Stephen F Austin Game Cancelled

[kennethnoisewater]

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... -top-story

Sounds like Leon needs to work on his negotiating skills. Paying newly-FCS Mercyhurst $275K and only getting $360K from FBS New Mexico doesn't seem right at all. I know the Mercyhurst game was scheduled late but we already had 11 games on the schedule and they only had 8. It will be (should be) nice to get a win against an FBS team but there should be more of a financial reward.

The last-minute part of it probably hurts pretty bad. Mercyhurst has the upper hand in negotiations at the 11th hour. Pretty easy for them to just say no thanks to a smaller offer, which I'm sure Leon tried. Comparing it to the payout of the UNM game, which had been scheduled for at least a year isn't really fair. I do think MSU should have already had stronger buyout language in existing contracts, which hurt them here. They've acknowledged that needs to be in place in future contracts, and it seems to me it already should have been. But with that already done, I'm thinking Leon just had to get something and get it fast, as MSU was clearly the desperate party in negotiations.

I think the reward of playing UNM is more of a resume reward than a financial reward. There's no way UNM was interested in a big payout for a game they had a good chance of losing, especially when they're not getting big crowds and paying out of gate receipts. That's a fair payout, it just looks bad compared to what MSU had to pay Mercyhurst. MSU will lose some money, but not nearly as much as they would if there was no game.

I am betting that about half of what Mercyhurst is getting paid will be spent in travel expenses to get to Bozeman and feed and house the team.

Prices on everything are higher.

A team like UMN isn't to going to have the resources to give out a big payday and they especially don't want to pay a lot for a top FCS team.

SFA canceling late seems to be pretty much out of their control (and ours) Home and Homes don't get canceled often that late, but with them moving back to the Southland I think it was going to happen to some team somewhere, MSU just happen to be the unlucky one.

All things considered I think this has been handled as well as it could have been. I was looking forward to the SFA games but there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I think you're right that a lot of it gets eaten up by travel expenses. I hope MSU was able to keep the same block of rooms that SFA had to give them to Mercyhurst. Finding one room for a game weekend this time of year is hard enough, but finding 60-plus must be almost impossible. If not, and if they had to pay full retail or find other accommodations, that could have been a bigger part of that payout.

Game with Mercyhurst is a week later than the SFA game, so no rooms were blocked out on that date. I'm sure the rooms are now, maybe for a cheaper rate since there wasn't going to be a game that day and demand would have been less. Reserve the rooms before the game change was announced, that is.

Oh that's right...forgot about that.

[The Butcher]

I believe Leon considered the game against Mercyhurst to be worth $125,000 during negotiations, factoring in the $150,000 received from SFA for canceling the game. Therefore, $125,000 seemed like a fair price for the type of game the Cats were getting.

[Montanabob]

if sfa makes the playoffs, the road goes through Bozeman.

[CodyCat]

How much does MSU net from home football games? That a big part of the equation that isnt being talked about. $125,000 seems about right to bring someone in last minute.

[TomCat88]

How much does MSU net from home football games? That a big part of the equation that isnt being talked about. $125,000 seems about right to bring someone in last minute.

Great question. Yes, it's definitely better than the alternative (no game). Probably hard to quantify with all the externality-type funds that MSU gets from businesses around town that end up donating money. 20,000 fans X an average of $30 (for concessions per Sports Business Journal) spent on items that directly go into MSU account seems about right at a minimum. Obviously, tickets, parking, etc figure in to the equation. I don't know what the average ticket costs or average parking costs. Tickets must be around $40-50. Parking ???

[catatac]

I believe Leon considered the game against Mercyhurst to be worth $125,000 during negotiations, factoring in the $150,000 received from SFA for canceling the game. Therefore, $125,000 seemed like a fair price for the type of game the Cats were getting.

Yep, agree. I knew there had to be some amount SFA would be paying us for backing out, despite what some posters were saying. That said, I still stick to my opinion that whoever signed the contract for the SFA deal made a big mistake. No reason not to make the buyout clause $500k or more. I don't think that's something that would prevent SFA from still entering the deal..... and if it is, look harder for someone else to play. Them backing out screwed us - and if not for lucking into Mercyhurst it could have screwed us even more.

