CEDAR FALLS -- Playing three home games in the NCAA Division I-AA football tournament isn't exactly a financial windfall for the University of Northern Iowa.

Under the best of circumstances -- i.e., a sellout -- a game like Saturday's semifinal matchup between the University of Richmond (11-3) and UNI (12-2) at the UNI-Dome will net UNI's athletic department no more than about $25,000.

"After expenses are paid, there's a revenue share between NCAA and university," UNI Athletic Director Troy Dannen said. "The NCAA takes 75 percent, and the university gets 25 percent. That's where the potential revenue is."

That comes after the NCAA collects a guaranteed $125,000.

"The best-case scenario, from a ticket-sale standpoint, even with a sellout crowd, is that it's $25,000 gate for the athletic department," Dannen said.

Ticket prices for Saturday's semifinal are $26 for adults, $14 for children and $10 for UNI students.

That isn't to say that UNI isn't counting other gains from the home dates, Dannen said.

"There's obviously a direct economic benefit to the university," he said. "While there may not be a great gain from a ticket-sales standpoint, concessions and other monies spent at the university do benefit the institution."

And, Dannen said, he can count money he doesn't have to spend to travel to the game.

'From the department's standpoint, there are some significant travel expenses when you go on the road in these playoffs, and we're able to defer those expenses," Dannen said.

He said his number crunchers had not yet figured out how much it would cost the Panthers to play in the championship game against either James Madison or Montana Dec. 19 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

But, he does have a benchmark, in the season-opening game against Brigham Young at Provo, Utah.

"When we traveled to BYU, hotel, meals and the charter flight was $110,000 to $120,000," Dannen said.

Admittedly, that's probably a little more than costs for a trip to Chattanooga, he added.

"Early in the fall, we were paying a lot of fuel surcharges," he said. "The NCAA, if we were to go to Chattanooga, defrays the vast majority of those expenses, but not entirely."

At the Division I-AA level, athletic programs have to look closely at the intangible benefits to playing deep into the playoffs.

Much of that advantage, Dannen said, comes from playing in front of a nationwide audience watching the game on the ESPN cable network.

"From an image standpoint, it's a chance to represent Northern Iowa on ESPN in front of a potential audience of millions, give them a chance to see our facilities, see our team represented and the institution and the way our students and fans support the team and behave," he said. "It's really a chance to establish an image in front of a lot of people."

It will have to suffice; neither team gets any TV money from the network.

"This is a part of the massive NCAA TV contracts with CBS and ESPN," Dannen said. "They're bundled rights fees, as opposed to men's basketball, where you can pull out 'X' amount. There's no direct return for being on TV for the football playoffs."

But there are financial gains from hosting playoff games, if indirect, said Art Cox, UNI's interim finance director.

"In terms of the economic benefit to the community, I can't quantify that, but it's certainly good," Cox said. "It affects the community in a great way."

Even fans who simply drive into town to take in the game but don't stay can send positive economic ripples through the community, Cox said.

"They bought a ticket from the university," he said. "They may have bought a bag of popcorn, so even if they don't stay at a hotel or eat at a restaurant, there's a positive economic effect. The university is part of the community, so if the university has more resources, there are more that will circle into the community. The university is going to buy that popcorn from somebody in the community."

Cox agreed the benefits the playoffs bring to the institution are less than direct, but helpful, all the same.

"Anything like that is good," he said. "In terms of how it affects the university, having more exposure for the university in terms of its athletic activities and any other activities that occur on campus, presumably, it puts the university in a favorable light, especially from the standpoint of prospective students. Students want to go to schools where there's good stuff going on."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com