Ohio St. must share payoff with Big Ten

COLUMBUS -- Ohio State is playing for the prestige of a national championship in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, but all Big Ten schools will share equally in the payoff.
Each Fiesta Bowl team gets a $13.5 million payout, and with six other Big Ten teams playing in other bowls, the conference should take in a record $32 million. After expenses, each school should net about $2 million.
It would be more, except for a Bowl Championship Series rule: A conference with two teams in BCS games -- in this case the Fiesta and the Orange, where Iowa plays Southern California -- has its payout for the second team reduced to $4.5 million. The remaining $9 million is divided equally among the six conferences that make up the BCS.
But dollar issues are taking a back seat at Ohio State to the game, which pits the Buckeyes against the defending champs from the University of Miami.
"It's all about the game, as it should be," athletic director Andy Geiger said. "I can tell you there's no preoccupation with the finances at all."
The biggest dividend for Ohio State is likely to be in fund raising. University officials have scheduled numerous events in the Phoenix area to meet with current and prospective donors.
Conferences pool bowl game receipts and reimburse the universities a predetermined amount for expenses related to bowl trips. They also deduct any conference expenses, and the remainder is split among the league's schools.