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Evaluating the Two-Game Road Trip in College Sports: Does a Travel Partner Scheduling Approach Affect Team Competitiveness?

Authors:  Mark Mitchell, Samuel Wathen, and Robert Orwig

Corresponding Author: Mark Mitchell, DBA Professor of Marketing Associate Dean, Wall College of Business NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Coastal Carolina University P. O. Box 261954 Conway, SC  29528 [email protected] (843) 349-2392

Mark Mitchell , DBA is Professor of Marketing at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. Samuel Wathen, PhDis Professor of Management at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. Robert Orwig , DBA is Associate Professor of Management at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, GA.

Evaluating the Impact of Two-Game Road Trips in College Sports:  Does a Travel Partner Scheduling Approach Affect Team Competitiveness?

Some NCAA athletic conferences have implemented a geographic travel partner strategy when scheduling league games.  Teams are organized into two-team clusters.  A visiting team comes to the region and plays both opponents during one road trip before returning to campus.  Prior research reveals NBA teams tend to have a lower winning percentage when playing back-to-back games on back-to-back evenings.  This study examines the performance of college sports teams on two-game road trips to see if the NBA pattern exists in college sports.  Game results (and winning percentages) from the Sun Belt Conference for the 2016-17 season are evaluated over four sports (women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball).  Team performance in Game 2 was comparable to Game 1 in women’s soccer, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball. Game 2 performance was improved in women’s volleyball.   There was not a significant reduction in road team performance in Game 2 of two-game road trips when the quality of the opponent was introduced into the analysis of women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and women’s basketball.  However, men’s basketball teams tended to win more often during Game 1 rather than Game 2 when playing comparable opponents.  The travel partner scheduling model maximizes player rest, reduces travel time, and minimizes missed class time.  This study suggests its implementation does not impact team competitiveness, particularly during Game 2 as found in the NBA.  Conference personnel and university athletic administrators may take comfort that their drive to control costs and enhance the student-athlete experience is not impacting the competitiveness of their teams.

Keywords:  Team winning percentages, game scheduling, travel partner scheduling, home team advantage

INTRODUCTION

Beginning with the 2018-19 season, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) implemented a ‘travel partner’ scheduling strategy for Women’s Basketball, pairing each team with a geographic travel partner for league games.  This format allows for the scheduling of back-to-back Friday and Sunday games with both games played either at home or on the road.  For example, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington played at the College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA) on Friday and later at Elon University (Burlington, NC) on Sunday (Washburn 2018).   For the same weekend, their travel partner (The College of Charleston) played an opposite and concurrent schedule at Elon on Friday and at William & Mary on Sunday. According to Mapquest, the Elon and William & Mary are approximately 250 miles apart (5). 

The Sun Belt Conference has used the travel partner scheduling format since 2015 (2).   In fact, geographic proximity to an existing conference member (Appalachian State University) was an important variable in the selection of the most-recent addition to the conference (Coastal Carolina University in 2016).   A press release from the Sun Belt Conference on that day outlined this geographic strategy this way (10):

With the addition of Coastal Carolina, the Sun Belt Conference will now have a symmetrical, geographic structure that is unparalleled in the history of the conference. The league will have two universities in Alabama (South Alabama and Troy), Arkansas (Arkansas State and Little Rock), Georgia (Georgia Southern and Georgia State), Louisiana (UL Lafayette and UL Monroe) and Texas (UT Arlington and Texas State) to go with Appalachian State in North Carolina and Coastal Carolina in neighboring South Carolina.

When announcing the Men’s Basketball schedule for 2016-17, Conference Commissioner Karl Benson noted (11):

“This is an exciting time for the Sun Belt Conference as we have created a membership structure that makes perfect sense with six sets of travel partners located in seven states,” Sun Belt Conference commissioner Karl Benson said. “Not only does the 12 team league allow for an 18-game regular season but it will allow for a much more manageable travel schedule for our men’s and women’s student-athletes that will result in less missed class time and much more time back on their respective campuses rather than on airplanes and buses.”

