However, I see this game as an opportunity for VT to participate in a money game and potentially gain exposure. While I was driving to get some dinner, I had this thought. It may sound like an out-of-box idea, but it may not be that crazy once you think about it.

Let's assume ESPN agrees to pay VT anywhere between $0.5-$1MM and Hawai'i agrees to pay for the travel expenses. ESPN doesn't have to come up with all the money because it can use this opportunity to find sponsors to pick up part of the tab. Basically treat this regular season game as a bowl game in that regards. Now ESPN doesn't target just any sponsor, but ones that could really benefit from the exposure. Below are 2 examples:

1. Hawaii Tourist Authority
2. DoD

In exchange for picking up part of the tab, ESPN would agree to give the sponsor so much free ad space during the game and maybe even reduced rates for the additional spots. In DoD's case, if it is willing to pay for the travel expense for the entire Corps of Cadets, then ESPN could run 2 segments during the game showing where the football team and Corps of Cadets visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial and any other military related tours. I guess I see this as an opportunity for Babcock (or whomever is VT's AD) to do some wheelin' and dealin' to milk every potential opportunity to generate some extra scratch and/or exposure for the school. After all VT does have the Corps of Cadets, so why not incorporate the program as a marketing tool for both the school and athletic programs.