Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Hotel stays for home football teams scrutinized

A Pac-10 proposal designed to save athletic departments tens of thousands of dollars each football season is bound to encounter resistance from coaches.

The NCAA’s Division I Legislative Council has been asked to vote on banning schools from housing their football teams in hotel rooms on the night before a home game, the NCAA News reports.

Public records obtained by The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer show that N.C. State, for example, spent $85,923.79 in 2008 to take its team to a hotel on the nights before home games.

Also in 2008, Clemson paid $111,654.39, including $47,230 just to transport its team back and forth from the hotel in nearby Anderson, S.C. East Carolina spent $29,020.55 and South Carolina spent $70,474. Figures from North Carolina were not immediately available.

But aside from Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, who suggested eliminating them, coaches strongly favor Friday night hotel stays before home games. They say it’s difficult for players to get a good night’s sleep on a Friday night because neighbors in their dormitories or apartments can be extremely loud.

“When you put them in a dorm and ask them to live on campus on a Friday night of a home football game, that’s not exactly the environment to get eight, 10 hours of sleep,” East Carolina coach Skip Holtz said Monday. “Everybody else gets to sleep in until noon and wake up and start tailgating again and go to the game. The players have to be in the meeting at 8 o’clock.”
Stay tuned.

Ken Tysiac

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes it's expensive, but this also helps the coaches keep tabs on the players the night before the game and keeps them focused on the task at hand. I don't see a problem with the practice.

Anonymous said...

The Booster Clubs pay for it, not taxpayer dollars. I think it is expensive in these times, but this is not a public issue, so complain to your Booster clubs.

48wolfpacker said...

Not surprised the uncch numbers were not available.

F*** NCState said...

Not surprised a wusspacker counldn't resist a pathetic attempt to insult UNC.

GoPack...Gotohellcarolina said...

The tarholes never release anything without first covering their baby blue asses. The funny thing is the media sucks up to the holes anyway so there's no need for a cover up. Maybe Chief can get another $2 million raise this year if he wins 4 games.

Anonymous said...

these teams make millions for the entire school, that little money is nothing.

Anonymous said...

I tar heels have their own hotel on campus. I would say its compt and doesn't cost them anything, I might be wrong, but there is nothing to hide in Chapel Hill, where donations are a plenty. When your largest donor is Union Carbide, makers of the flash light battery, you can afford to stay where you want. My opinon, save the money and let them sleep in their own beds

Anonymous said...

I would be willing to bet that UNC outspends the other schools listed. I know that UNC spent more taking their team to Charlotte for their bowl game last year than State did taking their team to Alabama.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad UNC gets donations a plenty. Maybe they can use some of that money and put a clause in Butch's contract to get an extra $100,000 if he manages to lose to State by less than 4 TD's.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they should sleep in tents on the quad, roast marshmallows and sing rousing campfire songs every night before a game.

Anonymous said...

1. Most of thes kids live off campus in various apartments. They wouldn't get any sleep with the friday night parties. In addition, they have meetings all night long to go over game related items, ets.
2. For the amount they are spending per year, it seems they could build a 60 room hotel/meeting place off the football facility. It would pay for itself over time and could be used year round for camps, other sports, alumni, etc.

Anonymous said...

Funny that butch's future doesn't hang on beating the wolfpack. If I am not mistaken, "tits Amatto" lost his job due to his success against one University, hmm who would that be???? Oh yeah!!! Carolina. It's so obvious that beating Carolina means much more to State fans that it does to Carolina fans.

Anonymous said...

Some teams don't stay at the same hotel every home game. That allows a particular hotel to allow that night's stay to be a "gift in kind" to the athletic department and get a tax benefit. . .