Further in the same press release (11), the conference communication notes that “each team will only travel four times for two-game road trips during the upcoming season. Travel partners will be utilized for two-game road trips throughout the conference schedule to maximize rest, minimize travel times and limit missed class time for men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes. Men’s and women’s basketball programs will each take just one, single-game road trip all season. Those single-game road trips will be for rivalry games.”

In the book “ Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won, ” authors Tobias Moskowitz and Jon Wertheim note that home teams win 62% of their games in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  However, they note that not all road games are equal.  Occasionally, NBA teams will play on back-to-back nights in separate cities.  And, when doing so, these teams seem to be ‘a step slow.’  On average, NBA teams playing on back-to-back nights win 36% of these second-day games (for both home and away games).   NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley referred to these second-day games as “throwaways.” He once described such games this way: “You show up because they pay you to show up.  But, deep in your belly, you know you ain’t gonna win.” (6, p. 125).  

For these back-to-back games, some NBA teams started resting players given their perceived competitive disadvantage.  In March 2017, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the issue of resting players “is an extremely significant issue for our league” as fans complained that their favorite players were being rested on a night these fans showed up just to watch these visiting team stars play (8).  For illustration, the Cleveland Cavaliers played 15 such games during that 2016-17 regular season.  For these 2-city back-to-back games, the Cavaliers had a record of 5-10 (a 0.33 winning percentage).  Backing out these 15 games from the team’s overall record of 51-31, we see the Cavaliers were 46-21 (a 0.69 winning percentage) in the remainder of games that provided at least one day of rest between games (1).

As illustrated above, the scheduling of back-to-back contests may affect team competitiveness, particularly during the second game of the road trip.  With few exceptions (such as women’s volleyball when destinations are relatively close), college sports schedules usually allow a rest day between contents.  Still, these student-athletes are ‘on the road’ which means hotels, restaurants, and being removed from their normal school routines.  And, we must acknowledge the substantial differences in team travel between NBA professionals and NCAA student-athletes, particularly the presence of bus trips, non-charter air flights, and the obvious differences in hotel and restaurant accommodations. 

The purpose of this manuscript is to analyze team performance on two-game road trips in one conference for a variety of sports for an entire sports season.  Win-loss records will be analyzed in addition to some measure of competitive strengths of the teams.   With the results, coaches and athletic administrators can formulate strategies to improve team performance or, if viewed differently, to minimize the ‘effects of the road’ on their teams.

Where possible, the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) adheres to the travel partner scheduling strategy.   The twelve member schools are divided into six two-team travel partner clusters:

  • Carolinas :  Coastal Carolina University / Appalachian State University
  • Georgia:   Georgia Southern University / Georgia State University
  • Alabama : Troy State University / University of South Alabama
  • Louisiana :  University of Louisiana Lafayette / University of Louisiana Monroe
  • Arkansas:   Arkansas State University / University of Arkansas Little Rock
  • Texas:  Texas State University / University of Texas at Arlington

As an illustration, let’s assume the Texas schools are paired with the Georgia schools for a weekend.  Texas State University would play at Georgia State University on Thursday and then travel to Georgia Southern University for a Saturday game before returning to Texas.    Conversely, the University of Texas Arlington would play a mirror-image schedule.  That is, they would play at Georgia Southern University on Thursday and then at Georgia State University on Saturday before returning to Texas. 

The earlier comments by former NBA player Charles Barkley suggest teams may not perform as well during the second game of a two-game road trip.  This question will be empirically tested here.  In the Sun Belt Conference, the primary sports using the two-game road trip are women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball.  With the addition of the 12 th member school (Coastal Carolina University) for the 2016-17 season, data is available on the performance of each SBC team in its home and away conference games during the first year of full implementation.  Win-loss records will be analyzed in each sport to compare performance in Game 1 versus Game 2 of each two-game road trip.  Given the presence of a favored team (such as a team with a better season record to date), a measure of competitive strength of each team is added to the analysis.   A Game 2 loss to a heavily-favored team differs from a Game 2 loss to an underdog (based on performance to date that season).

