UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

How does anything accomplished by other programs negatively affect ice hockey??????? Why the need to denigrate them because they don't play at the highest level of D-I? Sure hockey does, but there are only what 60 D-I schools and many of them aren't D-I in all other sports. I love that UNH can win a national championship in ice hockey, but I understand it is a niche sport that the majority of America doesn't care about. And I'm also smart enough to know that if more of the big boys decided to play D-I hockey, the more difficult it would be for UNH to remain a true national contender. Shoot, right now we're not a contender in Hockey East. Nationally, football is significantly more popular than ice hockey so why wouldn't people care about UNH Football. I get to watch a quality product and have a great tailgating experience for far less than I would at a P5 school. I've been to a big time rivalry game at a P5 school and it was an incredible experience but I left saying I got a better value at UNH. And I don't have to ignore the semi-professional, academic charade at the majority of P5 schools. And I get to watch UNH compete for a national championship against around 125 peer D-I schools. That's great for me.

Pretty much the same "view from above" that I have regarding the "Big Three" of UNH Athletics.

And Dan, I'm in total agreement with your take on the "fat & happy" Hockey program. But you knew that already.

 

[C-H-C]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

"UNH Captain's Corner: Final Game at the Whittemore Center"

 

[blazer777]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Bumping this to get the packers off the front page

"Fun with Flags!' to stay relevant

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

As an aside, UNH will be hosting the women's Frozen Four this year.......does anyone on this men's side of the forum know that?

I do, and am planning on going.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Chuck,

I admire your loyalty to UNH sports but we are talking about a Div !-AA football program and America East basketball. I am a season ticket holder for all three sports and though I am disappointed with the current hockey season, I know there are more loyal fans of hockey than we have ever had for football or basketball. This is when we are the worst team we have had in the past 20-25 years and they still sell way more tickets. UNH football had approximately 200-400 season ticket holders when we were reaching the semi-finals of Div 1-AA. Our base for football is low except for homecoming and very few are there for football. We made the playoffs yet again in football but we lost to a second tier team at home. I am waiting to see the turnout with the new stands and the track separating the fans from the field. I do not think they will sell out games asking the prices they have speculated. I am thrilled our BBall team has won more than they lost the past few years and it was great to see 1000+ at Albany game. I hope they make the NCAA's but they probably would not be a favorite if they played in Division 2. I am proud of my alma mater's turnaround but we are not talking about similar competition (I hope we beat BC in basketball soon). Gymnastics has better turnout than most other sports and we are very good and ranked nationally every year.

I guess the other team's will overtake hockey when they have forums for football and basketball and the general haters will spend more time there due to their fall from grace. I want all teams to succeed at UNH and looking at the competition and the consistent excellence, our UNH hockey program has and will likely always have the biggest and most loyal following at UNH.

Our hockey team is in the best league in the country and has been one of the better teams most years. I will admit the loss to Ct on Saturday night was the most disheartening in many years. My predictions were far less than accurate about our seniors this year and the second half of our hockey season was a disaster. We have the talent to play with BU, BC, Providence and Lowell and we had a harder time playing the weaker teams. The die-hard season ticket-holders in our section (the only one with every seat sold) were livid and many did state this is as low as it can get. As bad as it is right now, men's hockey is still the number one team at UNH. The turnaround will come over the next few years and the memory of losing the close games this year will be a driving force for the returning players.

You can rest assured that Hockey is number one and will be number one as it has been since the 70’s. If we put UNH in the AHA or Division 3 hockey, they would be far better than football is in Div 1-AA and basketball is in America East. I am proud of football and basketball’s accomplishments, but this is like the Manchester Monarchs ECHL vs ACHL vs NHL. Hockey is in the SEC of hockey and you cannot say that for our other teams. I am sure it will be a brutal offseason on the boards. Rest assured that there is talent on the way.

Regarding football. I have a very good friend who has had football season tickets as well as hockey season tickets for decades. He related to me the information he received from the athletic department about the new ticket packages and other options available to current season ticket holders. He went on for five minutes with this look of bemusement on his face. Asked him one question. Do you think they're overreaching? His answer? Yes.

