WACO, Texas — The college sports world is constantly evolving, especially in the age of conference realignment.
Amidst that change, one constant that routinely comes to the forefront of the conversation is guarantee games and whether they're needed or not.
Also known as buy games or paycheck games, these guarantee games help college teams fill their schedule. The premise is simple; a bigger school gives a smaller school a check to play a game.
"When I was at Marshall, we tried to play one every three-to-four years to go out and help the budget and get a paycheck, especially in years when we thought we were going to be a little lean," Lamar University athletic director Jeff O'Malley said. "We try not to do it too often."
O'Malley is finishing his first school year as the athletic director at Lamar University, a Division I FCS school in Beaumont, Texas.
During the 2022 football season, shortly after his arrival at the school, Lamar played two buy games against FBS foes SMU and New Mexico. However, O'Malley said there's more to these games than a paycheck.
"I think there's always an advantage to play up and use it as a barometer for where we are," O'Malley said. "We went out and played SMU earlier this year and we really competed."
6 Sports requested the contracts for every Big 12 non-conference football game involving at least one public schools, which only eliminated Baylor's game at BYU and TCU's home game against SMU from the requests.
The checks for these non-conference games range in price, with games against FCS schools like Lamar averaging $466,667. In six of these games, Big 12 schools doled out $2.8 million, according to records obtained by 6 Sports.
"I almost feel like it almost had more of an impact at Marshall than it does on our budget here," O'Malley said.
The price tag for games against FBS foes varies.
Among the records 6 Sports received, three games did not include a pay-out: Missouri at Kansas State, Iowa State at Iowa and Ohio at Iowa State.
Of the games against FBS teams that featured paychecks, the smallest was the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy between West Virginia and Virginia Tech at $100,000. Just three games between a Big 12 team and another FBS opponent featured a seven-figure payout, according to the contracts:
- Oklahoma paid UTEP $1.3 million
- Oklahoma paid Kent State $1.5 million
- Texas paid Louisiana-Monroe $1.85 million
When these contracts are being negotiated, O'Malley said most of the back-and-forth pertains to the buy-out, should one of the schools back out and leave the other scrambling to fill that hole in their schedule. They all, however, address things like tickets, sideline credentials and other terms.
The most unique find: Oklahoma State negotiated 120 hotel rooms for one night (up to $15,000) when it traveled to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to face Central Michigan in 2015.
"I haven't seen the hotels in a football contract," O'Malley said. "I know in basketball contracts, or baseball or some other sports, that's pretty common."
Among the six FCS games 6 Sports obtained contracts for, Baylor's 2022 season opener against UAlbany featured the smallest payout at $400,000.
While that seems like a good payday, O'Malley said it doesn't go as far as you'd expect.
"By the time you charter a plane and you travel, it's a net positive but it isn't transformational-type money," he said.
Football, however, is not the only sport offering paydays to smaller schools. Men's basketball and some women's basketball features sizable paychecks, as well.
When the money that comes in to the athletic department is totaled is when O'Malley said it makes a difference for the smaller schools that may not have the donor base of a Big 12 or power conference school.
"You can do some things in terms of sprucing up a building," he said. "Whether you're going to refresh a locker room or redo an entrance in to a building, you can certainly do that with that type of money."
Some schools give it when they get it, though, with O'Malley saying they often use some of the proceeds to pay a team to come to them and play.
But, with this round of realignment and the likely expansion of conference schedules in revenue sports like football and basketball, O'Malley said the trend is likely decreasing.
Below is a list of the non-conference football games and their respective pay-outs, for which 6 Sports received the requested copy of from the 2022 Big 12 season:
- Albany at Baylor: $400,000
- Texas State at Baylor: $375,000
- Southeast Missouri State at Iowa State: $500,000
- Ohio at Iowa State: None
- Iowa State at Iowa: None
- Kansas at Houston: $200,000
- South Dakota at Kansas State: $425,000
- Missouri at Kansas State: None
- Tulane at Kansas State: $300,000
- UTEP at Oklahoma: $1,300,000
- Kent State at Oklahoma: $1,500,000
- Oklahoma at Nebraska: $400,000
- Arizona State at Oklahoma State: $400,000
- Central Michigan at Oklahoma State: $600,000
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Oklahoma State: $425,000
- TCU at Colorado: $400,000
- Louisiana-Monroe at Texas: $1,850,000
- Murray State at Texas Tech: $550,000
- Texas Tech at N.C. State: $300,000
- Houston at Texas Tech: $200,000
- West Virginia at Pitt: $200,000
- Towson at West Virginia: $500,000
- West Virginia at Virginia Tech: $100,000
Some of the games above are part of a series, which include paychecks for each game in the series:
- Kansas State vs. Tulane
2024 at Tulane: Kansas State will receive $300,000
2026 at Kansas State: Tulane will receive $1 million - Kansas State vs. Missouri
2023 at Missouri: No payout found - West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
2023 at West Virginia: Virginia Tech will receive $100,000 - West Virginia vs. Pitt
2023 & 2025 at West Virginia: Pitt will receive $200,000
2024 at Pitt: West Virginia will receive $200,000 - TCU vs. Colorado
2023 at TCU: Colorado will receive $400,000 - Oklahoma State vs. Central Michigan
2015 at Central Michigan: $250,000 + 120 hotel rooms for one night, up to $15,000
2016 at Oklahoma State: $250,000
2022 at Oklahoma State: Officiating section of contract amended after 2016 game. ACC crew officiated 2022 game - Texas Tech vs. N.C. State
2027 at Texas Tech: N.C. State will receive $300,000 - Oklahoma vs. UTEP
2012 at UTEP: No payout found
2017 at Oklahoma: UTEP received $1 million - Baylor vs. Texas State
2021 at Texas State: No payout found
2023 at Baylor: Texas State will receive $375,000 - Texas Tech vs. Houston
2017 at Houston: Texas Tech received $200,000
2018 at Texas Tech: Houston received $200,000
2021 at NRG Stadium in Houston: Texas Tech received $200,000 - Kansas vs. Houston
2023 game at Kansas was scheduled to pay Houston $200,000 prior to UH joining Big 12 Conference
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