bowls Won by the South

Gator—Florida State over West Virginia

Alamo —Texas Tech over Michigan State

Sugar—Florida over Cincinnati

Outback—Auburn over Northwestern

Hawaii—Southern Methodist over Nevada

International—South Florida over Northern Illinois


Bowls Won by the North

Papa John—Connecticut over South Carolina

Capital—Penn State over LSU

Champ—Wisconsin over Miami

Orange—Iowa over Georgia Tech

Fiesta—Boise State over Texas Christian

Meineke—Pittsburgh over NC

St. Petersburg—Rutgers over Central Florida

Armed Forces—The Air Force Academy over Houston

GMAC—Central Michigan over Troy


That is a 9-6 win for the North over the South.

A case could be made for Ole Miss in some corners but, that would certainly require dismissing the Oklahoma win.

The best the South can come out of this scenario is a wash for the Cotton and a win in the Sun or eliminate Oklahoma and count Ole Miss as a win.

Nine to six or nine to seven, the South loses again.

You don't believe we had the wrong teams in the BCS Title Game, do you?

Bowl Mania: 34 Games, 34 Short But Sweet Predictions

by HD Handshoe
Founder—Block-O-Nation



Here's our take on this seasons 34 bowl games. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section.

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December 19, 2009—4:30PM
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Fresno State (8-4) vs. Wyoming (6-6)

Projected Winner — Fresno State

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December 19, 2009—8:00PM
St. Petersburg, Florida

Rutgers (8-4) vs. UCF (8-4)

Projected Winner — UCF

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December 20, 2009—8:30PM
New Orleans, Louisiana

Southern Mississippi (7-5) vs. Middle Tennessee State (9-3)

Projected Winner — Southern Mississippi

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December 22, 2009—8:00PM
Las Vegas, Nevada

No. 18 Oregon State (8-4) vs. No. 14 BYU (10-2)

Projected Winner — Oregon State

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December 23, 2009—8:00PM
San Diego, California

No. 23 Utah (9-3) vs. California (8-4)

Projected Winner — California

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December 24, 2009—8:00PM
Honolulu, Hawaii

Nevada (8-4) vs. Southern Methodist (7-5)

Projected Winner — Nevada

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December 26, 2009—1:00PM
Detroit, Michigan

Marshall (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-4)

Projected Winner — Ohio

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December 26, 2009—4:30PM
Charlotte, North Carolina

No. 17 Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)

Projected Winner — Pittsburgh

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December 26, 2009—8:30PM
San Francisco, California

Boston College (8-4) vs. No. 24 USC (8-4)

Projected Winner — USC

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December 27, 2009—8:30PM
Nashville, Tennessee

Clemson (8-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5)

Projected Winner — Clemson

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December 28, 2009—5:00PM
Shreveport, Louisiana

Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Georgia (7-5)

Projected Winner — Georgia

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December 29, 2009—4:30PM
Washington, D.C.

UCLA (6-6) vs. Temple (9-3)

Projected Winner — Temple

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December 29, 2009—8:00PM
Orlando, Florida

No. 15 Miami-Fla (9-3) vs. No. 25 Wisconsin (9-3)

Projected Winner — Miami

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December 30, 2009—4:30PM
Boise, Idaho

Idaho (7-5) vs. Bowling Green (7-5)

Projected Winner — Bowling Green

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December 30, 2009—8:00PM
San Diego, California

No. 20 Arizona (8-4) vs. No. 22 Nebraska (9-4)

Projected Winner — Nebraska

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December 31, 2009—12:00PM
Fort Worth, Texas

Houston (10-3) vs. Air Force (7-5)

Projected Winner — Houston

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December 31, 2009—2:00PM
El Paso, Texas

Oklahoma (7-5) vs. No. 21 Stanford (8-4)

Projected Winner — Stanford

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December 31, 2009—3:30PM
Houston, Texas

Navy (9-4) vs. Missouri (8-4)

Projected Winner — Navy

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December 31, 2009—6:00PM
Tempe, Arizona

Minnesota (6-6) vs. Iowa State (6-6)

Projected Winner — Minnestoa

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December 31, 2009—7:30PM
Atlanta, Georgia

No. 11 Virginia Tech (9-3) vs. Tennessee (7-5)

Projected Winner — Virginia Tech

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January 1, 2010—11:00AM
Tampa, Florida

