Did WSU lose money by going to the final four?

[Blackmag]

i would take losing money every year then!

[kochHead]

Ummm, lost money? I think we are getting a nice ROI...

[pogo]

nn

[WstateU]

"I'm lovin' it!"

[I_Vector_Wu]

http://www.southwest.com/html/travel-tools/charter.html

The team flew to ATL on a SWA B737(IIRC), assuming no discounts that round trip probably ran about $80-100k.
They also flew to SLC and LAX on another chartered B737. Don't know who paid the bill, but for all their hard work it was nice to see the team travel direct and avoid commercial flights. :)

[RoyalShock]

Don't forget the pep band and spirit squad. Travel, room, board, and in the case of the pep-band a per-game stipend.

[1979Shocker]

Final Four trip’s value goes beyond bottom line

Wichita State isn’t going to decline invitations to the NCAA Tournament because of red ink.

A recent blog post at Forbes.com is headlined: “Shocking: How Wichita State Lost Money With Trip To Final Four.” The article details that expenses from last season’s run to the Final Four ultimately cost WSU money. Expenses grew 16 percent to $5.4 million, according to the numbers used in the blog from the U.S. Department of Education’s website, because of travel and performance bonuses.

While those figures are accurate, WSU officials regard the information as incomplete. While WSU went about $500,000 over its men’s basketball budget, the athletic department doesn’t view last March and April as a money pit.

“The article was correct,” said Rege Klitzke, WSU associate athletic director for business operations. “We have to look at it more in a long-term view. The benefits of the Final Four are going to pay off over a long picture of time.”

Klitzke also said WSU learned that how it fills out the Department of Education’s reporting form can change the perception. WSU has entered NCAA reimbursements for traveling parties as a lump sum, not by specific sport. The NCAA pays for pep bands, cheerleaders and a limited number of people in a traveling party with the team. When the MVC hands out its share of NCAA Tournament money, participating teams receive a larger amount to help cover expenses.

“In the future, we will probably start breaking out travel expenses into specific sport,” he said. “Had we done it that way, it would have reduced the men's loss by about $200,000.”

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/09/327...#storylink=cpy