From BCS to Cotton Bowl
BY Staff Reports
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
12/04/12 at 3:41 AM
So how much did Oklahoma and the Big 12 Conference lose when the Sooners didn't get selected to play in a BCS bowl?
About $480,000 per school, since the league splits bowl revenue evenly.
The current BCS rules stipulate the following:
- The net share for the automatic-qualifying team from each AQ conference will be approximately $23.6 million.
- The share for each team selected at-large by one of the bowls will be $6.2 million.
Kansas State earned the $23.6 million after being the Big 12's representative in the BCS. If OU had been picked for the Sugar Bowl as an at-large selection, the Big 12 would have received an additional $6.2 million.
Since the conference had nine bowl qualifiers and only eight bowl tie-ins, the ninth school went to a bowl not linked to the league; in this case, it was Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl to face Tulsa. The Cyclones' $1.4 million payday - unbudgeted since only eight bowls (including the Cotton Bowl) were secure - helps offset the BCS loss a bit.
Take the $6.2 million (second BCS bowl bid guarantee), subtract $1.4 million (Liberty Bowl guarantee) and divide by 10. That is where you get $480,000 per school.