The Sun Belt Conference provides a longitudinal look at the results of all its sanctioned sports on its website (9).   For each athletic competition, researchers can identify: Date, Home Team, Visiting Team, and Final Score.  Analysis of date allows researchers to determine if the game was a single-game or part of a two-game road trip for that team.   The following example pattern would be self-evident in the schedule/data: Play Thursday at Appalachian State University, Play Saturday at Coastal Carolina University.  In total, we would see both single game road trips and two-game road trips.  For comparison purposes, the results of both types of games are evaluated.  However, the focus for this study is the two-game road trip and, specifically, team performance during the second game played.

It must be noted that the relatively small sample size (or number of observations in each cell) prohibit the use of more sophisticated statistical methods in this study.  Rather, we will compare winning percentages per contest and winning percentages under certain game scenarios.  Still, we believe we can make valid conclusions from the data.

The Comforts of Home (for Home Teams)

Historically, there has been some advantage to sports teams playing in their home stadiums and communities.  These advantages can include: a raucous crowd of fans, a familiar environment, the lack of travel to the game destination, and other factors.  Over the last 10 years, on average, home teams have won the majority their home games in the following sports (6, p. 112):

  • Major League Baseball = 54%
  • Major League Soccer (USA) = 69%
  • NCAA College Football = 63%
  • NCAA Men’s Basketball = 69%

Jamieson (3), reporting a meta-analysis of studies on home field advantage, noted that home field advantage tends to be strongest for basketball, hockey, and soccer and less for football and baseball.  It should be noted that, for NCAA sports these records also include non-conference competition.  In scheduling their non-conference games, some institutions choose non-peers for such games, and often provide an appearance fee for that team.  For example, The Ohio State University Men’s Basketball team was 10-0 in home non-conference games in 2017 by hosting the following teams: North Carolina Central; Providence College; Western Carolina; Jackson State; Marshall; Fairleigh Dickinson; Florida Atlantic; Connecticut; Youngstown State; and UNC Asheville (12).  For this reason, this study is enhanced by its focus on peer-competition (i.e., conference members) and an assumption of greater competitive parity among the participants.

Travel Partners in NCAA Sports

Recent research by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (4) found that athletics expenses are rising at an annual rate of approximately 7% and that revenues (from current sources) are not expanding as quickly.  NCAA research (7) found spending for athletics increased 43 percent between 2004 and 2008 while revenue increased by 33% during the same period.  Against this backdrop, member institutions are looking at (a) new revenue sources, and (b) sensible cost reductions.  As noted earlier, scheduling two games in a geographic area can help reduce operating costs while concurrently reducing lost class time for student-athletes.  Consider these two options for a team from South Carolina to play two teams in Texas or Arkansas.

  • FIRST Single Game Trip:  Day 1 = Fly to area; Day 2 = Game; Day 3 = Fly home.
  • SECOND Single Game Trip:  Day 1 = Fly back to area; Day 2 = Game; Day 3 = Fly home.
  • Total Days = 6

Now, let’s assume the same team plays two games in that region or state on same road trip.

  • 2-Game Road Trip:  Day 1 = Fly to Area; Day 2 = Game 1; Day 3 = Bus to second site; Day 4 = Game 2; Day 5 = Fly home.
  • Total Days = 5

As illustrated above, the school incurs the cost of one airfare per person to play two games.  And, students miss one fewer day of class for each trip (five days as opposed to six days).  Further, Watkins (14) found there was not a significant relationship between longer road trips and home court advantage in Big 12 men’s basketball.  Applied to this study, this suggests a South Carolina school is not at a greater competitive disadvantage when scheduling these longer distance two-game road trips.

