Had USC been playing a full schedule this fall, recent news from a few days ago would have had a potentially severe impact on that.
The Trojans were scheduled to play the New Mexico Lobos on September 12, right after the Crimson Tide (Sept. 5) and right before Stanford (Sept. 19). With the move to conference-only scheduling by the Pac-12, New Mexico lost out on a $1,050,000 payday against USC, $100,000 of which had already been paid to UNM back in 2016 to help with their budget shortfall situation, per Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Review Journal.
If a story affects UNM or NMSU, Grammer is usually the first to break the story.
Welp, the dominoes are now affecting the bottom lines for UNM and NMSU athletics…
• NMSU was to play UCLA on Aug. 29 for $1.2 million
• UNM was to play USC on Sept. 19 for $1,050,000 ($100,000 of that was already paid to UNM in 2016 to help with past budget shortfalls) https://t.co/9C9oAqqkoh
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) July 10, 2020
So, UNM was already facing a problem given it was likely to have to pay USC back unless the Lobos could work out a plan to include that money in a game to be played after the pandemic ends. That’s likely what will happen. No college is callous enough to try to bleed a stone at this juncture, especially USC. $100,000 to the Trojans is a very small buffet to feed the entire athletic department on a random Tuesday. It is pocket change… but not for New Mexico or New Mexico State.
The state of New Mexico has intervened. The governor asked the Lobos and the Aggies to suspend all football activities immediately due to a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases both in New Mexico and around the United States. Geoff Grammer broke this news story as well.
What this would cost both schools was not mentioned in the letter, but it’s safe to assume it’s going to be a lot of money over the course of a season. The two programs — the Lobos and Aggies — will also miss out on conference revenue sharing, unless the playing institutions agree to share the pie anyhow. While the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University may have been the first programs to face these problems at the Division I FBS level, they’re not likely to be the last. If cases keep rising, governors will have little choice but to suspend large gatherings of people, just as they did early in the pandemic.
The economic toll facing some of these programs is eye-popping. How some of these schools are going to survive may come down to the generosity and magnanimity of their elite donors and booster clubs. The season is already facing a massively disjointed dimension in competition. Should teams within those conference begin dropping like flies, it’s only going to compound the complications of the season. It’s sure as hell not going to make choosing postseason teams any easier, and we covered that in a previous article for Trojans Wire.
There is a lot to consider. A lot to ponder… and there is still so much that will ultimately exist beyond the control of those in charge. Pandemics do not listen to health commissioners or sports commissioners. They don’t care about your budget shortfalls or canceled games with UCLA.
Sorry, New Mexico State, you’re simply out that $1.2 million. What’s going to happen to the sport as a result of the coronavirus is going to far surpass what’s going to happen to the sport as the result of a name, image, and likeness rules. Mark that down and be ready to cash it in the bank.
If only New Mexico and New Mexico State could cash those winnings. Alas, they won’t be able to.