I MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010 NBA New York at Philadelphia 7 p.m., CSN Detroit at Boston 8 p.m., ESPN L.A. Lakers at Golden State 10:30 p.m., ESPN Boston at New Jersey 7 p.m., Versus To read full stories psucollegian.com Lions still winless after weekend loss Sloppy conditions didn't help the Lions' chances in a 7-4 loss to Rutgers, dropping their record to 0-5. Bucci's five goals pace PSU in win The senior midfielder fin ished with six points against Delaware. No. 6 Penn State upset by No. 9 Cal A lack of preparation due to the travel schedule con tributed to the loss in California. Lions tie for third in year's first tourney Penn State's tie for third ccmes despite leading the table during the competition's first two days. PSU qualifies max for championships The Nittany Lions qualified a maximum of 12 fencers for this year's NCAA champi onships. Tomlinson, N.Y. Jets agree to 2-year deal LaDainian Tomlinson is bolt ing for the Big Apple. The New York Jets signed the former Chargers running back to a two-year contract Sunday, adding an aging star to the NFLs top-ranked rushing offense last season. Tomlinson's agent, Tom Condon, confirmed the signing Sunday night. The Jets had not yet announced the deal. Howard-Pujols swap sort of makes sense The Phillies and Cardinals swapping sluggers doesn't make sense realistically. But when you think about it, the rumored trade of Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols would kind of work out for both teams. After all, Pujols would fit in with the Phils' recent moves for big-name players, echoing their virtual switch of Cliff Lee for Roy Halladay. As for the Cards, they know all too well how well Howard plays in his home town of St. Louis. That said, there's no way this deal happens outside of fantasy baseball. u;;AA L4A-.4:: 16A., 4. Q: When was the last time Arizona did not make the NCAA tournament? :] (UII II!j1 i'll Former Penn State running back Tony Hunt (26) escapes Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school Youngstown State's Bob Perez in a 2006 game at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Limns open the 2010 season against the Penguins on Sept. 4. 17 .44 4 1 '1 • :‘* FCS foes help fund athletics By Quinn Roberts and Jocelyn Syrstad COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITERS Some people say college football has recently turned into a busi ness. However, the first "guarantee" game for Penn State football can be dated back to 1887 against Dickinson College. According to Lou Prato's book, "The Penn State Football Encyclopedia," the Nittany Lions paid Dickinson $5O to play at Penn State on Nov. 22 of that year. Though guarantee games were not common practice then, nearly every college football team partici pates in them now. These guarantee games contin ue to have an effect on Penn State athletics and its opponents. This coming season, the Lions will face off against Youngstown State, which they last played in 2006, when they paid the Penguins $350,000 to play at Beaver Stadium. "It is all a balance, - Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said. - You want to have a schedule that is fair and challenging to your team, is attractive to your fan base and helps balance the budget. "That budget not only repre sents football, but our entire department because we are a self supporting university." Yet, for the Penguins, the second time around means a heftier pay check Penn State has never paid a team more than $BOO,OOO for a guarantee game, Curley said, with its usual range somewhere between $200,000 and $BOO,OOO. For Penn State, the amount of money it pays for guarantee games pales in comparison to the total amount of money it makes per game. ACcording to Curley, depending on whom it plays, Penn State nets between $4-$4.5 million through tickets sold, concessions and park ing. Forbes magazine claims Penn State's football program has a value of $99 million, which is the third-highest value, behind Texas and Notre Dame. Laying out the season During a season, that specific amount of revenue grossed during home games has a direct effect on Penn State's sports budget for the entire year. Curley said this year's budget reached upwards of $95 million, with nearly half coming from foot ball. The budget supports all 29 Penn State varsity teams, which is the second-highest in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State's 36. "We are one of the larger schools jr 4 4*.• '4l • , ti , . D ',/ ' .. k 116.1 : / \ ...1 / . 0 ' • i El . / S. ,' , in regard to the number of sports season game in April that same we sponsor, so we have more bills year, which was implemented dur to pay, and football is the primary ing the 2006 season. revenue source for that," Curley "We are expected to play at least said. "It becomes very important one a year and we understand to fill up Beaver Stadium to the that," Eastern Illinois coach Bob overall budget process and other Spoo said Oct. 10, after his team Penn State teams." lost to Penn State, 52-3. Every year, Penn State sched- "This was it for this year. We go ules at least seven home games to to lowa next year and create enough rev- Northwestern the enue to meet the year after that, so annual budget. we anticipate it Fewer games $ 95 m and hope we can would be detrimen- be competitive." tal to Penn State Penn State's athletic budget Before 2005, athletics. FBS