For Old Dominion, the thrill of making its first bowl appearance might have been tempered by the fear of losing money.

ODU wouldn't have been the first to end up in the red on a bowl trip, especially with international travel involved.

Instead, thanks to help from Conference USA and fundraising efforts, the Monarchs will land in the black. Athletic Director Wood Selig said when the numbers are finalized, he expects the trip to the Bahamas Bowl to have generated as much as $250,000.

"Everybody assumes that we took a beating financially going to this bowl game in the Bahamas," Selig said. "We're going to make money, and not just five or ten dollars. It'll be six figures that we'll benefit financially from this bowl experience. It exceeded all expectations."

To be sure, sending 200 people to Nassau for five days isn't cheap. In December, the Virginian-Pilot reported that ODU's expenses for the trip were expected to be nearly $587,000. That's in line with what Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky spent when they went to the Bahamas Bowl in 2015 and '14.

But Conference USA made things considerably easier by cutting ODU a check for almost $590,000. That was enough to cover two charter planes, 140 hotel rooms, and per-diems for 200 members of the Monarchs' travel party.

"We had a lot of our expenses covered up front as part of a really unique finance plan that Conference USA has implemented so that you don't go broke with the success of going to a bowl game," Selig said. "We did very well financially because the way the conference is set up."

Not every conference is as helpful. Two years ago, Central Michigan played WKU in the inaugural Bahamas Bowl. The Mid-American Conference fronted the school $450,000, but an Associated Press story reported that CMU claimed a loss of $145,000.

C-USA also allows each bowl participant to keep the first $100,000 it generates in ticket money with the remainder being split among membership. Old Dominion sold 1,786 tickets (including proxies) at $50 per. That's $89,300, all of which ODU was able to keep.

Old Dominion also received significant help from fans and boosters who wanted to help the football program make history. The Old Dominion Athletic Foundation's #ODUBowlBoundFund raised $160,000.

"That was a result of our donors saying, 'Hey, I'm so excited about the direction the program is going, I'm going to write you an extra check before the end of the year,'" Selig said. "People were underwriting dinners for the team. They were contributing to the travel costs and expense of the bowl."

Also beneficial to the football program and the university, for that matter was media exposure.

According to sportstvratings.com, the Bahamas Bowl was viewed in 1.37 million households. The 2010 Census concluded the average household has 2.58 people, so it can be estimated the game had more than 3 million viewers.

Played on Dec. 23, a Friday, and televised by ESPN, the Bahamas Bowl was the only game in the 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. slot. It led up to the Navy-Louisiana Tech game in the Armed Forces Bowl (which was viewed in 2.3 million households).

"It was a three-and-a-half-hour infomercial for Old Dominion University, for ODU athletics, for ODU football," Selig said. "The announcers were extremely positive about Coach (Bobby) Wilder, about the university, about the direction of our football program."

The bowl itself generated excitement among Monarch fans and alumni, but ODU's 24-20 win over Eastern Michigan provided even more. The university bookstore has sold 2,000 T-shirts, including several with "Bahamas Bowl Champions" in large print.

"I think I underestimated the value of winning a bowl game," Selig said. "Had we not won the game, people would have still recognized us and remembered the game. But because we actually won the game, that went further to advance ODU's brand."

Johnson can be reached by phone at 757-247-4649.

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Conference USA helps Old Dominion make money on Bahamas Bowl trip - Daily Press