...including $2.4 Million for travel subsidiary's


http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-spo...included-4


LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State athletics offered a $4.4 million compensation package over a nine-year period to the Sun Belt Conference in an effort to join the league in all sports.
According to documents acquired by the Sun-News, the financial package included a travel subsidy of $2,387,618 over a seven-year period beginning in 2016-17. Travel costs were among the concerns cited since New Mexico State joined the league for football only prior to the 2014 season.

Last week, the Sun Belt extended the invitation to Coastal Carolina, which will become the 12th football playing member next season.

The travel subsidy proposal from 2016-2019 was $361,385 for Olympic sports with a 25-percent step down in 2020 and concluded in the 2022-23 academic year. NMSU offered $100,000 per year to the conference for four years to aid in travel costs for NMSU football opponents with an understanding those programs were lodged in Las Cruces.

In May, the Sun Belt Conference voted to increase the entrance fee for membership from $1 million to $2 million. NMSU's proposal offered to pay the entrance fee over a six-year period, beginning with the 2014-15 amount of $540,000, which has already been made as part of the school's football membership ($1.62 million), where NMSU waived conference distribution payouts.

The travel subsidy payments were only made available to current Sun Belt members and were for airfare only, based on the nearest airport.

Travel subsidy for Olympic sports for the Sun Belt, including NMSU and prior to Coastal Carolina's addition, ranged from $26,480 (Texas-Arlington) to $38,892 (Georgia Southern).
Sports Editor Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459

Year/Entry fee/Olympic travel subsidy/Football travel

2014-15/$540,000/0/0

2015-16/$540,000/0/0

2016-17/$250,000/$361,385/$100,000

2017-18/$250,000/$361,385/$100,000

2018-19/$250,000/$361,385/$100,000

2019-20/$170,000/$361,385/$100,000

2020-21/$0/$271,039/$0

2021-22/$0/$180,693/$0

2022-23/$0/$90,346/$0

Total/$2,000,000/$1,987,618/$400,000

Wow. Given that, I might be glad we weren't accepted.

Too much IMO for NMSU to shoulder for 9 years. I'm sure they did the math and they thought that was a reasonable amount to obtain the benefit of full membership, but if we can't be full members without paying the rest of our conference mates to all allow us in - on top of a $2 million entrance fee, then I'm not sure we want that deal.

Moot point now I suppose.

I agree.

I thought NMSU had sweetened the pot(I mentioned this in earlier threads with no reaction)--But did not think the dollars offered were quite that large!

MAN,that is a pretty good subsidy!!!

CCU must have offered way more.Sarcasm.

After reading the article I'm trying to determine what is actual "new money". The $4.4 million value is very misleading if the breakdown in the article is true. $2 million of it is the entrance fee and something all new programs would have to provide. Even then, NMSU was including the 2014-15 (last year) and 2015-16 (this year) football only membership payments as part of that - so that was over $1 million the conference would get anyway if NMSU wasn't chosen for all sports.

To put it another way, NMSU is going to pay $1.6 million for football only and a new school will pay $2 million as an entrance fee so that is $3.6 million. NMSU was really only offering a difference of $800,000.

I still think the fact that they were prepared to offer each school an individual subsidiary amount for travel just certainly speaks Volumes as to how much they wanted in and trying to appease the "geographic" arguments

Great play by NMSU....at least from an administration standpoint they saw the opportunity.Now the question begs are they in peril to be dropped?

(09-10-2015 02:27 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  After reading the article I'm trying to determine what is actual "new money". The $4.4 million value is very misleading if the breakdown in the article is true. $2 million of it is the entrance fee and something all new programs would have to provide. Even then, NMSU was including the 2014-15 (last year) and 2015-16 (this year) football only membership payments as part of that - so that was over $1 million the conference would get anyway if NMSU wasn't chosen for all sports.

To put it another way, NMSU is going to pay $1.6 million for football only and a new school will pay $2 million as an entrance fee so that is $3.6 million. NMSU was really only offering a difference of $800,000.

Exactly what I was thinking. That was more fancy number calculation and marketing than anything of substance. $800,000 over 9 years = $89,000 a year in new subsidies. In regard to the importance and value of such an invite, that offer is almost insulting to pitch as a reason to be invited.

I commend them for trying to put something together, but it is only $89,000 in $25M+ budgets.

I don't think the Sun Belt is done with NMSU, nor is NMSU done with the Belt. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that the Sun Belt won't renew Idaho's contract and they'll be gone by 2017, they'll invite NMSU in as a full member, and they'll invite in another member out of MSU/JMU/EKU/UTC. If a two western teams are brought in (NMSU and MSU, for instance), then USA heads to the east. If an eastern team and a western team (NMSU and JMU/EKU/Liberty) are brought in, USA goes to the west.

Then we'd have divisions looking like this for football:

East:
App State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
JMU/EKU/Liberty
Troy

West:
Arkansas State
ULL
ULM
USA
Texas State
NMSU

*UTA and UALR still as OLY only*

Someone tell UTA this is there sign, time to start football, and start it now. Add NMSU and UTA and keep USA in the eastern side of the conference.

Or forget UTA and add USM, yes, I still want them in and get that all important Mississippi market.

See below.

(09-10-2015 10:09 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Someone tell UTA this is there sign, time to start football, and start it now. Add NMSU and UTA and keep USA in the eastern side of the conference.

Or forget UTA and add USM, yes, I still want them in and get that all important Mississippi market.

Personally, I'd be okay with dropping both UTA and UALR since they don't sponsor football. They're both great schools, but we really need everybody on board, seeing as the Belt is the only FBS conference that has non-football members. Then we could get a solid 12/12 alignment by dropping Idaho and adding another full member to either division. It'd be ideal if UTA or UALR would start football up, though.

