A pretty in-depth look at what is never as it seems, including a past WVU reference.

When West Virginia lost to Pitt, 13-9, in December 2007, it kept the Mountaineers out of the BCS national championship game but not the BCS bowl picture. Instead of playing in New Orleans, West Virginia headed 1,000 miles further west to the Fiesta Bowl.

“The real misconception is when somebody goes to a BCS bowl, people think you’re getting $15 million,” West Virginia senior associate athletic director Russ Sharp said. “You’re getting a fraction of that – and it costs a fortune to go to the Fiesta Bowl.”

Sharp said that the Big East’s payout to West Virginia for its trip to the 2008 Fiesta Bowl was $2,425,600, but the school’s expenses totaled $3,495,000 – for losses of $1,069,400. Taking the 400-member band alone cost West Virginia nearly $700,000, and the school had to swallow some of its 17,500 ticket obligation.

“We lost money on that trip,” Sharp said. “It was an expensive deal.”