As for hockey, I had season tickets going back to Snively. I gave them up in the mid-80's because it was harder for me to get to the games with a young daughter, plus I had Celtics tickets. I still went to the majority of the games, even in the dismal years, but I did not reup for season tickets until the Whit opened. As some of you know, I have been deeply involved with the program in general and the FOH board in particular for a long time. But, at least for now, I have gone to my last game as a season ticket holder. I will still go to most of the games, but why should I throw money away as a season ticket holder at the same time athletics is offering tickets for far less than I am paying? Just an aside, I am going to Thursday's Merrimack game. I wonder how many reading this will do the same?

 

[HockeyRef]

Regarding football. I have a very good friend who has had football season tickets as well as hockey season tickets for decades. He related to me the information he received from the athletic department about the new ticket packages and other options available to current season ticket holders. He went on for five minutes with this look of bemusement on his face. Asked him one question. Do you think they're overreaching? His answer? Yes.

As for hockey, I had season tickets going back to Snively. I gave them up in the mid-80's because it was harder for me to get to the games with a young daughter, plus I had Celtics tickets. I still went to the majority of the games, even in the dismal years, but I did not reup for season tickets until the Whit opened. As some of you know, I have been deeply involved with the program in general and the FOH board in particular for a long time. But, at least for now, I have gone to my last game as a season ticket holder. I will still go to most of the games, but why should I throw money away as a season ticket holder at the same time athletics is offering tickets for far less than I am paying? Just an aside, I am going to Thursday's Merrimack game. I wonder how many reading this will do the same?

We r going all 3 if necessary....and we will buy one less ST next season.

 

[UNH1932]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Greg

Please do not give up your tickets until you get your bill. Rumor has it that season ticket prices are going down for the 2016-2017 hockey season (this is not 100% confirmed). They are proposing a drop to take the lower ticket prices for all into consideration. It will not be 5*17= $85. It might be less than $250. I am asking you to please wait until the prices are set. It would be nice for many if the ushers checked tickets for prime seating as many complain about the $5-10 dollar ticket-holders sitting at center ice. We can not lose long time season ticket-holders as they are the backbone of our hockey program.

I will be at the Mack for all the games played and I will see you there. Please keep your season tickets too Ref. Last Saturday was our darkest day in awhile and I am bleeding optimism for the first round of the playoffs. I hope they play their hearts out this weekend. Wyse is the real deal and no matter what others say, he was in play with a lot of teams and he chose UNH. He was the third player picked overall in the entry draft for the USHL. That is not a player Watcher should call singles and doubles. The forwards coming in next year are of a higher caliber than those leaving and the freshmen and sophomore class this year are very good and will only get better. I am thinking the group here will be like the team post-graduation year of Nick Poole ( a top notch player but we were losing close games) and the next year started the 15+ year run that we all enjoyed so much. Keep the faith.

PS I got my football options and though they dropped season tickets at midfield from 500 (originally proposed) to 225 for 5 games that is still twice as much as I paid last year. They do have tickets for 175 between the 15-35 yard lines. If you buy two you get a parking pass. I think 17 for UNH hockey vs 45 for football against Holy Cross is a no brainer for me as I will take the hockey. I will probably get a few football tickets but will not have many extras like in the past.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Greg

Please do not give up your tickets until you get your bill. Rumor has it that season ticket prices are going down for the 2016-2017 hockey season (this is not 100% confirmed). They are proposing a drop to take the lower ticket prices for all into consideration. It will not be 5*17= $85. It might be less than $250. I am asking you to please wait until the prices are set. It would be nice for many if the ushers checked tickets for prime seating as many complain about the $5-10 dollar ticket-holders sitting at center ice. We can not lose long time season ticket-holders as they are the backbone of our hockey program.

I will be at the Mack for all the games played and I will see you there. Please keep your season tickets too Ref. Last Saturday was our darkest day in awhile and I am bleeding optimism for the first round of the playoffs. I hope they play their hearts out this weekend. Wyse is the real deal and no matter what others say, he was in play with a lot of teams and he chose UNH. He was the third player picked overall in the entry draft for the USHL. That is not a player Watcher should call singles and doubles. The forwards coming in next year are of a higher caliber than those leaving and the freshmen and sophomore class this year are very good and will only get better. I am thinking the group here will be like the team post-graduation year of Nick Poole ( a top notch player but we were losing close games) and the next year started the 15+ year run that we all enjoyed so much. Keep the faith.

