Group of 5 college football programs could take a huge financial hit if powerhouse teams cancel non-conference games.
Group of 5 teams, often viewed as mid-major college football programs, take money games every year to help boost their athletic departments. That means a big school pays them to play. The big team gets an easy game, and the G5 team gets a big paycheck. It works out well for everyone. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
However, the coronavirus pandemic has put that gravy train at risk. According to the Associated Press, G5 teams stand to lose millions of dollars if the games don’t happen.
For example, UMass will reportedly make $1.9 million to play Auburn, and the total amount of money games in 2020 is somewhere in the range of $65 million, according to the same report.
Without those money games, G5 athletic departments could be in huge trouble.
Another day goes by, and we have more bad news in the world of sports thanks to coronavirus. I don’t think your average fan understands just how bad this could get for some programs.
Without football, most universities are screwed. That’s just the reality of the situation. Football pays for everything else.
Without money games, G5 teams are going to struggle to fund their athletic departments and teams. Given what we’ve seen of the football season so far, I think there’s a good chance some of these games get canceled.
What happens if that occurs? That’s a great question, and the answer is that I honestly have no clue.
All I know is we need football and we need it ASAP!