On Oct. 17 of this year, the University of Michigan will host the Delaware State Hornets, which is expected to be a one-sided Wolverines domination. What fans of either of these teams will not see is the $550,000 Delaware State reportedly received, according to an article by Jack Carey of USA Today, for playing this so called “guarantee” game.
A guarantee game is the term given to matches played between two unevenly matched college football teams. The bigger of the two schools pays the smaller one money to make up for the fact the larger school’s team is almost guaranteed a win. This gives the larger school a chance to experiment with the way they play and provide some players normally warming the bench real game time. The smaller school, as in the case of Delaware State, gets a cash injection, which can be used towards upgrading their sports program.
Texas A&M University-Commerce actually played a guarantee game when they traveled to Southeastern Louisiana, a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Div. 1-AA) team, and lost 41-7. They did receive money for this game, but also paid by losing two star players for the season due to injury.
“We had two guys blow out knees down there, so that’ll probably eat up every bit of money we could’ve made out of playing that game,” head coach Guy Morriss said. He added the money A&M-Commerce received was not enough in his eyes.
“With this being the second game of the season for us this year and the new system, we struggled a little bit,” Morriss said about the Southeastern Louisiana game. “But, I don’t know that they were that much better than us athletically.”
Morriss said the Lions will play at least one guarantee game every season, with a match up against Texas State coming next year. He also feels A&M-Commerce can compete with teams in the former Div. 1-AA.
“We’re going to play at least one of those a year,” he said. “It’s a money game for us. We’re going to go into that game next year thinking we can beat them, and we possibly can. I really believe that.”
As far as A&M-Commerce playing teams like Michigan or Texas A&M University in College Station, the chances are very slim.
“They won’t do it,” he said. “That doesn’t count towards bowl eligibility for them anyways, so they would never do that. They play all the Football Championship Subdivision teams.”
Even if a Division I team were to request a guarantee game with A&M-Commerce, more than just money would be considered. Morriss said the safety of players also must be thought of, due to the difference in talent and size there is between Division II and Division I schools. Athletic Director Carlton Cooper considered the overall matchup.
“The philosophy behind it is you want the guarantee, because it helps you with budget,” he said. “At the same time, I want a fifty-fifty chance of winning. I don’t want to go play someone who I know is just much bigger and put our players in a situation where they could get hurt.”
For those excited at the prospect of the Lions playing the likes of University of Southern California or the University of Texas, the chances of that dream coming true are slim. However, that does not keep players from dreaming.
“I’d like to play Texas A&M,” senior Cory Whitfield, linebacker and LSC North Division Player of the Week, said. “The reason why is, well, sometimes they underestimate Division II. I think we’d prove ourselves.”
Quarterback Adam Farkes transferred from the University of Maine, and said he would like to match up against a team a bit closer to his home.
“Being from Boston, Mass., I’d probably love to play against Boston College,” he said. “Growing up, that was always my favorite team, and it’d be fun to play against a team that you always dreamed of playing for. We played against them when I was in Maine, and now that I’m down here I’ve seen the guys and how they can play. We’ve got some great athletes down here that can do some special things, so I think we can play with anybody.”