Arizona is becoming Clemson’s holiday home away from home. Since 2015, the Tigers have visited Glendale more than Atlantic Coast Conference colleagues in Chapel Hill or Charlottesville.
Clemson closed the 2015 season in Arizona in the College Football Playoff championship game. It returned to the desert the following season for the Fiesta Bowl semifinal.
This weekend, Clemson landed in Arizona again, ahead of another Fiesta Bowl appearance.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney often declares the Tigers must pay a price to reach this pinnacle. That refers to the sweat and sacrifice players and coaches give on the field.
Clemson players arrive for the 2019 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Sky Harbor Executive Terminal in Phoenix, Sunday, Dec 22, 2019. (Photo: Darryl Webb, Arizona Republic)
The Clemson athletic department pays an actual price for the team to travel. According to figures Clemson submitted to The Greenville News, the team's previous two trips to Arizona cost $5.6 million.
The expenses include transportation, lodging, meals, tickets and entertainment. In each of the previous two trips, transportation accounted for at least 27 percent of the total expenses.
Clemson paid $872,648 in travel costs for the trip to the championship game in January 2016. It paid $702,814 for the return trip for the Fiesta Bowl the following December.
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Clemson paid $574,160 for charter flights for the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. That was 46.9 percent more than it paid for charter flights the previous year for the Orange Bowl in South Florida. Clemson spent $749,717 on charter flights for the national championship game in Arizona.
In January 2016, transportation was not the largest expense. It was game tickets. Clemson paid $1.1 million for tickets for team family members and guests and for the unsold tickets the CFP originally allotted.
Semifinal tickets are, on average, cheaper than national championship game tickets. Clemson paid $216,600 for family and guest tickets for the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. Clemson sold its entire allotment for that game.
Clemson stayed in the Arizona longer for the Fiesta Bowl than the national championship game. Thus, the total cost for lodging and meals for the December 2016 trip ($740,398) was more than double the cost on the January 2016 trip.
Clemson running back C.J. Fuller (27) catches a touchdown pass while defended by Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker during the Fiesta Bowl in 2016. (Photo: Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports)
Clemson athletics also pays for the marching band to attend and perform at postseason games. It spent $436,905 on band travel for the 2016 championship game. It spent $433,889 for the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
Clemson spent $183,660 for band travel to the 2015 Orange Bowl and $146,668 for the 2017 championship game in Tampa, Florida.
The College Football Playoff allocates funds to each participating school each year to offset travel expenses. In 2015, Clemson’s first appearance in the playoff, each school received $2.08 million for each game. In 2016, each school received $2.2 million.
For the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, Clemson also received an additional travel stipend of $487,298 from the ACC. Clemson can use revenue from ticket sales and licensing royalties to cover the remaining expenses.
Clemson reported total expenses for the 2015-16 playoff, including the Orange Bowl in South Florida and the championship game in Arizona, at $5.3 million. It reported $4.6 million in expenses the following year for the Fiesta Bowl and the title game in Tampa.
In the 2017 season, Clemson’s playoff run ended in the Sugar Bowl semifinal in New Orleans. Clemson reported $2.2 million in total bowl expenses.
For its national championship run last season, Clemson’s expenses exceeded the previous two seasons combined. For trips to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl semifinal and to the Santa Clara, California for the championship game last season, Clemson reported total expenses of $6.9 million.
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