Conference USA, a neighboring Division I FBS Conference with 14 member schools, uses a similar pattern of scheduling with the following travel partner paired institutions:

  • Florida Atlantic / Florida International
  • UT El Paso, UT San Antonio
  • Marshall / Western Kentucky
  • UAB / Middle Tennessee State
  • Rice / North Texas
  • Southern Miss / LA Tech
  • Charlotte / Old Dominion

The Power 5 Conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, PAC 12, and SEC) tend not use this format. Other Group-of-5 conferences use selected travel partners (such as the Mountain West, Mid- American, and American Athletic) but the Sun Belt and Conference USA rely more heavily on this geographic strategy for scheduling purposes. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data was extracted from the website and input into EXCEL to track the won-loss records of the various teams and institutions.  From this information, the researchers could identify the won-loss records of both HOME and VISITING teams for each contest.   Independent of the strength of the opponents, the won-loss records (and winning percentages) for both HOME and VISITOR teams for each sport is provided in Table 1 (women’s soccer), Table 2 (women’s volleyball), Table 3 (women’s basketball) and Table 4 (men’s basketball).  First, we see the following winning percentages for all contests:

  • Women’s Soccer :  Home teams win 54% of all games; visiting teams win 30% of all games; the remaining games ended in a tie.
  • Women’s Volleyball : Home teams win 51% of all games; visiting teams win 49% of all games.
  • Women’s Basketball :  Home teams win 57% of all games; visiting team win 43% of all games.
  • Men’s Basketball : Home teams win 66% of all games; visiting team win 34% of all games.

When we shift the analysis to the second game of a two-game road trip, the following summary statements are offered:

  • Women’s Soccer :  visiting teams won 33% of Game 1 contests and 23% of Game 2 contests.
  • Women’s Volleyball : visiting teams won 42% of Game 1 contests and 53% of Game 2 contests.
  • Women’s Basketball : visiting teams won 40% of Game 1 contests and 42% of Game 2 contests.
  • Men’s Basketball : visiting teams won 37% of Game 1 contests and 33% of Game 2 contests.

As illustrated above and in Tables 1-4 , there was not a significant reduction in road team performance in Game 2 of two-game road trips.  Game 2 outcomes for road teams were comparable in women’s soccer, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball. And, Game 2 performance (i.e., winning percentage) was improved in women’s volleyball.   When a team split a road trip (i.e., one win / one loss), women’s volleyball teams showed a marked higher likelihood to win Game 2 to complete their road trip rather than winning Game 1 to start their road trip.

Analysis of Opponent Quality

Over a season of competition, a team will typically play 3 types of contents:  (1) games between comparable teams – no favorite to win; (2) games where one team is slightly favored to win; and (3) games where one team is heavily favored to win.  As the old saying goes, “that’s why we play the games” … these mathematical likelihoods do not always occur.  Teams have unexpected wins and unexpected losses.  Arguably, all teams have the potential to experience each outcome over the life of a season. 

One measure of competitive parity for use is the “Final Standings in Conference Play.” This after-the-fact analysis provides a ranking of the team’s body of work over the season.  From this measure, overall stronger teams can be identified and the actual outcomes of the games can be classified and evaluated.  For a 12-team league, there tends to be 3 clusters of teams: (1) Upper (2) Middle, and (3) Lower. This division of teams allows for a breakdown of games into 3 clusters:

  • No Clear Favorite :  2 comparable teams compete.  Win, Lose, or Tie … you played a comparable opponent.
  • One Slightly Favored Team : teams are 1 cluster apart (such as an UPPER playing a MIDDLE or a MIDDLE playing a LOWER).
  • One Heavily Favored Team :  teams are 2 clusters apart (such as an UPPER playing a LOWER).

By season’s end, the clustering of Sun Belt Conference Schools by Sport is presented in Table 5 .

The focus of this study is road team performance; specifically, road team performance in Game 2 of a two-game road trip.  Using these three clusters for each sport, the researchers can determine the following outcomes for both Game 1 and Game 2 for each sport:

  • How often did the VISITING TEAM win or lose to a comparable opponent?
  • How often did the VISITING TEAM win or lose versus a slightly favored opponent (one cluster apart)?
  • How often did the VISITING TEAM win or lose versus a heavily favored opponent (two clusters apart)?

