"money game" in football. Remember that the revenue for an athletic department's budget is depended upon men's basketball revenue, football revenue (if applicable), TV contracts (if applicable), athletic booster donations, and budgetary aid from the state (if applicable). Since most home-home agreements will typically just cover travel expenses. a power conference school will often earn more money from a home basketball game than the money received from a mid-major to cover travel expenses or paying a mid-major a fee (including travel expenses) to play 1 game at its place.

Syracuse may be the best example of a power conference school filling its OOC schedule with "money games," so I would look at the Orange's schedule over a 5-10 year period to really see what I am talking about. Duke and UNC are another good example of teams that will play 2-3 (sometimes even 4) "money games" in a season, so I would look at their schedules over a 5-10 year period too. Yes, all 3 programs have earned the right to schedule however they want without being penalized for it. However, it also makes them good examples to understand the budgetary side of the business since all 3 earn enough revenue for each home game to be able to afford any "fees" for "money games."