Oklahoma Opponent Kent State Getting $5.2 Million for Guarantee Games This Year

Coach Sean Lewis said staying the week in Tulsa helps competitively and will provide an historical "life experience" for the Golden Flashes players.

NORMAN — Oklahoma is paying Kent State $1.5 million to come to Norman on Saturday.

Joe Castiglione is apparently getting quite the bargain.

Last week, for taking a 45-20 loss at Washington, the Golden Flashes reportedly will get a payday of $1.8 million, according to the Kent Record-Courier. In two weeks, Kent State heads off to visit defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Georgia, and will pocket $1.9 million.

All told, the Flashes will be paid $5.2 million this year for playing three road games — “guarantee games,” or “blood games,” they’re called. That’s a hefty percentage of what’s been reported as a $30 million budget for the Kent State athletic department, about 17.3 percent.

Recent games against Arizona State, Auburn and Wisconsin delivered similar windfalls.

So staying the week in Tulsa — and practicing and meeting at Union High School — after playing in Seattle last week isn’t that much of a financial hardship, and Kent State coach Sean Lewis said the layover comes with other benefits.

“We want to put our guys in the best position to be successful,” Lewis said Monday, “so we went from Seattle to here, got in here and setting up camp in Tulsa. Going to be practicing here for the week and then when we get done with our Friday activities, we'll be heading over to Oklahoma City.”

Lewis said part of the deal was giving players a “life experience” — in this case, taking them on a tour of Tulsa’s Greenwood District and Black Wall Street.

“Felt like with Labor Day and our guys not having class (Monday), we could give them a life experience,” Lewis said, “while we prepare and we plan, felt this would be the best opportunity for us to have a successful week.”