And The Point Of This Was What?

The Rutgers University football team found out the hard way that winning a second-tier bowl bid isn’t always the financial windfall it’s cracked out to be …

In fact, the Scarlet Knights athletic department has admitted that the team’s thrilling, come-from-behind win over N.C. State last December actually cost the school money.

$184,000, to be precise.

From NJ.com:

The costs of the Papajohns.com Bowl included $282,610 to send 205 members of the Rutgers football team and staff to Birmingham for six days; $165,799 for 187 members of the band and cheerleading squads, who went for three days, and $28,950 for 21 members of the faculty, administration and athletics department. Food and lodging expenses totaled $263,334.

The bowl game triggered $268,365 in performance bonuses and other compensation for the head coach Greg Schiano and his staff. Rutgers was obligated as well to buy 10,000 tickets to the game, although it sold less than half of them, absorbing $214,000 in tickets.

Bowl expenses totaled $1.17 million on top of $1.18 million in expense allowances from the Big East conference, with the university providing another $200,500 in support for the band and cheerleaders.

University officials said if they had left the band and cheerleaders at home, they would have made about $16,000.

Which is still basically a wash.

Of course, there is always the prestige associated with defeating an Atlantic Coast Conference team in the Papa Johns.com bowl, which let’s face it – you really can’t put a price tag on.