Here are some of the ways Bethune-Cookman wins, regardless of the outcome of the game. On that point, keep in mind the Wildcats (4-4) have more victories than Nebraska (1-6) this year:
* Nebraska is paying the Daytona Beach school a guaranteed $800,000 to fill a void in the Cornhuskers’ home schedule after the home opener with Akron was washed out by severe storms and lightning.
It is one of the largest -- if not the largest -- paycheck the school has ever received for scheduling one road game against a non-conference opponent. And it may be the second-largest payout to any school in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, topped only by Ohio State’s $900,000 check to Florida A&M in 2013, according to the conference. Ohio State won that game 73-0.
*That money will help Bethune-Cookman strengthen its athletics budget, which is in the $10 million to $15 million range based on conference estimates.
Assuming Bethune-Cookman’s athletics budget was at the high end, an $800,000 check would represent more than 5 percent of its athletics revenue, and provide a windfall since this game wasn’t on the original 2018 schedule. For Nebraska, $800,000 represents a fraction of its $138 million 2018-2019 athletic department budget.
*Bethune-Cookman needs the money. Last week interim president Hubert Grimes said the university was facing a “crisis” because of a myriad of financial problems. He denied reports that the school may be forced to close.
The financial problems prompted student rallies on campus this past week.
The Nebraska game comes at a critical juncture in the timeline of Bethune-Cookman, which was founded in 1904.
While refuting reports that the school will close, Grimes said the university is dealing with numerous financial issues that have been years in the making, including a bad dormitory deal that is expected to cost the university millions more than anticipated.
The new dorm, originally estimated at $72.1 million, is now expected to cost $306 million over payments spread out over the next 40 years, according to media reports in Florida.
“Our problems reflect the culmination of years of inadequate accountability, suspect governance, and quite frankly, inexcusable management decisions,” Grimes said.
Bethune-Cookman was put on probation earlier this year by its accrediting organization. Meetings with those officials were scheduled for late last week.
Dating back to 2011, the school has played Miami four times and Florida State once. The Wildcats have also played Central Florida, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, and Coastal Carolina.
To put Bethune-Cookman's $800,000 payout more in perspective as an FCS opponent, NU has five scheduled games with FCS schools North Dakota (2022 and 2026) and South Dakota State (2020, 2024 and 2028). The payouts for those five FCS games range from $515,000 to $575,000, which is more the market rate for scheduling FCS schools. Where Group of Five schools like Akron and Arkansas State command anywhere from $1.1 to $1.65 million.