PS I got my football options and though they dropped season tickets at midfield from 500 (originally proposed) to 225 for 5 games that is still twice as much as I paid last year. They do have tickets for 175 between the 15-35 yard lines. If you buy two you get a parking pass. I think 17 for UNH hockey vs 45 for football against Holy Cross is a no brainer for me as I will take the hockey. I will probably get a few football tickets but will not have many extras like in the past.

Personally I am already hopeful/excited about next year's team; we will have 2, 3 decent goalies with Mike R coming in, and like you, Wyse and the others make for a solid group. Can't wait to see another vR on the ice and the development of this year's team. Hopefully another season with the dynamic duo TyK and Pots too!

My reason for possibly not getting 2 tix (and this could change) is that my husband can only go to the first half games due to his robotics mentorship he does at my high school, so lots of times I'm looking to have someone else fill that seat. So I figured I'd get one seat, then use my STH 'priviledge' of buying games he can attend at a cheaper rate. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it next Fall...

It does irk me tho..when I get emails about the 'deals' people get and yes, we have people (mostly students) who I wonder if they've paid the full price for their seats crowd in with us in 101. (as you'd expect since it's right at the student section). Speaking of price I wonder how much it costs elsewhere; I know the Maine crowd says it's exorbitant up there. People want value for their money. Not to mention a decent team to watch I guess. I mean shucks throw in a hot dog or something?!? And how 'bout letting us park just ONCE in the 'always empty' lot at the Alumni Center. You get the pic.

When we first starting going (before becoming STH's) an usher told me he keeps his job because 'no matter how bad UNH is, I get to watch great teams like BC, BU (fill in the blank) come and play". Have to say what a thrill it is when teams like Michigan roll into town (not sure when we will see the likes of those OOC games in the near future but...).

Anyway! I look forward to seeing what is offered...But I will say, if we do win this first round I'm doubtful to go to BC if it's there...Sorry not a Conte fan BUT if we were to take it 3 I'd most likely go. (Hey it could happen 'member last year?) Now the Agganis that's another story ...and its not just for the beer

 

[sonar]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Regarding football. I have a very good friend who has had football season tickets as well as hockey season tickets for decades. He related to me the information he received from the athletic department about the new ticket packages and other options available to current season ticket holders. He went on for five minutes with this look of bemusement on his face. Asked him one question. Do you think they're overreaching? His answer? Yes.

As for hockey, I had season tickets going back to Snively. I gave them up in the mid-80's because it was harder for me to get to the games with a young daughter, plus I had Celtics tickets. I still went to the majority of the games, even in the dismal years, but I did not reup for season tickets until the Whit opened. As some of you know, I have been deeply involved with the program in general and the FOH board in particular for a long time. But, at least for now, I have gone to my last game as a season ticket holder. I will still go to most of the games, but why should I throw money away as a season ticket holder at the same time athletics is offering tickets for far less than I am paying? Just an aside, I am going to Thursday's Merrimack game. I wonder how many reading this will do the same?

I am also giving up my two season tickets .... have had them since 1969.

 

[UNHJourney34]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

I will renew my 4 season tickets. And I will be at the game on Friday night at Merrimack.
Personally I am really hoping for a series win this weekend and a matchup with Providence again. Last season's series in Providence was a blast, and UNH was the only team to beat them at home this year. I know this season has been rough, but the 'cats and especially Tirone played with confidence at Schnieder and I think that would be a fun weekend.

Both games at Lawler this year were fun games to watch. Lots of Poturalski and Kelleher, and some big late game heroics from the Freshman Miller. I'm just hoping that the games are fun to watch, there have been way too many disappointing and boring games this season.

 

[norbert]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

I will renew my 4 season tickets. And I will be at the game on Friday night at Merrimack.
Personally I am really hoping for a series win this weekend and a matchup with Providence again. Last season's series in Providence was a blast, and UNH was the only team to beat them at home this year. I know this season has been rough, but the 'cats and especially Tirone played with confidence at Schnieder and I think that would be a fun weekend.

Both games at Lawler this year were fun games to watch. Lots of Poturalski and Kelleher, and some big late game heroics from the Freshman Miller. I'm just hoping that the games are fun to watch, there have been way too many disappointing and boring games this season.

