Mississippi Southern sells home game with Nebraska

[biteyoudawg]

Southern Miss football fans will be angry to hear that a long-anticipated, 2013 home game against Nebraska has been moved from Hattiesburg to Lincoln. They’ll be even angrier to hear why.

An agreed-upon contract between Cornhuskers AD Tom Osborne and his USM counterpart, Jeff Hammond, states that the Golden Eagles “shall be paid a flat dollar guarantee of $2,125,000” for the venue change. This news broke during the same week that head coach Ellis Johnson was fired following a disastrous 0–12 season.

The cost to USM of buying out his contract: $2.1 million.

Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky reports that Hammond had looked to change the venue of the 2013 Southern Miss-Nebraska game long before Johnson’s firing, as the Golden Eagles athletics department is deep in debt. When it became clear that Johnson had to go after his winless season, the money once earmarked for debt relief went instead to Johnson’s buyout.

It’s the latest example of how cruel a business college sports can be. As well as a reminder that college sports is, in fact, a business.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I posted a link to the Deadspin story about it half an hour ago...

It's buried in the other USM thread though.

 

[slickdawg]

I feel for my niece, she's a freshman at USM, never seen her team win a football game. She's in the band, so now she gets to go to Lincoln, I doubt that was on her list of places to go.

 

[gtowndawg]

Slick, I bet they don't have the money to take the band all the way to Lincoln

so she probably doesn't even get that.

 

[idog]

s'plain to me why they would be angry about this?

Southern Miss football fans will be angry to hear that a long-anticipated, 2013 home game against Nebraska has been moved from Hattiesburg to Lincoln. They’ll be even angrier to hear why.

An agreed-upon contract between Cornhuskers AD Tom Osborne and his USM counterpart, Jeff Hammond, states that the Golden Eagles “shall be paid a flat dollar guarantee of $2,125,000” for the venue change. This news broke during the same week that head coach Ellis Johnson was fired following a disastrous 0–12 season.

The cost to USM of buying out his contract: $2.1 million.

Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky reports that Hammond had looked to change the venue of the 2013 Southern Miss-Nebraska game long before Johnson’s firing, as the Golden Eagles athletics department is deep in debt. When it became clear that Johnson had to go after his winless season, the money once earmarked for debt relief went instead to Johnson’s buyout.

It’s the latest example of how cruel a business college sports can be. As well as a reminder that college sports is, in fact, a business.

no venue change and they cannot afford to get rid of Johnson. don't you mean, they should be happy they found a way to make it work out and break even or do you need a graph to understand it?

 

[engie]

I feel for my niece, she's a freshman at USM, never seen her team win a football game. She's in the band, so now she gets to go to Lincoln, I doubt that was on her list of places to go.

IF she was going to go, wouldn't she have already visited this year when they went?

I still say that it will be a cold day in hell before they sell the Hattie home game with us to ANY other venue. Just getting us to come down there is a statement to them that I would be very surprised to see them give up on...

 

[slickdawg]

IF she was going to go, wouldn't she have already visited this year when they went?

goes to show you how much I keep up with USM football.

 

[RougeDawg]

Well since they lost half of their fanbase this year there are only 5 unhappy...

Fans.

 

[DovaDawg]

no venue change and they cannot afford to get rid of Johnson. don't you mean, they should be happy they found a way to make it work out and break even or do you need a graph to understand it?

You serious Clark?

Where to start first, article says USM deeply in debt and they were anticipating selling the game for debt relief. So in simple terms, they finally saved up enough money to catch up the credit card and stop the bill collector calls. Then the car broke down and now that money is going somewhere else. Bill collector is still calling.

Second, I seemed to read that the article said the home game at USM was being sold to Nebraska, meaning the game will be played at Nebraska and not USM. To most this would be called a change of venue.

Last, USM had to sell the game because it was more financially advantageous then taking the gate - a.k.a no fans in the seat because they knew they are going to get demolished.

Basically what USM has done is equivalent to a stripper giving a quick bj to cover her coke habit so she can still pay the trailer note.

 

[patdog]

Slight correction.

Basically what USM has done is equivalent to a stripper giving a quick bj to pay the trailer note and then using the money to cover her coke habit instead.

 

[was21]

sounds like Willie Taggart is the odds on favorite...he'd be a great choice for them.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

No way he leaves WKU for Southern. Lateral move. Taggart's next stop is a BCS conference.