CBS sports has the Gophers Bowl game at...

There are also the travel, food and lodging expenses for the two schools and traveling parties that number in the 100s if you include the players, coaches, cheer teams, bands, administration, boosters and families. In a typical year, teams travel several days in advance and there are practices at separate facilities, fan events, team events, etc. If there was a desire to hold the games during the pandemic, they could treat them more like road games and travel a day or two beforehand to eliminate several days of expenses, cut traveling parties to the minimum number required for game day, etc. With no fans or a reduced number of fans, they could also cut out expenses related to entertaining those folks. This, of course, also greatly reduces the benefit to the host community, but if the goal is to justify having a game to put on TV, that's of lesser concern.
And the travel/lodging expenses are usually reimbursed by the conference, I believe. At least in the Big Ten I think this was true. I don't think those are direct costs to the bowl.

You make good points about downsizing all the "hullabaloo" leading up to the game. Maybe no "swag bags" for players, this year?
 


There are also the travel, food and lodging expenses for the two schools and traveling parties that number in the 100s if you include the players, coaches, cheer teams, bands, administration, boosters and families. In a typical year, teams travel several days in advance and there are practices at separate facilities, fan events, team events, etc. If there was a desire to hold the games during the pandemic, they could treat them more like road games and travel a day or two beforehand to eliminate several days of expenses, cut traveling parties to the minimum number required for game day, etc. With no fans or a reduced number of fans, they could also cut out expenses related to entertaining those folks. This, of course, also greatly reduces the benefit to the host community, but if the goal is to justify having a game to put on TV, that's of lesser concern.
I believe most bowl games provide a flat stipend to each conference for travel et al., and the conference then doles those out to eligible schools accordingly. Fan attendance obviously sweetens the pot for organizers, and perhaps many have agreements with local governments to chip in due to the tourism boost. Without the latter two sources of revenue, it becomes a simple math problem for each bowl committee: do the TV rights for each game pay more than the expenses (probably just facility rental and team stipends). If so, the game will be played. If not, I doubt it -- unless each conference kicks in.
 

Would be fitting for Gophs to play in Rose Bowl in front of zero fans......I hear Alanis in my head.
Traffic .. jaMMMMM .. when-you're-already-late ........ nooo smoooOOOKKKINGgggg sign .. on your cigarette break ...... it's like TEN-THOUSAND spooooons .. when all you need is-a knife ....... like meeting the man your dreams ..... and then meeting his *beautiful* wife ......
 

And the travel/lodging expenses are usually reimbursed by the conference, I believe. At least in the Big Ten I think this was true. I don't think those are direct costs to the bowl.

You make good points about downsizing all the "hullabaloo" leading up to the game. Maybe no "swag bags" for players, this year?
I believe most bowl games provide a flat stipend to each conference for travel et al., and the conference then doles those out to eligible schools accordingly. Fan attendance obviously sweetens the pot for organizers, and perhaps many have agreements with local governments to chip in due to the tourism boost. Without the latter two sources of revenue, it becomes a simple math problem for each bowl committee: do the TV rights for each game pay more than the expenses (probably just facility rental and team stipends). If so, the game will be played. If not, I doubt it -- unless each conference kicks in.
I think the Big Ten is different than other conferences in that the bowl money is pooled, expenses (including certain travel expenses and unsold ticket allotments) are deducted and then the balance is allocated to the schools equally.
 


Ah. Duh. I'm completely forgetting the most important, and most obvious, expense to the bowl games: the payouts to the conferences of the teams playing.

But thinking the TV deals they have (almost ubiquitously with ABC/ESPN) cover that? Not sure.
 

They may own the broadcast rights.
No ... ESPN owns and operates them.

As a result, more lower-tier bowl games have been picked up on the cheap by for-profit companies such as ESPN Events – altering the complexion and business model of an industry that previously was exclusively run by local non-profit civic organizations that promoted tourism.


Here's a list of the bowls ESPN owns and operates.

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We're going to the Mayonnaise Bowl? How did I miss this?
 

Unless I missed something since the Big Ten's release, they dropped the Gator Bowl starting this postseason. So it won't be a step up, for us.


How dare you. It is a sin to eat a hamburger without mayo. And miracle whip is satan.

Disgusting. Mayo is the devil's work. Miracle Whip is equally terrible.
 






Would be fitting for Gophs to play in Rose Bowl in front of zero fans......I hear Alanis in my head.
I’ll be there. Might have to pretend to be a stadium worker, but I’ll be there. Worst case scenario is I’m watching the game from the parking lot, listening to the roar of the piped in crowd.
 







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