I will be renewing my 4 tickets but only because my wife and two daughters say I have to. Being forced to go, I would rather just give them up and buy the 4 for $44 each week and save a ton of money.

As for traveling to MC, I was willing to go to one game but thankfully will see our Senior Captain TVR (oh wait) tomorrow at the Garden. It was worth the significant amount of money to go to Boston versus having to listen to loud music at Lawler and watch the debacle UNH calls a team.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Greg

Please do not give up your tickets until you get your bill. Rumor has it that season ticket prices are going down for the 2016-2017 hockey season (this is not 100% confirmed). They are proposing a drop to take the lower ticket prices for all into consideration. It will not be 5*17= $85. It might be less than $250. I am asking you to please wait until the prices are set. It would be nice for many if the ushers checked tickets for prime seating as many complain about the $5-10 dollar ticket-holders sitting at center ice. We can not lose long time season ticket-holders as they are the backbone of our hockey program.

I will be at the Mack for all the games played and I will see you there. Please keep your season tickets too Ref. Last Saturday was our darkest day in awhile and I am bleeding optimism for the first round of the playoffs. I hope they play their hearts out this weekend. Wyse is the real deal and no matter what others say, he was in play with a lot of teams and he chose UNH. He was the third player picked overall in the entry draft for the USHL. That is not a player Watcher should call singles and doubles. The forwards coming in next year are of a higher caliber than those leaving and the freshmen and sophomore class this year are very good and will only get better. I am thinking the group here will be like the team post-graduation year of Nick Poole ( a top notch player but we were losing close games) and the next year started the 15+ year run that we all enjoyed so much. Keep the faith.

PS I got my football options and though they dropped season tickets at midfield from 500 (originally proposed) to 225 for 5 games that is still twice as much as I paid last year. They do have tickets for 175 between the 15-35 yard lines. If you buy two you get a parking pass. I think 17 for UNH hockey vs 45 for football against Holy Cross is a no brainer for me as I will take the hockey. I will probably get a few football tickets but will not have many extras like in the past.

First, giving up your season tickets is not something you announce to the athletic department, you just don't renew. I'll see what the prices are, figure out how many games I want to go to, then make a decision. Back in the days of constant sellouts, if you had extra tickets, it was easy to sell them, that's right sell them, or give them away. Now they go wanting. It's not like I can't afford to eat the tickets, I can, but I don't want to anymore. I still enjoy going, but mostly because I meet up with my friends before and after the game, not because of anything on the ice. I'll tell you one thing they can do to entice me to come back. Offer a parking space in the Alumni Center lot with the season tickets. It's not like I can't walk the extra block (I park at the old New England Center lot), but it is ridiculous that 2/3 of the spaces in the Alumni lot are vacant for every game. Just another example of the tone deafness of UNH Athletics.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

I actually may buy back in next season (*this is a recording*). All depends on whether I continue doing what I've been doing for the last decade plus, but I do miss the games (a lot), and I'm not getting any younger.

 

[AMC]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Why? Because football plays San Jose State and not Stanford, Toledo instead of Michigan. App State made $400,000 to go to Michigan TEN years ago. FCS schools who play P5 opponents are raking in at least $750K (plus travel, too - more often than not). SJSU and Toledo are not that far above UNH in terms of athletic department cash flow. I'm not going to criticize football, after all MacDonald has accomplished, for playing FBS schools they expect to beat. They've earned the right. Though, it might be worth considering more games at Purdue, Illinois, Oregon State, Kansas, BC, etc., where they could win and cash in...

Maine's been scheduled against BC, Florida State, Nebraska and UConn recently and never got close to $750,000 plus travel. Heck Maine plays two FBS teams per year and doesn't get that total.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Maine's been scheduled against BC, Florida State, Nebraska and UConn recently and never got close to $750,000 plus travel. Heck Maine plays two FBS teams per year and doesn't get that total.

Why fly across the country to get your ***** handed to you by a second tier D1 school? It's a few years ago now but it was cool when UNH beat Northwestern and Rutgers. Why not try to schedule games with some of the bottom rung teams in the ACC or AAC?