To provide a baseline for comparison, this information is presented for each sport in Table 6 (women’s soccer), Table 7 (women’s volleyball), Table 8 (women’s basketball) and Table 9 (men’s basketball). The following summary statements are offered:

  • Women’s Soccer :  visiting teams tended to perform better in Game 1 than Game 2 overall all three scenarios.
  • Women’s Volleyball : visiting teams tended to perform better in Game 2 than Game 1 for comparable and slightly favored teams.  Further, heavily favored road teams were more often expected winners in both Games 1 and 2.
  • Women’s Basketball : visiting teams tended to perform better in Game 2 when comparable teams played.
  • Men’s Basketball : visiting teams tended to perform better in Game 1 than Game 2 when comparable teams played.  This influence did not carry over to games where one opponent was a light or heavy favorite.

As illustrated above and in Tables 6-9 , there was not a substantial reduction in road team performance in Game 2 of two-game road trips when the quality of the opponent was introduced into the analysis in women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and women’s basketball.  However, men’s basketball teams tended to win more often during Game 1 than Game 2 when playing comparable teams.   When two evenly-matched teams played Game 2, the home team won 83% of the time.   And, heavily-favored road teams were upset in 37% of the time (3 of 8 games) in Game 1 and 44% of the time in Game 2 (4 of 9 games).  Interestingly, Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball teams scored 3.25 fewer points (on average) in Game 2 than Game 1.  This is consistent with Winston’s (15) finding that NBA teams scored 4 fewer points in back-to-back games.  However, only 1 of the 6 games of comparable teams was a 4-point differential in this study.   So, scoring 4 more points would have only changed the outcome of one game.

CONCLUSIONS

Athletic administrators scheduling multi-game road trips for their teams may wonder if the scheduling format affects team performance and competitiveness.  In this one-season analysis (2016-2017) of one conference (Sun Belt Conference), any influence of the two-game road trip format tends to be sport specific and not broad-based.  Team performance in Game 2 was comparable to Game 1 in women’s soccer, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball. Game 2 performance was improved in women’s volleyball.   There was not a significant reduction in road team performance in Game 2 of two-game road trips when the quality of the opponent was introduced into the analysis in women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and women’s basketball.  However, men’s basketball teams tended to win more often during Game 1 rather than Game 2 when looking playing comparable opponents. 

The travel partner scheduling model maximizes player rest, reduces travel time, and minimizes missed class time.  This study suggests its implementation does not impact team competitiveness, particularly during Game 2 of the road trip.  As such, athletic administrators do not face a trade-off:  save time and money but be lesser-competitive in the back-end of a road trip.  Conference personnel and university athletic administrators may take comfort that their drive to control costs and enhance the student-athlete experience is not impacting the competitiveness of their teams.

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT

High school student-athletes are used to playing single games and returning home that evening as their leagues have a relatively small geographic footprint.  Essentially, they ride a bus to a neighboring town, compete, and ride back home that evening.   These same student-athletes experience increased travel demands when they enter college sports due to the expanded geographic footprint of most collegiate sport conferences.  Consider the geographic footprints for the earlier referenced athletic conferences:

  • Colonial Athletic Association (Massachusetts to North Carolina)
  • Sun Belt Conference (South Carolina to Texas)
  • Conference USA (West Virginia to Florida to Texas)

In order to reduce travel costs and missed class time, some conferences have embraced the two-game road trip with regional travel partners.  As noted above, any effects of this scheduling format on team competitiveness tend to be sport-specific.  Coaches and athletic administrators are looking for ways to enhance the student-athlete experience while ensuring team competitiveness within their conference.  Coaches attempt to control any variable they think might give them an advantage.  They may pay particular attention to the intensity of team practices, player nutrition, and player rest during road trips to guard against tired athletes during game two of a two-game road trip.  A coach may attempt to ‘keep them off of their feet’ or try to rest players and conserve energy.   Side travel that introduces extended periods of walking (such as a trip to a local museum or attraction) may also be minimized to conserve player energy. 

It is recognized here that this research examined a single conference (Sun Belt Conference) for a single season (2016-17) across four sports.   At a minimum, this study can serve as a baseline for further analysis.  Power 5 or Autonomy Group Conferences (ACC, BIG 10, BIG 12, PAC 12, and SEC) may be less inclined to use the two-game road trip format for a variety of reasons, including larger travel budgets, larger distance between member schools, and others).  However, other NCAA conferences (the “Group of Five” members and other mid-major conferences) face greater pressure for cost control. 