[CodyCat]

I believe Leon considered the game against Mercyhurst to be worth $125,000 during negotiations, factoring in the $150,000 received from SFA for canceling the game. Therefore, $125,000 seemed like a fair price for the type of game the Cats were getting.

Yep, agree. I knew there had to be some amount SFA would be paying us for backing out, despite what some posters were saying. That said, I still stick to my opinion that whoever signed the contract for the SFA deal made a big mistake. No reason not to make the buyout clause $500k or more. I don't think that's something that would prevent SFA from still entering the deal..... and if it is, look harder for someone else to play. Them backing out screwed us - and if not for lucking into Mercyhurst it could have screwed us even more.

I doubt any FCS teams are signing a contract with a $500,000 buyout.

[PapaG]

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... -top-story

Sounds like Leon needs to work on his negotiating skills. Paying newly-FCS Mercyhurst $275K and only getting $360K from FBS New Mexico doesn't seem right at all. I know the Mercyhurst game was scheduled late but we already had 11 games on the schedule and they only had 8. It will be (should be) nice to get a win against an FBS team but there should be more of a financial reward.

The last-minute part of it probably hurts pretty bad. Mercyhurst has the upper hand in negotiations at the 11th hour. Pretty easy for them to just say no thanks to a smaller offer, which I'm sure Leon tried. Comparing it to the payout of the UNM game, which had been scheduled for at least a year isn't really fair. I do think MSU should have already had stronger buyout language in existing contracts, which hurt them here. They've acknowledged that needs to be in place in future contracts, and it seems to me it already should have been. But with that already done, I'm thinking Leon just had to get something and get it fast, as MSU was clearly the desperate party in negotiations.

I think the reward of playing UNM is more of a resume reward than a financial reward. There's no way UNM was interested in a big payout for a game they had a good chance of losing, especially when they're not getting big crowds and paying out of gate receipts. That's a fair payout, it just looks bad compared to what MSU had to pay Mercyhurst. MSU will lose some money, but not nearly as much as they would if there was no game.

I am betting that about half of what Mercyhurst is getting paid will be spent in travel expenses to get to Bozeman and feed and house the team.

Prices on everything are higher.

A team like UMN isn't to going to have the resources to give out a big payday and they especially don't want to pay a lot for a top FCS team.

SFA canceling late seems to be pretty much out of their control (and ours) Home and Homes don't get canceled often that late, but with them moving back to the Southland I think it was going to happen to some team somewhere, MSU just happen to be the unlucky one.

All things considered I think this has been handled as well as it could have been. I was looking forward to the SFA games but there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I think you're right that a lot of it gets eaten up by travel expenses. I hope MSU was able to keep the same block of rooms that SFA had to give them to Mercyhurst. Finding one room for a game weekend this time of year is hard enough, but finding 60-plus must be almost impossible. If not, and if they had to pay full retail or find other accommodations, that could have been a bigger part of that payout.

Game with Mercyhurst is a week later than the SFA game, so no rooms were blocked out on that date. I'm sure the rooms are now, maybe for a cheaper rate since there wasn't going to be a game that day and demand would have been less. Reserve the rooms before the game change was announced, that is.

For the nightly price of a hotel room in Bozeman, Mercyhurst should ask about the possibility of renting out a dorm floor for the night.

[kwcat]

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... -top-story

Sounds like Leon needs to work on his negotiating skills. Paying newly-FCS Mercyhurst $275K and only getting $360K from FBS New Mexico doesn't seem right at all. I know the Mercyhurst game was scheduled late but we already had 11 games on the schedule and they only had 8. It will be (should be) nice to get a win against an FBS team but there should be more of a financial reward.

The last-minute part of it probably hurts pretty bad. Mercyhurst has the upper hand in negotiations at the 11th hour. Pretty easy for them to just say no thanks to a smaller offer, which I'm sure Leon tried. Comparing it to the payout of the UNM game, which had been scheduled for at least a year isn't really fair. I do think MSU should have already had stronger buyout language in existing contracts, which hurt them here. They've acknowledged that needs to be in place in future contracts, and it seems to me it already should have been. But with that already done, I'm thinking Leon just had to get something and get it fast, as MSU was clearly the desperate party in negotiations.

I think the reward of playing UNM is more of a resume reward than a financial reward. There's no way UNM was interested in a big payout for a game they had a good chance of losing, especially when they're not getting big crowds and paying out of gate receipts. That's a fair payout, it just looks bad compared to what MSU had to pay Mercyhurst. MSU will lose some money, but not nearly as much as they would if there was no game.

I am betting that about half of what Mercyhurst is getting paid will be spent in travel expenses to get to Bozeman and feed and house the team.

Prices on everything are higher.

A team like UMN isn't to going to have the resources to give out a big payday and they especially don't want to pay a lot for a top FCS team.

SFA canceling late seems to be pretty much out of their control (and ours) Home and Homes don't get canceled often that late, but with them moving back to the Southland I think it was going to happen to some team somewhere, MSU just happen to be the unlucky one.

All things considered I think this has been handled as well as it could have been. I was looking forward to the SFA games but there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I think you're right that a lot of it gets eaten up by travel expenses. I hope MSU was able to keep the same block of rooms that SFA had to give them to Mercyhurst. Finding one room for a game weekend this time of year is hard enough, but finding 60-plus must be almost impossible. If not, and if they had to pay full retail or find other accommodations, that could have been a bigger part of that payout.

Game with Mercyhurst is a week later than the SFA game, so no rooms were blocked out on that date. I'm sure the rooms are now, maybe for a cheaper rate since there wasn't going to be a game that day and demand would have been less. Reserve the rooms before the game change was announced, that is.

For the nightly price of a hotel room in Bozeman, Mercyhurst should ask about the possibility of renting out a dorm floor for the night.

Because the dorm floors are empty during the school year? (Sorry I couldn’t resist)

[PapaG]

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... -top-story

Sounds like Leon needs to work on his negotiating skills. Paying newly-FCS Mercyhurst $275K and only getting $360K from FBS New Mexico doesn't seem right at all. I know the Mercyhurst game was scheduled late but we already had 11 games on the schedule and they only had 8. It will be (should be) nice to get a win against an FBS team but there should be more of a financial reward.

The last-minute part of it probably hurts pretty bad. Mercyhurst has the upper hand in negotiations at the 11th hour. Pretty easy for them to just say no thanks to a smaller offer, which I'm sure Leon tried. Comparing it to the payout of the UNM game, which had been scheduled for at least a year isn't really fair. I do think MSU should have already had stronger buyout language in existing contracts, which hurt them here. They've acknowledged that needs to be in place in future contracts, and it seems to me it already should have been. But with that already done, I'm thinking Leon just had to get something and get it fast, as MSU was clearly the desperate party in negotiations.

I think the reward of playing UNM is more of a resume reward than a financial reward. There's no way UNM was interested in a big payout for a game they had a good chance of losing, especially when they're not getting big crowds and paying out of gate receipts. That's a fair payout, it just looks bad compared to what MSU had to pay Mercyhurst. MSU will lose some money, but not nearly as much as they would if there was no game.

I am betting that about half of what Mercyhurst is getting paid will be spent in travel expenses to get to Bozeman and feed and house the team.

Prices on everything are higher.

A team like UMN isn't to going to have the resources to give out a big payday and they especially don't want to pay a lot for a top FCS team.

SFA canceling late seems to be pretty much out of their control (and ours) Home and Homes don't get canceled often that late, but with them moving back to the Southland I think it was going to happen to some team somewhere, MSU just happen to be the unlucky one.

All things considered I think this has been handled as well as it could have been. I was looking forward to the SFA games but there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I think you're right that a lot of it gets eaten up by travel expenses. I hope MSU was able to keep the same block of rooms that SFA had to give them to Mercyhurst. Finding one room for a game weekend this time of year is hard enough, but finding 60-plus must be almost impossible. If not, and if they had to pay full retail or find other accommodations, that could have been a bigger part of that payout.

Game with Mercyhurst is a week later than the SFA game, so no rooms were blocked out on that date. I'm sure the rooms are now, maybe for a cheaper rate since there wasn't going to be a game that day and demand would have been less. Reserve the rooms before the game change was announced, that is.

For the nightly price of a hotel room in Bozeman, Mercyhurst should ask about the possibility of renting out a dorm floor for the night.

Because the dorm floors are empty during the school year? (Sorry I couldn’t resist)

I have a daughter at Oregon State which is still on quarters and start classes in late September. Brain cramp!

