ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nevada's Todd Okeson, who scored 19 points, went up for a basket against Gonzaga in Saturday's Wolf Pack victory.
Nevada’s NCAA
Tournament run helping
fund the rest of the WAC
Every time Nevada wins an NCAA Tournament basketball game, the Western Athletic Conference hits another jackpot. A sorely needed jackpot.
The Wolf Pack's run into the Sweet Sixteen came just in time for the WAC -- not just for the league's reputation, but also for its schools' athletic department coffers. The only surviving team west of the Rockies, the one from a state known for taking money from others, is now helping fund the rest of the league.
The WAC gets approximately $1 million in TV money for each league NCAA Tournament game, conference commissioner Karl Benson said yesterday.
The money is divided into shares for each of the league's 10 schools, paid out over the course of six years. The teams that actually participate get a $35,000 bonus per game in addition to their regular shares.
With Nevada's three appearances so far (including tomorrow's third-round game against Georgia Tech) and Texas-El Paso's one game in this tournament, the WAC has already doubled last year's units when its only representative, Tulsa, played two tourney games.
The bad news is the income from the WAC's banner year of the 1998 has run its course. That was the year four of the league's then 16 teams made it to The Dance, and Utah got to the championship game. The WAC earned 10 units that year. Even if Nevada miraculously wins this tournament, the league would still earn three fewer units than are dropping off.
If Nevada loses its game tomorrow, the conference gets 23 units compared to 29 after last year. That boils down to around $350,000 instead of $450,000 for each school.
Still, Benson said the Wolf Pack's appearances help the league financially, especially in the long run -- the WAC's number of games in the tournament has gone down every year since 1998, except when it held even at three from 2001 to 2002.
"We knew we needed to replenish nine units from 1998," Benson said. "This definitely helps us sustain our current pool of units."
The WAC -- even with a Nevada loss tomorrow -- is guaranteed to finish with a winning record in the tournament for the first time since 1998, when the conference won six of its 10 games.
"We're proud that Nevada is doing well, and obviously it helps us directly," Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier said Monday at halftime of UH's 84-83 National Invitation Tournament victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The WAC does not take any profits made by schools from NIT participation, nor does it offset any losses. Frazier said he expects UH will profit from playing in the NIT this year, especially after Monday's sellout.
Participating teams receive a yet-to-be-determined monetary unit for each NIT game, and UH gets 15 percent of the net of its home game. Also, players receive $100 per diem while on the road and $160 if their team gets into the final four in New York.
Getting WAC'd
The league's NCAA Tournament game appearances -- and the money that goes with it -- gradually declined since Utah made it to the championship six years ago. But Nevada's two wins this year reversed the trend.1998 (10): UNLV 0-1, TCU 0-1, New Mexico 1-1, Utah 5-1.
1999 (6): New Mexico 1-1, Tulsa 1-1, Utah 1-1.
2000 (5): Fresno St. 0-1, Tulsa 3-1.
2001 (3): UH 0-1, Fresno St. 1-1.
2002 (3): UH 0-1, Tulsa 1-1.
2003 (2): Tulsa 1-1.
2004 (at least 4): UTEP 0-1, Nevada ?-?.Numbers in parentheses are total tournament game appearances for the WAC that year.
