The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to bring upcoming Rose Bowl expenditures in line with bowl revenues. The department will not spend more than its takes in on the bowl.
The specifics of the athletics department bowl budget shifts day by day as planners firm up cost estimates and confirm details. A full accounting of income and spending will be available after the bowl.
No taxpayer money has ever been spent on Rose Bowl travel or related expenses. In fact, less than 1 percent of the overall Athletics Department budget comes from state tax money.
Rose Bowl proceeds will pay for players, coaches, key athletics department support staff, the band, its support staff, the spirit squad and an official university party. The costs for all travelers this year will be paid from Rose Bowl proceeds or private donations — not state tax dollars.
The lists of individuals including in each of these traveling parties are still being assembled. About 720 people total will travel to the bowl this year — none of them at taxpayer expense. About 600 will be have their expenses covered by Rose Bowl proceeds and another 100 or so will be covered by private donations.
More than 450 students — 112 players and more than 350 band members and spirit squad members — account for most of those still traveling under the proceeds paid by the Rose Bowl.
The athletics program has made significant cuts in personnel going to the Rose Bowl. The total will be about 169, compared to 246 last year.
These cuts are voluntary. Big Ten and NCAA rules would allow the university’s traveling group to be larger, but the athletics department has scaled back as part of a longer-range plan for controlling athletic expenses.
For staff who are allowed to take spouses or family members on the trip, the costs will be covered by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which will administer the private donations in support of bowl travel.
