The CheckerBoard

The Fulmer, Raleigh, and Pearl buyouts don't even factor into the discussion because UT placed those funds into escrow accounts at the time of termination. Consequently, those payments do not affect the operating budget on an annual basis. Fulmer's buyout ends on Dec. 31st anyways, so there would be no impact as of January 1 regardless of how the funds were allocated. The question would be how does UT balance the new buyouts with the new coach(es) and attempt to stay within budget?

Money is a deciding factor. But the issue is not buying Dooley out. Winning football drives money. Our money problems are not the results of buyouts but of declining revenue. We have gone from a high of $115 million in revenue to $100 million in two years. Fulmer's buyout was about 1% of revenue on an annual basis. Dooley's will be higher since revenues are down. The only way to increase revenue is by winning football games.

Your statement assumes there is inelastic demand for tickets. Clearly, I think the last year has proven that to be inaccurate. Season ticket sales were down significantly before the season started.

Would a big name coach help that situation? Somewhat, I am sure. I am not convinced, however, that anyone other than Gruden would be a surefire ROI.