How much is Penn State paying UMass for this weekend’s game?
When Penn State welcomes 100,000 fans into Beaver Stadium this weekend, millions of dollars will flow into the athletic department’s pockets — and a chunk of that change will go to those on the opposing sideline.
Penn State will pay $1.6 million to UMass for Saturday’s game, according to a Freedom of Information Act request made to the Minutemen by PennLive.
The game contract, which was obtained by PennLive, was signed between the two schools on Dec. 20, 2018.
Penn State and UMass are scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
That $1.6 million is the only “buy game” figure available on the Nittany Lions’ schedule this year. Delaware declined a FOIA request by PennLive to obtain the contract for its Sept. 9 trip to Happy Valley.
UMass’ $1.6 million payday is in line with the normal fee for a lower level Football Bowl Subdivsion team. In 2020, the Associated Press reported that nearly 40 Power Five programs scheduled a total of 49 buy games worth about $65 million. Penn State paid $1.4 million to Ball State in 2021, according to the Ball State Daily.
For teams like Penn State, these games are more often than not a blowout win and a chance to get younger, inexperienced players game action. Sometimes you see upsets. No one will ever forget what happened to Michigan in 2007 when Appalachian State pulled off a stunner. But there’s a reason why the Nittany Lions are 43-point betting favorites against the Minutemen this weekend.
Even if they lose big — and they often do — buy games are essential for programs like UMass. A sum of $1.6 million goes a long way for not only the football team but other sports in the athletic department. Travel, equipment, scholarships, it all adds up. The experience of playing at Beaver Stadium is also an unforgettable one for the Minutemen, many of whom dreamed about suiting up in a venue like that.
Conference-only schedules in the COVID-shortened 2020 season hurt independent and Group of Five schools like UMass. Their return was a welcome one.
Moving forward, it’ll be interesting if conference realignment and a 12-team College Football Playoff changes the future of the buy game. For now, the Big Ten is still committed to playing a nine-game conference schedule even with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington entering the fold next year.
In the non-conference in 2024, Penn State travels to West Virginia to finish out a home-and-home series and hosts Bowling Green and Kent State for buy games. The Nittany Lions are hosting Ohio State, UCLA, Washington, Maryland and Illinois and traveling to USC, Wisconsin, Purdue and Minnesota in Big Ten play.
Penn State has several more buy games on future schedules: Nevada and Villanova in 2025, Marshall and Buffalo in 2026, Delaware in 2027 and Ball State in 2028.
The Nittany Lions also have home-and-home agreements with Temple (away in 2026, home in 2027) and Syracuse (home in 2027, away in 2028).
If the Big Ten expands again beyond 18 teams — and with the way realignment is going, it seems like only a matter of time — maybe it will move to a 10-game conference slate. Maybe those buy games will be more limited, more hard to come by.
But for now, that’s an issue for another day.
For now, teams like UMass can keep cashing those checks.