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Maine's been scheduled against BC, Florida State, Nebraska and UConn recently and never got close to $750,000 plus travel. Heck Maine plays two FBS teams per year and doesn't get that total.

It appears, after some research, that FCS schools are no longer getting deals comparable to lower level FBS schools as larger schools are worried about the fine line of four-team play-off ramifications. Still, there is lots of money to be made and if Maine is not getting close to 750$ playing two FBS games a year, than they need a new negotiator because they're getting ripped off...

http://espn.go.com/college-football...-paying-opponents-least-128m-combined-weekend

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

Regarding football. I have a very good friend who has had football season tickets as well as hockey season tickets for decades. He related to me the information he received from the athletic department about the new ticket packages and other options available to current season ticket holders. He went on for five minutes with this look of bemusement on his face. Asked him one question. Do you think they're overreaching? His answer? Yes.

Nice to see that the UNH administration has not learned from the cash cow mistakes of the past. If they're planning on doubling the ticket prices they better not miss the FCS playoffs and they better try to avoid many more 7-5 seasons, because the fans will leave. We've seen it with the hockey program. Hockey ticket prices are way to high for the product and attendance levels right now. I hope you're right that they are going down, because they need more fans in the arena. More fans resulting in not only more tickets sold, but more $4.00 sodas and $10.00 crappy chicken finger baskets will mean a lot more revenue. The next step is to start selling $0.25 worth of beer for $8.00...

They also need to offer additional students the opportunity to pick up any extra tickets - at least GA on the far end - with their ideas on that Thursday. If even simply for the sake of a better atmosphere, but there is certainly potential for concession revenue there too. Maybe a better atmosphere would help them sell more tickets. The pricing and sterilizing of the arena's crowd has to play a big role in the impression left on recruits who visit...

I live in Denver, but if I was back in NH I'd buy season tickets and attend every game. UNH has to stop thinking there are 6,501 fans like me and get back to understanding their market...

 

[AMC]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

It appears, after some research, that FCS schools are no longer getting deals comparable to lower level FBS schools as larger schools are worried about the fine line of four-team play-off ramifications. Still, there is lots of money to be made and if Maine is not getting close to 750$ playing two FBS games a year, than they need a new negotiator because they're getting ripped off...

http://espn.go.com/college-football...-paying-opponents-least-128m-combined-weekend

From your link, the box on the right, the top six schools listed were all FBS programs (App. State, FAU, Idaho, La. Tech, North Texas, Georgia Southern). They can charge higher fees than FCS schools.

Maine got $400,000 to play at BC last year, and $325,000 to play at Tulane. Those are pretty standard rates unless you are playing Oregon or Michigan, and every FCS team in the country is clamoring for those games. The year before the guarantee to go to BC was $350,000. Heck, in your article Iowa State was paying North Dakota State $350,000. That's the going rate unless there are extenuating circumstances (a late schedule change, for example).

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

From your link, the box on the right, the top six schools listed were all FBS programs (App. State, FAU, Idaho, La. Tech, North Texas, Georgia Southern). They can charge higher fees than FCS schools.

Maine got $400,000 to play at BC last year, and $325,000 to play at Tulane. Those are pretty standard rates unless you are playing Oregon or Michigan, and every FCS team in the country is clamoring for those games. The year before the guarantee to go to BC was $350,000. Heck, in your article Iowa State was paying North Dakota State $350,000. That's the going rate unless there are extenuating circumstances (a late schedule change, for example).

No, that's not correct.

I clearly noted that FCS payouts had declined as a result of the battle to get into a four-team playoff. They'll rise again as the playoffs expand and missing or making the playoffs is not such a fine line. Of course Tulane is not going to pay what a P5 can pay. If you had read my post on UNH not getting the big payouts I addressed why - they're paying San Jose State and Toledo, who like Tulane are much closer to FCS budgets than P5. IMO, Getting $325,000 out of Tulane is more an example of the money that can be made through guarantee games than it is proof that the money isn't there...

North Dakota state only gets $350,000 from Iowa State, because more than anything these teams are buying wins and everyone knew that's a game Iowa State was likely to lose. Which they did, 34-14. Iowa State has to pay something in this market and $350,000 is a lot of money for a guaranteed loss to an FCS school. So I think that also shows just how much money is available. The bigger question here is *** was Iowa State even thinking...

