San Diego State Univ. "figures to go into the black and make a profit" for the upcoming San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl against Navy, "rather than dipping into the red as it did last year" when it traveled to Boise for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against the Univ. at Buffalo, according to Tod Leonard of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. SDSU Associate AD/Business Administration Chuck Lang "estimated that the school could net at least $350,000 for the game." The school's "net loss" for last year's bowl game was $88,403. The difference is "due in large part to ticket sales." SDSU requested 10,000 tickets from the Poinsettia "to sell to its fan base." That is 7,000 "more than the minimum required." It did so because when it played in the '10 and ’12 Poinsettia Bowls, the school "sold an average of 9,400 tickets for an average profit of $512,750." By contrast, SDSU "lost more than $52,000 in unsold tickets for the Potato Bowl and also spent $460,000 for two charter planes that took the team and band to Boise." SDSU "reported a $60,000 loss" when it played in the '11 New Orleans Bowl. Lang said that 2,200 tickets "had been sold as of Wednesday, putting SDSU on a 'great' pace, nearly two weeks before the Dec. 23 game" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/12).