programs "We need the money from these were only allowed to count victo home games and couldn't do it ries against FCS opponents once with just six," said associate athlet- every four years. is director for football Fran Ganter. "Guarantee games have "We would probably have to cut a increased dramatically over the sport if we didn't have that seventh years," Curley said. Some of us game." thought the dollar amount increas- While Penn es would slow State has down a bit, but bounced $44.5m we haven't seen - around the ideathat happen. We of playing two have seen it home games Net profit per home game increase dra and one away matically." game against the same opponent Both of these new rules meant or playing a home-and-home Penn State would have an easier series, its ability to get seven home route to winning six games and games isn't as certain with those becoming bowl eligible while also options. making more revenue with an Every year, the goal of the Penn extra game at home. State football program is to have "Having a 6-6 record used to be seven home called mediocrity. games to bal ance the budget. Occasionally, Penn State has the luxury of playing eight home games a season, which occurred in 2002 and 2009. However, the flip side is Penn State's head coach and peo six home genes a season, which ple were calling for him to be happened i 2001 and 2004. fired." The general trend, which was shown in last season's schedule, Penn State's perspective includes three to four nonconfer- While Penn State sees guaran ence home games, followed by tee games as a benefit to its athlet eight conference is department, many games, home or of its opponents feel away. the same way. Specific non- $2O0 -It is obvious the match ups with teams coming in see Football a financial benefit to Championship 800 playing Penn State. Subdivision (FCS) K However, the gains schools which in go beyond their the past five years Payout to the pocketbooks. have includedFCS teams for "All of the regional Youngstown State, guarantee games and national publici- Eastern Illinois and ty in playing a Penn Coastal Carolina have become a State is great for our school," bigger deal since 2005. Youngstown State athletic director That year, the NCAA passed leg- Ron Strollo said. "Our student-ath islation allowing Football Bowl letes also enjoy playing games at Subdivision (FBS) programs the Penn State, and it helps with our use of one win each year against recruiting in the state." an FCS opponent for bowl eligibili- For many of the athletes at ty. The NCAA Board of Directors schools such as Youngstown State, also voted to add a 12th regular- Akron and Kent State, the trip to rdNow you are get- 3 un 43 airke, get ting rewarded for having a .500 record," Prato valuable lous. said. It's ridicu football program, according to - Joe Paterno Forbes magazine went 5-5 in his Happy Valley is within hours from their hometowns, enhancing the trip for them. At Akron, the Zips play in front of 31,000 fans. Yet when they make the trek to Happy Valley, they play in front of as many as 107,282 peo ple. This can be a once-in-a-life time experience for the student athletes from these teams. "It's obviously a fantastic envi ronment for our student athletes," Akron athletic director Steve Wistrcill said. "Many like Penn State a lot because they are from Pennsylvania. It's a memorable experience for them. - Even though it is a fun game for the opposing schools, coaches and players alike understand the situa tion they've been put into. After Penn State's 52-3 trounc ing over Eastern Illinois on Oct. 10, Spoo said his players understood the circumstances and that they got their "fannies kicked" but were resilient enough to look ahead to conference play and not dwell on the loss. "We know it's a difficult game to win, but we know Penn State won't embarrass us either," Wistrcill said. ''We know it's not a death march." The teams also understand the difficult game will provide lasting effects to their programs. Youngstown State coach Eric Wolford, who will coach his first collegiate game Sept. 4 against Penn State, says playing at Beaver Stadium helps with recruiting throughout Pennsylvania and other surrounding states. The trip to State College also allows the teams to receive expo sure they wouldn't normally gain while playing at home or against other conference opponents, thanks to the amount of Penn State games televised by ESPN, ABC and the Big Ten Network "It gives them good exposure because most times we will be on television," Curley said. "So if you are a school like Akron or Kent State, you can be on national television or the Big Ten Network, which is in 43 million homes. first season as "From a recruiting standpoint, that is great, as opposed to playing someone where they will not be guaranteed to play on television." For Penn State, it is also appeal ing to bring in such schools because of the close, proximity to central Pennsylvania, Curley said. Since the opposing schools are in nearby states, it is easy for them to get to Penn State on a bus rather than a plane, which would be more costly Wolford, who helps determine Youngstown State's schedule, said the team looks to play schools in a See SCHEDULING, Page 14. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN . . 14 , 4444\ 1 / ' f 4 ' r . 3 . e ....... 0., • i I IP,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers