There's a lot of money at stake. It's estimated that the conference that each team represents gets $6 million to split, if they make the top 4 playoff. That's one of the reasons the SEC likes to try to get two teams in. That's even bigger bucks because of the double split. It's also a reason that some schools work with others to insure a conference gets someone in.
There's also additional monies for the teams themselves, along with "perk tickets" for those who financially support their programs, and one heck of a lot of clout on the recruiting trail, when your team is that good.
When you break down the financial gains for each bowl game, and the gain from this particular group, it can turn into an enormous amount of money for a school and conference.
If the Badgers do win out, and lose to OSU, I'm rooting for OSU to get into the Championship picture because it puts more money into the conference, and Wisconsin would benefit from that, and the fact that it took a top 4 team to knock them out.
I sure hope we can win out, and dump OSU (assuming we play them). I want to see the Badgers show they're one of the best programs in the country. I just worry that we're going to lose some top level assistant coaches to other programs that pay big bucks. Some pay coordinators as much as head coaches get in a lot of conferences.
I look at Dave Aranda getting a jump from $520,000 to $1,300,000 when he left Wisconsin for LSU, and his 3 year contract isn't even tied to their head coach. The same could happen with some of our top assistants. They're gold.
