For Ohio State’s recent bowl games, sugar earned the university a sweet payday, but roses proved costly.

University officials project OSU earned nearly $290,000 from participating in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

According to documents The Lantern obtained, OSU lost nearly $80,000 from the 2010 Rose Bowl.

Pete Hagan, associate athletic director for finance, told The Lantern that OSU submitted a financial report to NCAA managing director of finance and operations Keith Martin in advance of a Feb. 28 deadline. The report indicates OSU actually earned about $288,000 from the Sugar Bowl.

Kathy Gaspard, director of business operations for the Sugar Bowl, told The Lantern that the Sugar Bowl paid the Bowl Championship Series a $6 million rights fee.

Gaspard said the Sugar Bowl’s fiscal year ends June 30. She said she should have a projection for how much the bowl earned by May.

OSU beat Arkansas, 31-26, in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4. An interception by defensive end Solomon Thomas ended a Razorbacks drive in Buckeye territory with less than a minute left, sealing the victory.

Officials in the business office of Arkansas’ athletic department did not immediately return calls or e-mails.

The BCS pays the Big Ten directly. The conference then distributed evenly among the 11 Big Ten schools the difference between the bowl payouts and the bowl reimbursements. The reimbursement figure for the Sugar Bowl was $2 million.

Since the Big Ten sent two schools to BCS bowl games, the Big Ten received an at-large net share of $6 million, said Big Ten director of media relations Scott Chipman.

By comparison, the Big Ten earned more than $4.5 million from Michigan State playing in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Spartans lost to Alabama, 49-7.

According to a Jan. 25 release from the BCS, the Big Ten earned a total net revenue of $27.2 million, the same amount as the SEC and Big 12. Two teams from each of the three conferences played in BCS bowl games.

The Lantern attempted to reach BCS Director Bill Hancock, but was told Hancock is “out of the country.”

 

Check The Lantern on Monday for more.