You also conveniently failed to mention the payouts from Michigan State to Jacksonville State (620K), Illinois to Youngstown State (560K), Iowa to Northern Iowa (550K) and Oregon to South Dakota (525K). And that is JUST one weekend. So yes, as I admitted above, the FCS payments have fallen and are not congruent to lower-tier FBS payments as I remembered. Now its your turn to admit that Maine negotiated poorly with BC, while Tulane is and has always been irrelevant to this conversation. Frankly so is UConn football...

 

[AMC]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2015-2016 (Part Three) - Living in Interesting Times

No, that's not correct.

I clearly noted that FCS payouts had declined as a result of the battle to get into a four-team playoff. They'll rise again as the playoffs expand and missing or making the playoffs is not such a fine line. Of course Tulane is not going to pay what a P5 can pay. If you had read my post on UNH not getting the big payouts I addressed why - they're paying San Jose State and Toledo, who like Tulane are much closer to FCS budgets than P5. IMO, Getting $325,000 out of Tulane is more an example of the money that can be made through guarantee games than it is proof that the money isn't there...

North Dakota state only gets $350,000 from Iowa State, because more than anything these teams are buying wins and everyone knew that's a game Iowa State was likely to lose. Which they did, 34-14. Iowa State has to pay something in this market and $350,000 is a lot of money for a guaranteed loss to an FCS school. So I think that also shows just how much money is available. The bigger question here is *** was Iowa State even thinking...

You also conveniently failed to mention the payouts from Michigan State to Jacksonville State (620K), Illinois to Youngstown State (560K), Iowa to Northern Iowa (550K) and Oregon to South Dakota (525K). And that is JUST one weekend. So yes, as I admitted above, the FCS payments have fallen and are not congruent to lower-tier FBS payments as I remembered. Now its your turn to admit that Maine negotiated poorly with BC, while Tulane is and has always been irrelevant to this conversation. Frankly so is UConn football...

You want to dance? Let's dance. Those teams all paid less in 2015 than in 2014. The market tightened. Here are those four schools mentioned above:

Michigan State: no FCS game
Iowa: Illinois State $500,000 (http://www.thegazette.com/subject/s...uarantees-from-2014-2018-805-million-20140620)
Illinois: Western Illinois $375,000 (http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/...nois-football-paying-big-bucks-opponents.html)
Oregon: Eastern Washington $450,000 (http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2015/09/georgia_state_gets_big_payout.html)

Others I found quickly:

Florida State: Chattanooga $500,000 (http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2015/09/19/guarantee-games-college-football-ncaa)
Texas Tech: Sam Houston $450,000 (http://www.testudotimes.com/2015/9/19/9340219/maryland-bowling-green-football-game-contract-2015)
Pittsburgh: Youngstown State $425,000 (http://www.testudotimes.com/2015/9/19/9340219/maryland-bowling-green-football-game-contract-2015)
Syracuse: Rhode Island $400,000 (http://ripr.org/post/after-disastrous-season-opener-should-uri-drop-football-maybe-not)
Missouri: Southeast Missouri $385,000 (http://www.testudotimes.com/2015/9/19/9340219/maryland-bowling-green-football-game-contract-2015)
Georgia Tech: Alcorn State $375,000 (http://www.testudotimes.com/2015/9/19/9340219/maryland-bowling-green-football-game-contract-2015)
Rutgers: Norfolk State $360,000 (http://pilotonline.com/sports/colle...cle_e8287e1b-39f0-5ab7-b466-829d4c1e7ec0.html)
Clemson: Wofford $275,000 (http://www.testudotimes.com/2015/9/19/9340219/maryland-bowling-green-football-game-contract-2015)

$400,000 is pretty standard unless you are playing one of the top, top teams. And every FCS school is clamoring to do that. Look at Youngstown, they got $560k in the article you found in 2014, last year it was down to $425k. Boston College as a football school is more in line with the Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Syracuse crowd than the Oregon, Iowa, Florida State crowd.

If you want to quibble about $25,000 or so, feel free, but that game is a bus ride, so no flights to book, Maine can have alumni events in Boston, etc. $400k considering the market, the location, the fact that the game won't be 55-0, not a bad deal.