The Color of Money : Making the Playoffs Can Mean Some Big Payoffs for Schools . . . and It Doesn’t Matter If You Win or Lose

There will be a lot at stake next week when the first round of the Southern Section football playoffs start.

Teams strive for glory and a spot in the record books. Schools yearn for prestige. Seniors long to depart victorious, and coaches want to establish--or continue--winning traditions.

Next year’s athletic budget is far from the minds of playoff-bound athletes. But dollars are as much a mark of a team’s postseason success as the CIF patch on a player’s varsity jacket. The combined playoff profit of Orange County schools from the last five football seasons is close to half a million dollars.

At a time when school budgets are suffering and the cost of equipment, officials and transportation is steadily increasing, playoff revenues are one way for schools to supplement their athletic budgets and pay for items they couldn’t otherwise afford.

“The money is windfall,” said Dave Thompson, Marina High School’s activities director and, until the 1986 season, its football coach. Between 1982 and 1986, Marina appeared in 10 playoff games and netted $22,376.90.

“(The playoff money) makes activities directors and athletic directors real happy,” Thompson said. “It means that wish lists can be granted. And it meant that we (the football program) weren’t costing the school any money.”

Playoff profits come from total gate receipts. Expense items--such as facility rental, transportation, officials, security and other personnel--are subtracted. Half of the remaining (net) profit goes to the Southern Section, which uses the money in its annual budget, according to section administrator Bill Clark. That money covers not only football costs--which account for a third of the organization’s total annual expenses--but such items as printing and postage.

The other 50% of the game money is evenly divided between the two teams, no matter who wins or who has the most fans attend.

“It’s not much money,” said Bill Rolfe, Capistrano Valley’s athletic director. “Most of it goes to the CIF. You’re not going to get rich in the playoffs.”

But the extra income does have its advantages.

Teams such as Capistrano Valley, which has advanced to the quarterfinals once in the last five years, can take home $1,000 or $2,000 even if they are knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.

But the big money goes to teams that routinely make it to at least the semifinals, when game crowds typically are larger. And some schools are particularly adroit at drawing the big crowds.

The Orange County high school that has made the most money in the past five years is Servite, a private Catholic school in Anaheim. The Friars, who won the Big Five Conference in 1982 and 1983, took home $47,342.08 for their appearances in 13 playoff games in the past five years.

Although other schools such as El Modena and El Toro have appeared in more playoff games, they haven’t been able to draw crowds to match Servite’s.

“The second round of the playoffs is Thanksgiving weekend,” Rolfe said. “Our kids would all be gone skiing.”

Father Charles Motsko, Servite principal, said the school’s big turnouts can be explained by its long winning tradition and small, close-knit student body.

“And we are blessed to have parents who are very involved,” Motsko said. “Of course, they are paying tuition, so they are very interested.”

At Servite, the money goes into a general fund.

“We don’t budget it; it’s just windfall,” Motsko said. “We can use it to support our other sports or for operating costs or for a new roof, if we need it.”

Most public schools also put playoff profits into a general student body fund. Some, such as Santa Ana High School, must use the funds for student body needs, but others can use the money specifically for athletics, though not exclusively for football. The difference is a matter of school policy, which varies throughout the county.

“It takes the pressure off the boosters,” said Jim Patterson, athletic director at Esperanza, which netted $25,778.51 between 1982 and 1986. “We can buy things we couldn’t otherwise afford, that our boosters would have to raise the money for.”

Most schools try to divide the money equally among athletic programs.

“We use it to better the entire athletic program,” said Ralph Trigsted, Sunny Hills athletic director. “A lot goes back to football because you need so many things for a football program. But we try to divide it equally with all sports.”

Said Patterson: “Only football and basketball are revenue-producing. But our soccer team has won two Southern Section titles and our baseball team was ranked No. 1 in the country. So it’s nice that they can share equally in the success.”

