Chompionship Gear
University of Florida Licensing Manager Debbie Gay said last month that several of the school’s licensees were asking if they could make dual national championship items, if the Gators won the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators won the men's basketball Final Four in April. Gay said the gear couldn’t be produced unless the Gators took the football title.
With the Gators' decisive 41-14 win over Ohio State on Monday, UF becomes the first school ever to hold both the football and basketball titles within the same year. Check out the shirts , which are already on sale, to prove it.
The school, which receives an 8.5 percent royalty on the wholesale cost of merchandise – typically half the retail price – had a record-breaking year in 2005-06, pulling in $3.2 million in royalties, including about $500,000 in basketball national championship merchandise. That's up 43 percent from $2.2 million in 2004-05. The school will increase its royalty rate to 10 percent in March.
UF is expecting about $2.24 million of the $17 million the SEC receives for the Gators' appearance in the BCS National Championship game – the remainder of the bowl payout is split among the rest of the schools in the conference. But most of UF’s take is covering the cost of transporting, lodging and feeding those that made the trip to Glendale, Ariz. According to Steve McClain, Florida’s sports information director, that included a projected $915,000 in transportation costs; $251,000 for hotels; $205,000 for meals and incidentals; $240,000 for the band; and $4,100 for the cheerleaders, with the total cost coming to about $2.16 million. That leaves just $78,500 to be pumped back into the athletic department budget.


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