IT'S ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE. The Sports Economist.

So, suppose you were the University of Nevada playing Boise St. last Saturday...

Your 8-3 record has already locked up a bowl appearance regardless of your result against the conference leader. However, with a win, Boise St. would be 12-0 and poised to make a historic appearance in a BCS bowl game. The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) would therefore be poised to take home a $15 million paycheck, which is roughly $14 million more than it would take home if Boise St. lost and had to settle for playing in the designated WAC games: the ever prestigious Hawaii Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, and the MPC Bowl.

Repeat with me: Amateur athletics. Nothing to do with money. Nothing to do with money.