[kwcat]

https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky ... -top-story

Sounds like Leon needs to work on his negotiating skills. Paying newly-FCS Mercyhurst $275K and only getting $360K from FBS New Mexico doesn't seem right at all. I know the Mercyhurst game was scheduled late but we already had 11 games on the schedule and they only had 8. It will be (should be) nice to get a win against an FBS team but there should be more of a financial reward.

The last-minute part of it probably hurts pretty bad. Mercyhurst has the upper hand in negotiations at the 11th hour. Pretty easy for them to just say no thanks to a smaller offer, which I'm sure Leon tried. Comparing it to the payout of the UNM game, which had been scheduled for at least a year isn't really fair. I do think MSU should have already had stronger buyout language in existing contracts, which hurt them here. They've acknowledged that needs to be in place in future contracts, and it seems to me it already should have been. But with that already done, I'm thinking Leon just had to get something and get it fast, as MSU was clearly the desperate party in negotiations.

I think the reward of playing UNM is more of a resume reward than a financial reward. There's no way UNM was interested in a big payout for a game they had a good chance of losing, especially when they're not getting big crowds and paying out of gate receipts. That's a fair payout, it just looks bad compared to what MSU had to pay Mercyhurst. MSU will lose some money, but not nearly as much as they would if there was no game.

I am betting that about half of what Mercyhurst is getting paid will be spent in travel expenses to get to Bozeman and feed and house the team.

Prices on everything are higher.

A team like UMN isn't to going to have the resources to give out a big payday and they especially don't want to pay a lot for a top FCS team.

SFA canceling late seems to be pretty much out of their control (and ours) Home and Homes don't get canceled often that late, but with them moving back to the Southland I think it was going to happen to some team somewhere, MSU just happen to be the unlucky one.

All things considered I think this has been handled as well as it could have been. I was looking forward to the SFA games but there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I think you're right that a lot of it gets eaten up by travel expenses. I hope MSU was able to keep the same block of rooms that SFA had to give them to Mercyhurst. Finding one room for a game weekend this time of year is hard enough, but finding 60-plus must be almost impossible. If not, and if they had to pay full retail or find other accommodations, that could have been a bigger part of that payout.

Game with Mercyhurst is a week later than the SFA game, so no rooms were blocked out on that date. I'm sure the rooms are now, maybe for a cheaper rate since there wasn't going to be a game that day and demand would have been less. Reserve the rooms before the game change was announced, that is.

For the nightly price of a hotel room in Bozeman, Mercyhurst should ask about the possibility of renting out a dorm floor for the night.

Because the dorm floors are empty during the school year? (Sorry I couldn’t resist)

I have a daughter at Oregon State which is still on quarters and start classes in late September. Brain cramp!

[PapaG]

Missoula probably has an empty dorm floor while classes are in session.

[RickRund]

Missoula probably has an empty dorm floor while classes are in session.

Probably more than one..

[Justwinbaby]

I hope they had to payout for canceling.

Or pay for Mercyhurst's trip to Bozeman. I'm sure we're paying them to come.

Last year I felt like there was one interesting home game, and that was the playoff game against NDSU. This year might be similar, with the obvious exception of Cat-griz.

Does anyone know how much $$ SFA has to pay us? That's the only positive here is that it's free money..... and I would hope it's a lot. If they went into this contract without a hefty buyout clause, especially so close to kickoff, SHAME on us.

I'd guess nothing or not very much since this was a home and home series, it can't be easy to find teams willing to come to Bozeman in the first place without also inserting large buyout clauses into the contracts.

Our fan base is delusional. You all really believe we are getting payouts...for anything. Good grief.

Looks like we got paid out $150k. Sooooo……yeah.

That's so frigin awesome. After he reads this.

...and we lose money in the transaction. Like I said: delusional fan base. We used to be beter.

[MSU01]

...and we lose money in the transaction. Like I said: delusional fan base. We used to be beter.

Well that's undoubtedly true given that we all know who "we" really refers to for you. The spelling gives it away if anyone still had any doubts.

And MSU doesn't lose money in the transaction when you use whichever brain cells you have left to consider that they no longer have to pay to travel to SFA in 2025.

[kennethnoisewater]

I hope they had to payout for canceling.

Or pay for Mercyhurst's trip to Bozeman. I'm sure we're paying them to come.

Last year I felt like there was one interesting home game, and that was the playoff game against NDSU. This year might be similar, with the obvious exception of Cat-griz.