Northwestern (8-4) vs. Auburn (7-5)

Projected Winner — Auburn

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January 1, 2010—1:00PM
Jacksonville, Florida

Florida State (6-6) vs. No. 16 West Virginia (9-3)

Projected Winner — West Virginia

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January 1, 2010—1:00PM
Orlando, Florida

No. 12 Penn State (10-2) vs. No. 13 LSU (9-3)

Projected Winner — Penn State

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January 1, 2010—4:30PM
Pasadena, California

No. 7 Oregon (10-2) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (10-2)

Projected Winner — Ohio State

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January 1, 2010—8:30PM
New Orleans, Louisiana

No. 3 Cincinnati (12-0) vs. No. 5 Florida (12-1)
Projected Winner — Florida

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January 2, 2010—12:00PM
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

South Florida (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5)
Projected Winner — South Florida

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January 2, 2010—2:00PM
Birmingham, Alabama

Connecticut (7-5) vs. South Carolina (7-5)
Projected Winner — South Carolina

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January 2, 2010—2:00PM
Arlington, Texas

No. 19 Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Mississippi (8-4)
Projected Winner — Oklahoma State

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January 2, 2010—5:30PM
Memphis, Tennessee

Arkansas (7-5) vs. East Carolina (9-4)
Projected Winner — Arkansas

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January 2, 2010—9:00PM
San Antonio, Texas

Michigan State (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (8-4)
Projected Winner — Texas Tech

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January 4, 2010—8:00PM
Glendale, Arizona

No. 4 TCU (12-0) vs. No. 6 Boise State (13-0)
Projected Winner — Boise State

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January 5, 2010—8:00PM
Miami, Florida

No. 9 Georgia Tech (11-2) vs. No. 10 Iowa (10-2)
Projected Winner — Georgia Tech

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January 6, 2010—7:00PM
Mobile, Alabama

Central Michigan (11-2) vs. Troy (9-3)
Projected Winner — Central Michigan

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January 7, 2010—8:00PM
Pasadena, California

No. 1 Alabama (13-0) vs. No. 2 Texas (13-0)
Projected Winner — Texas


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No. 4 TCU vs. No. 6 Boise State: Further Proof The BCS Conspiracy Theory is Real

by HD Handshoe
Founder—Block-O-Nation



For the first time ever, two non-automatic-qualifiers (TCU and Boise State) have earned bids to play in a BCS bowl in the same season.

That is progress I suppose, and great for each of those programs and their players, but it's not still not enough.

Why might you ask?

The problem is, the BCS decided to pair them up against each other in the Fiesta Bowl, rather than to have each face a "traditional power" in separate bowls.

Now, don't get me wrong—I love college football, and a No. 4 vs. No. 6 matchup is generally a great thing, but not in this case.

This mid-major pairing was a major letdown. The BCS really dropped the ball here.

No matter who wins, the question will still remain: Just how good is TCU, or Boise State really...

Personally, I think the BCS does not like its' automatic-qualifier conference teams to look bad, and Utah made Alabama, and the SEC, look very bad in the 2008-2009 Sugar Bowl.

I believe that because of that game, this year the BCS did not want to take any chances of having any of its' other supposedly superior-to-the-mid-major-programs teams meet a similar fate as the Tide.

I'll watch the TCU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl, and it could be one of the top bowl games of this postseason. I just wonder how many others will miss it because it's two mid-majors, and because they played against each other last year in the Poinsettia bowl.

Ultimately, the BCS is about making money and they could have certainly increased their bowl revenue significantly in my opinion if they weren't trying to protect the teams from the big six conferences.

Here's how the BCS bowl games should have been paired up:




January 1, 2010
No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 8 Ohio State




January 1, 2010
No. 4 TCU vs. No. 5 Florida




January 5, 2010
No. 3 Cincinnati vs. No. 6 Boise State




January 5, 2010
No. 9 Georgia Tech vs. No. 10 Iowa




National Championship-January 7, 2010
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Texas


Those are the games I wish I could watch this bowl season, but the BCS monopoly avoided those pairings to save itself.

Just imagine the push for change if TCU thumped Florida or Cincinnati, or if Boise State blew out Cincinnati or Florida.

The BCS conspiracy is real, alive and well, and exists for the BCS like the primal instincts of an animal in the wild, with one main purpose in mind—self preservation.


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