Playoff revenues have helped to pay for such items as a new scoreboard and a refurbished gymnasium (Esperanza), an ice machine and league championship patches for the soccer team (El Modena), refurbished weight rooms (EL Modena and Marina), and a blocking sled and girls’ basketball and softball uniforms (Sunny Hills).

Some football programs have to share the wealth not only with other sports or other student body programs, but with other schools.

In the Orange Unified School District, regular-season game profits for the member schools--El Modena, Villa Park, Canyon and Orange--go to the district, which covers such expenses as transportation and officials and then budgets an equal amount to each school.

During the playoffs, an Orange district school keeps 70% of its net profits. The remaining 30% is split among the other three district schools.

El Modena, the county’s second-most profitable school, has netted $29,882.99 in 14 playoff games since 1982. But the Vanguards have kept only $20,918.09. In 1983, the year El Modena won the Southern Conference championship by beating Foothill, 10-7, the school brought back to the district $9,741.08 from its four playoff appearances. Orange High School, which didn’t win a game that year, received $974.10 of it.

“Sometimes it hurts to see that money go,” said Don Mott, El Modena’s athletic director. “But when the other schools get to the playoffs, we’ll get something out of it.”

When a school is able to turn its football program around, and not only get into the playoffs but produce a conference champion, the impact may not be earth-shattering, but it is definitely felt.

Bolsa Grande, which was knocked out in the first round of both the 1985 and 1982 playoffs, last season cruised through all four rounds for its first championship. For the four playoff games, the school netted $8,832.25.

According to Jim Monahan, Bolsa Grande vice principal, the extra money helped in two ways.

“Every year it is a constant struggle to make ends meet, so the first impact was that it helped to balance the budget,” Monahan said. “The second impact is that it allows us to purchase things that are sorely needed. Maybe instead of making a uniform last five years, it only has to last four. Or instead of getting one more year of use out of shoddy athletic equipment, we can upgrade it.”

But, Monahan warned, the money doesn’t solve all problems.

“Eight thousand dollars spread over 20-some sports is an inconsequential figure,” he said. “It’s naive to think it changes things a lot. But it does make life around here a little easier.”

By the same token, if a school is used to getting playoff money and doesn’t receive any, life could be a little harder.

In the last five seasons, El Toro High School has been to more playoff games (16) than any other Orange County school. This week, the Chargers are hoping to clinch the South Coast League’s third playoff spot.

Athletic Director John Johansen is keeping his fingers crossed. He projected into this year’s budget that the team would make it to three playoff games.

And if the Chargers aren’t there?

“I’m in trouble,” Johansen said. “We’ll just have to take fewer things for granted.”

PLAYOFF REVENUES: COUNTY’S TOP 20 MONEYMAKERS 1982-86

Rank School Conference Net Amount In Playoffs Games 1 SERVITE Big Five $47,342.08 5 13 2 EL MODENA Southern $29,882.99 4 14 3 EL TORO Southern/Central $28,390.71 5 16 4 ESPERANZA Southern $25,778.51 5 14 5 VALENCIA Central $22,917.56 5 13 6 MARINA Big Five $22,376.90 4 10 7 EDISON Big Five $21,798.30 4 9 8 LA HABRA Central $21,378.40 5 13 9 MISSION VIEJO Central $21,251.41 5 14 10 SUNNY HILLS Central $21,208.89 4 12 11 FULLERTON Central $20,529.14 4 10 12 FOOTHILL Southern $19,962.14 5 12 13 SANTA ANA Southern $17,486.97 4 11 14 FOUNTAIN VALLEY Big Five $14,520.17 3 6 15 MATER DEI Big Five $13,990.58 4 6 16 SADDLEBACK Central $13,928.20 4 10 17 NEWPORT HARBOR Central $12,736.75 3 6 18 LA QUINTA Central $10,769.47 3 8 19 BOLSA GRANDE Central $10,716.75 3 6 20 WESTMINSTER Central $9,635.92 2 4

Rank In Finals 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 1 6 0 7 1 8 1 9 1 10 1 11 2 12 1 13 2 14 0 15 0 16 1 17 0 18 1 19 1 20 0