Published: May 14, 2008 02:18 am            

Reaping the benefits

Big East ties should earn WVU $7 million

MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University’s affiliation with the Big East Conference should be worth more than $7 million this season, thanks in part to successful and prolonged seasons in football and men’s basketball.

Associate Athletic Director for Finance Russ Sharp said Monday WVU will receive $5,305,495 from the conference for football and about $2 million for “non-football” sports.

The football income includes $2 million in base revenue and a check deposited into the university’s state account earlier this month for $2,425,600 in bowl revenue. WVU received $2 million for winning the conference and participating in the Fiesta Bowl plus $200 per mile for traveling to and from the game.

The remaining income total of $880,495 was generated by the team’s leading role in the Big East’s television package. The Big East began its new television contract in 2007 and it expires in 2013. The base amount and the television total are to be distributed as part of the league’s revenue sharing.

“We think it’s a very good financial plan,” Sharp said. “For the eight football schools, there had been some years back in the Miami era when the payouts were bigger for winning the league. Back then, it may have been as high as $4 million. Times have changed, but it’s still a good plan. You’re rewarded for being successful and, thankfully, we’ve been successful.”

In 2003-04, the last year Miami and Virginia Tech were in the Big East and one year before Boston College followed to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the average all-sports payout was $6,794,029.

The Big East’s BCS bowl team gets the top prize among the football schools, though WVU actually will take a loss of $1,070,272 after spending $3,495,872.

The Sun Bowl/Gator Bowl team receives $1.5 million and teams playing in the Meineke, International and PapaJohns.com bowls receive $1 million.

WVU also had a conference-high 35 “units” for televised games with each unit being worth $25,157. Sharp said conference school received five units for a primetime or Championship Saturday game on ABC or ESPN, four units for an afternoon conference or nonconference game on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 and three units for a nonconference road game on ESPN or ESPN2.

WVU got three units for Marshall on ESPN2 and Maryland on ESPN, four units for East Carolina and South Florida on ESPN2, Rutgers and Connecticut on ABC and Louisville and Cincinnati on ESPN and five units for the Pitt game on ESPN.

Rutgers had 28 units followed by South Florida (23), Louisville (21), Cincinnati (16), Connecticut (16), Pitt (12) and Syracuse (eight).

Sharp said the exact amount of money from the other sports is not determined, but WVU projects around $2 million, an increase on the $1.6 million last year when WVU received the base fee of $375,000 and about $819,000 in revenue tied into performances by the Big East’s men’s basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament.

However, WVU didn’t participate in the NCAA Tournament last season and was one of a record-tying eight Big East teams to play this season. Additionally, the NIT championship, the wealth of returning players and the profile of coach Bob Huggins got WVU on television more in conference play this season. That, combined with televised games against Auburn and Oklahoma in non-conference play, should increase the revenue for men’s basketball and the other sports.

“We make what we think is a reasonable projection of things we know and a percentage increase for things we don’t know,” Sharp said. “We’re not going to go and build a budget on things we hope might happen. We build a budget on what we’re pretty certain is going to happen.”

Sharp said the real figure is usually available at the Big East meetings, which are at the end of this month. The revenue sharing checks typically go out at the end of the fiscal year in June.

“It’s usually a little stressful,” he said. “You’re looking around for it. ‘Where’s the Fed Ex guy?’”

        

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