When examining a bowl game, Compher said the financial matters cannot illuminate the entire situation.

“You can’t explain it with the bottom line,” Compher said. “It’s an investment. If you want to compete at this level you have to be willing to invest.”

According to Compher, a bowl game helps add spirit to the campus, create the college experience, helps in recruiting future players and coaches, and adds to the student-athlete experience.

“We came to a conclusion that this was about a student-athlete experience, and making sure that their experience was as first class as we could make it and that we would work very hard in that regard,” Compher said. “But we had to be cost conscious along the way.”

Krupica echoed the benefits that Compher mentioned and added that bowl games help to attract administrators to the department and benefits the university in general.

This investment did cost NIU $154,125. The amount, however, will not be paid by the university, Williams said. Instead, he said it will be paid by the Athletic Guarantee Fund. This fund is money NIU receives for playing single games against teams like Michigan, Ohio State and Tennessee over the past years.

Williams, who examines the game from a financial perspective, said he was happy with the results.

“I think that the key thing was, for me of course, I have to look at it in dollar and cents and I was very pleased in the way that we were able to manage the cost,” Williams said. “I think these bowl opportunities are even more attractive because we can manage our cost because we can make it fit in with what we have available and that’s the key.”

Continue reading this story by clicking on part ten.