Alabama's trip to the inaugural Higher Football Playoff didn't end how the Cherry-red Tide hoped. It wasn't for a lack of spending on the Sugar Bowl, though.

According to a report from CBS Sports' Jon Solomon, Alabama spent $2.56 million on the trip to New Orleans for its playoff semifinal matchup against Ohio State. That represents the highest total whatever team spent on traveling to a single basin game, per Solomon's report.

Ohio Country and Oregon, both of which played two bowl games, had a total of $4.4 million and $three.eight million, respectively, in expenses for their postseason endeavors. Florida State spent $2.32 million to travel to Pasadena, Calif. for the Rose Basin. Oregon spent $one.71 million on the Rose Bowl and $2.11 meg on the national championship game, while Ohio State spent $two million on the Carbohydrate Bowl and $two.39 million on the national title.

I of the reasons for Alabama's high expenses was the size of the school's traveling party. Solomon study says the Ruby Tide took 908 people to the game, 197 more than than the side by side-highest total and 128 more than the school took to the 2012 national championship game.

Hither's how that traveling party broke downwards, at an average cost of $two,820 per person :

  • Squad/staff: 388 people (seven days in New Orleans)
  • Band/cheerleaders: 439 people (four days in New Orleans)
  • Official party: 81 people (four days in New Orleans)

Alabama as well sold 11,116 of its thirteen,250 allotted tickets, taking a $388,600 hit for the two,134 unsold seats. For comparison, Ohio State, located more 600 miles farther from New Orleans than UA, brought 711 people to the Saccharide Basin and sold 12,598 of its xiii,602 allotted tickets.

For the the two semifinal games, only Florida Country spent more per person on traveling to its bowl game ($3,741) than Alabama. Oregon spent $ii,675 per person for its Rose Bowl trip, while Ohio State spent $2,816 per person on the Sugar Bowl. Those numbers rose to $iii,644 and $three,509, respectively, for the national championship game.

With ane of the biggest overall staffs in college football, information technology shouldn't be a major shock that Alabama had such a big traveling party at its bowl game. However, the Tide did spend far more on food and lodging as the Buckeyes— twice equally much, really, at $928,789 to $428,458.

Alabama's expenses and the size of its traveling political party might seem a petty crazy, only at that place'southward a reason the school was able to beget to bring and then many people, as the SEC is set to receive the highest payout from the CFP of whatsoever conference.

From Solomon'due south written report:

The CFP pays out $50 million to each Ability Five conference, plus $6 million for each squad in the semifinals and $4 million for each team in a CFP access basin. That doesn't include additional lucrative payouts from some conferences' private contracts with bowls that are part of the playoff.

This year'southward projected CFP payouts: SEC — $87.5 1000000, ACC — $83.v million, Pac-12 — $threescore million, Big Ten — $60 million, Large 12 — $58 one thousand thousand. These numbers can vary depending on which contract bowls are semifinal sites. This yr, the Rose Basin (Big Ten/Pac-12) and Carbohydrate Bowl (Big 12/SEC) were semifinal sites, pregnant their contracts didn't pay out to those conferences.

…Alabama did not identify a bottom-line effigy and said it will receive $two,058,400 from the CFP semifinal plus additional postseason money from the SEC in June.