The one-off contract games have been part of Alabama’s schedule for years. Home-and-homes returned to future schedules a year ago and now details of the Crimson Tide’s first two-for-one deal are coming into focus.
The series with South Florida, which includes home games in 2024 and 2026 with a trip to Tampa in 2023, was announced May 23. The contract obtained through an open records request shows a little more about how this agreement is structured.
Like in the home and-home with Notre Dame, both schools will pay the visitors for making the trip for away games. Alabama-USF is different because there isn’t symmetry in the arrangement.
South Florida will play Alabama $400,000 for the 2023 game in Tampa. Alabama will then pay USF $400,000 for the first Tuscaloosa game in 2024. Then for the second visit, South Florida will receive $1 million.
A few other specifics:
- Tickets: The visiting team will be allotted 5,000 tickets including seats for marching bands
- Cancelation fees: There are also penalties should either side back out of the deal. The deal calls for $1.5 million per game not played if cancelled 18 months before kickoff and $2 million inside 18 months.
- Conference scheduling: Immediately after the cancelation clause is a paragraph dealing with conference scheduling. Since these games are scheduled well in the future, there’s always a chance the respective conferences could change the required number of league games. The SEC has considered nine-game schedules to replace the current eight-game requirement. Well, if either conference changes the minimum requirement for league games that would impact the playing of Alabama-USF games, the two schools agree “to discuss in good faith a future date(s) for the game(s) to be played.”
- Officials: Referees for games played in Tuscaloosa will be assigned by the SEC and the game in Tampa will be assigned by the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
Alabama and South Florida have met just once previously. A 40-17 Tide win in 2003 was the first game of the Mike Shula era and the last Alabama game played in Legion Field.
Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.