Does anyone know how much $$ SFA has to pay us? That's the only positive here is that it's free money..... and I would hope it's a lot. If they went into this contract without a hefty buyout clause, especially so close to kickoff, SHAME on us.

I'd guess nothing or not very much since this was a home and home series, it can't be easy to find teams willing to come to Bozeman in the first place without also inserting large buyout clauses into the contracts.

Our fan base is delusional. You all really believe we are getting payouts...for anything. Good grief.

Looks like we got paid out $150k. Sooooo……yeah.

That's so frigin awesome. After he reads this.

...and we lose money in the transaction. Like I said: delusional fan base. We used to be beter.

Help me out with an example of where we got a better payout when someone backed out of a contract. I'm guessing you know what the old contracts looked like--that would be helpful to see how far MSU has fallen. I don't think anybody predicted MSU would be making a profit off this, just saying there would probably be a payout, which happened. But it was delusional of us to think that. I'd say good things are happening when the most delusional of us are getting what we wished for!

[MSU01]

Help me out with an example of where we got a better payout when someone backed out of a contract. I'm guessing you know what the old contracts looked like--that would be helpful to see how far MSU has fallen. I don't think anybody predicted MSU would be making a profit off this, just saying there would probably be a payout, which happened. But it was delusional of us to think that. I'd say good things are happening when the most delusional of us are getting what we wished for!

MSU probably is making a profit off this. They appear to be "down" by $125K, but they also don't have to pay to travel to Texas next year and now they can either schedule a new road game contract with payout from the host school, or a new home game that will generate increased revenues.

[wbtfg]

I hope they had to payout for canceling.

Or pay for Mercyhurst's trip to Bozeman. I'm sure we're paying them to come.

Last year I felt like there was one interesting home game, and that was the playoff game against NDSU. This year might be similar, with the obvious exception of Cat-griz.

Does anyone know how much $$ SFA has to pay us? That's the only positive here is that it's free money..... and I would hope it's a lot. If they went into this contract without a hefty buyout clause, especially so close to kickoff, SHAME on us.

I'd guess nothing or not very much since this was a home and home series, it can't be easy to find teams willing to come to Bozeman in the first place without also inserting large buyout clauses into the contracts.

Our fan base is delusional. You all really believe we are getting payouts...for anything. Good grief.

Looks like we got paid out $150k. Sooooo……yeah.

That's so frigin awesome. After he reads this.

...and we lose money in the transaction. Like I said: delusional fan base. We used to be beter.

Peter Fields? Is that you?

[TomCat88]

Help me out with an example of where we got a better payout when someone backed out of a contract. I'm guessing you know what the old contracts looked like--that would be helpful to see how far MSU has fallen. I don't think anybody predicted MSU would be making a profit off this, just saying there would probably be a payout, which happened. But it was delusional of us to think that. I'd say good things are happening when the most delusional of us are getting what we wished for!

MSU probably is making a profit off this. They appear to be "down" by $125K, but they also don't have to pay to travel to Texas next year and now they can either schedule a new road game contract with payout from the host school, or a new home game that will generate increased revenues.

I was just going to point out the fact that MSU doesn’t have to go to Texas now. I personally thought MSU would get no buyout because of that. MSU can now schedule another home and home and gets a fairly cheap home game. Seems like a good deal. What do I know though?

[MSU01]

Help me out with an example of where we got a better payout when someone backed out of a contract. I'm guessing you know what the old contracts looked like--that would be helpful to see how far MSU has fallen. I don't think anybody predicted MSU would be making a profit off this, just saying there would probably be a payout, which happened. But it was delusional of us to think that. I'd say good things are happening when the most delusional of us are getting what we wished for!

MSU probably is making a profit off this. They appear to be "down" by $125K, but they also don't have to pay to travel to Texas next year and now they can either schedule a new road game contract with payout from the host school, or a new home game that will generate increased revenues.

I was just going to point out the fact that MSU doesn’t have to go to Texas now. I personally thought MSU would get no buyout because of that. MSU can now schedule another home and home and gets a fairly cheap home game. Seems like a good deal. What do I know though?

MSU is basically getting paid $150K for two football games that won't be played. I fail to see how that will have an overall negative impact financially except in the unlikely event of MSU not being able to find a replacement opponent for 2025.