The Wisconsin football team lost an opportunity to play in the $14 million Rose Bowl when it stumbled through the final two games of the season. In the process, UW lost a Big Ten Championship, a Bowl Championship Series appearance and plenty of luster in its 2004 campaign. However, neither the university nor Athletic Department lost a single dime.
\There is the misconception that if you go to the Rose Bowl you get a lot richer and you really don't at all,"" said Steve Malchow, UW-Madison associate athletic director for communications.
Each bowl allocates a specific sum for travel expenses the two participating teams are allowed to use at there own discretion. The rest of the money, more than $12 million of the Rose Bowl payout and nearly half the Outback Bowl money goes directly into the Big Ten Conference's bank account, according to Jeff Allen, spokesperson for the Tournament of Roses. It is then divided up equally between all 11 members of the Big Ten.
""Whatever ends up in the pot, so to speak, at the end of the day is then typically divided up between all the schools in the conference, whether you won all your games or went 0-11, you still share equally,"" said Mike Schulze, the Football Bowl Association marketing & public relations chair.
UW-Madison's share of the estimated $18.5 million the Big Ten Conference will receive goes directly toward the Athletic Department. This money goes toward a portion of the $60 million budget that UW-Madison has previously allocated in their revenue budget pot.
""You know you can count on the fact that you are going to get bowl revenues whether you go undefeated or don't win a game,"" Malchow said. ""It's a stabilizing force within our budget.""
UW-Madison will receive a separate $1.4 million from the Outback Bowl for team and university expenses throughout the bowl week. That money covers things from travel to and from the game for the players the staff and the band, meals in Tampa Bay, and other amenities.
The only additional money the UW football team could have received was an additional $500,000 more in bowl expenses that the Rose Bowl offers compared to the Outback Bowl.
""Every site is different,"" Malchow said. ""Sometimes it could be the difference of one or two day length story. Another thing, a team breakfast, say, in Pasadena, is a little more pricey than a place like Nashville.""
One of the small ways teams can make additional money on the side is through fans who purchase merchandise. Universities can gain revenue through these outlets and in most cases the more prestigious bowl game a program is participating in, the more likely a large quantity of merchandise will be sold.
""The one piece that can go up and down is merchandising,"" Malchow said. ""If you don't go to any bowl you are obviously selling no merchandise. If you go to the Rose Bowl people get caught up in the moment and buy T-shirts, coffee mugs and all that stuff. But even that's only around $100,000, its not like $10 million. It's the one piece that can fluctuate.\