(09-10-2015 08:50 AM)btcharpied Wrote:  

(09-10-2015 02:27 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  After reading the article I'm trying to determine what is actual "new money". The $4.4 million value is very misleading if the breakdown in the article is true. $2 million of it is the entrance fee and something all new programs would have to provide. Even then, NMSU was including the 2014-15 (last year) and 2015-16 (this year) football only membership payments as part of that - so that was over $1 million the conference would get anyway if NMSU wasn't chosen for all sports.

To put it another way, NMSU is going to pay $1.6 million for football only and a new school will pay $2 million as an entrance fee so that is $3.6 million. NMSU was really only offering a difference of $800,000.

Exactly what I was thinking. That was more fancy number calculation and marketing than anything of substance. $800,000 over 9 years = $89,000 a year in new subsidies. In regard to the importance and value of such an invite, that offer is almost insulting to pitch as a reason to be invited.

I commend them for trying to put something together, but it is only $89,000 in $25M+ budgets.

It points out that the actual travel costs beyond average travel are not that great.

(09-10-2015 10:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  I don't think the Sun Belt is done with NMSU, nor is NMSU done with the Belt. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that the Sun Belt won't renew Idaho's contract and they'll be gone by 2017, they'll invite NMSU in as a full member, and they'll invite in another member out of MSU/JMU/EKU/UTC. If a two western teams are brought in (NMSU and MSU, for instance), then USA heads to the east. If an eastern team and a western team (NMSU and JMU/EKU/Liberty) are brought in, USA goes to the west.

Then we'd have divisions looking like this for football:

East:
App State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
JMU/EKU/Liberty
Troy

West:
Arkansas State
ULL
ULM
USA
Texas State
NMSU

*UTA and UALR still as OLY only*

Everyone is sharing their opinions, so here is mine. The following is for all sports and drop the non-football schools.

East
App. State
Coastal Carolina
Eastern Kentucky
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
James Madison
Troy

West
Arkansas State
Louisiana
UL-Monroe
Missouri State
South Alabama
Texas State
New Mexico State

(09-10-2015 11:06 AM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(09-10-2015 10:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  I don't think the Sun Belt is done with NMSU, nor is NMSU done with the Belt. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that the Sun Belt won't renew Idaho's contract and they'll be gone by 2017, they'll invite NMSU in as a full member, and they'll invite in another member out of MSU/JMU/EKU/UTC. If a two western teams are brought in (NMSU and MSU, for instance), then USA heads to the east. If an eastern team and a western team (NMSU and JMU/EKU/Liberty) are brought in, USA goes to the west.

Then we'd have divisions looking like this for football:

East:
App State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
JMU/EKU/Liberty
Troy

West:
Arkansas State
ULL
ULM
USA
Texas State
NMSU

*UTA and UALR still as OLY only*

Everyone is sharing their opinions, so here is mine. The following is for all sports and drop the non-football schools.

East
App. State
Coastal Carolina
Eastern Kentucky
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
James Madison
Troy

West
Arkansas State
Louisiana
UL-Monroe
Missouri State
South Alabama
Texas State
New Mexico State

Not bad

(09-10-2015 08:50 AM)btcharpied Wrote:  

(09-10-2015 02:27 AM)rokamortis Wrote:  After reading the article I'm trying to determine what is actual "new money". The $4.4 million value is very misleading if the breakdown in the article is true. $2 million of it is the entrance fee and something all new programs would have to provide. Even then, NMSU was including the 2014-15 (last year) and 2015-16 (this year) football only membership payments as part of that - so that was over $1 million the conference would get anyway if NMSU wasn't chosen for all sports.

To put it another way, NMSU is going to pay $1.6 million for football only and a new school will pay $2 million as an entrance fee so that is $3.6 million. NMSU was really only offering a difference of $800,000.

Exactly what I was thinking. That was more fancy number calculation and marketing than anything of substance. $800,000 over 9 years = $89,000 a year in new subsidies. In regard to the importance and value of such an invite, that offer is almost insulting to pitch as a reason to be invited.

I commend them for trying to put something together, but it is only $89,000 in $25M+ budgets.

HEY! Way too early to add anything of substance to this board.

(09-10-2015 11:06 AM)JoeJag Wrote:  Everyone is sharing their opinions, so here is mine. The following is for all sports and drop the non-football schools.

East
App. State
Coastal Carolina
Eastern Kentucky
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
James Madison
Troy

West
Arkansas State
Louisiana
UL-Monroe
Missouri State
South Alabama
Texas State
New Mexico State

The big problem with these projections is that ULL will be CUSA and Ga State will be AAC soon. We need to be ready to add more.

(09-10-2015 11:06 AM)JoeJag Wrote:  

(09-10-2015 10:01 AM)rknj8993 Wrote:  I don't think the Sun Belt is done with NMSU, nor is NMSU done with the Belt. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that the Sun Belt won't renew Idaho's contract and they'll be gone by 2017, they'll invite NMSU in as a full member, and they'll invite in another member out of MSU/JMU/EKU/UTC. If a two western teams are brought in (NMSU and MSU, for instance), then USA heads to the east. If an eastern team and a western team (NMSU and JMU/EKU/Liberty) are brought in, USA goes to the west.

Then we'd have divisions looking like this for football:

East:
App State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
JMU/EKU/Liberty
Troy

West:
Arkansas State
ULL
ULM
USA
Texas State
NMSU

*UTA and UALR still as OLY only*

Everyone is sharing their opinions, so here is mine. The following is for all sports and drop the non-football schools.

East
App. State
Coastal Carolina
Eastern Kentucky
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
James Madison
Troy

West
Arkansas State
Louisiana
UL-Monroe
Missouri State
South Alabama
Texas State
New Mexico State

That would be a pretty good conference . . . . ..