The use of two-game road trips provides a cost-effective solution while concurrently reducing student-athlete time away from campus.  For this analysis, the two-game road trip does not appear to introduce a systemic and significant home field advantage, particularly for Game 2 contests.  Any influences tend to be sport-specific.  The feared cost/benefit trade-off of ‘saving money’ versus ‘being competitive on the road’ is not prevalent in this analysis.   Conference personnel and university athletic administrators may take comfort in their drive to control costs that they are not diminishing the competitiveness of their teams.

  • Basketball Reference (2019).  2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers schedule and results.  Retrieved from: https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2017_games.html
  • Crandon, T. (2015). Sun Belt to implement travel partners for 2015-16 schedule. The Shorthorn . Retrieved from: http://www.theshorthorn.com/sports/men_basketball/sun-belt-to-implement-travel-partners-for—schedule/article_ce78e114-eae2-11e4-b847-3b59f1cdf185.html
  • Jamieson, J. (2010). The home field advantage in athletics:  A meta-analysis.  Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 40, 7, 1819-1848.
  • Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (2014).  College sports 101.  Retrieved from:   http://www.knightcommission.org/collegesports101/table-of-contents
  • Mapquest (2019). www.mapquest.com
  • Moskowitz, T. and Wertheim, L. J. (2011).   Scorecasting:  The hidden influences behind how sports are played and games are won. New York:  Three Rivers Press.
  • National Collegiate Athletics Association (2009).  2004-06 NCAA revenues and expenses of division I intercollegiate athletics programs report.  Retrieved from: http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/RE2008.pdf
  • Shelburne, R. (2017). Adam Silver:  Resting star players ‘a significant issue for the league. ESPN online .  Retrieved from:   http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18962901/resting-star-players-significant-issue-league
  • Sun Belt Conference Website (2019).  www.sunbeltsports.org
  • Sun Belt Conference (2016a). Coastal Carolina officially joins the Sun Belt.  Retrieved from: http://sunbeltsports.org/news/2016/6/30/BB_0630163323.aspx?path=general
  • Sun Belt Conference (2016b). Sun Belt Conference announces 2016-17 men’s and women’s basketball conference schedules.  Retrieved from: http://www.goccusports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042816aac.html
  • The Ohio State University Athletics Website (2017), http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ .
  • Washburn, R. (2018).  CAA announces 2018-19 women’s basketball conference schedule. Retrieved from: https://caasports.com/news/2018/7/1/caa-announces-2018-19-womens-basketball-conference-schedule.aspx
  • Watkins, P. (2013). Revisiting the home course advantage in college basketball.  The International Journal of Sport and Society , 3, 33-42.
  • Winston, W. (2009). Mathletics:  How gamblers, managers, and sports enthusiasts use mathematics in baseball, football, and basketball .  Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.

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College Football in Ireland Renews Rivalry for Notre Dame’s Travel Agency

By Daniel Libit

Daniel Libit

Sports Investigative Reporter

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Anthony Travel Short's Travel Management

On Saturday, the curtain for the upcoming FBS college football season will rise with a Big Ten matchup between Nebraska and Northwestern at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The event, dubbed the Ireland Classic, is set to take place after the previous two attempts at holding the across-the-pond series were stymied by COVID-19. In 2020, the Classic between Notre Dame and Navy was canceled, while last year’s scheduled contest between Illinois and Nebraska was preemptively relocated to Champaign, Ill.

John Anthony, the company’s eponymous founder and enduring CEO, describes the canceled 2020 Classic as the “greatest event that nobody ever saw.” Among its planned pageantry, the game was supposed to play host to ESPN College GameDay’s first production on foreign soil.

Instead of a multimillion-dollar boon, the occasion commenced what became one of the largest refund operations in the Anthony Travel’s 33-year history, with at least 10,000 people having made game-related purchases through the company.

All this has only raised the stakes for an event that is at the center of Anthony Travel’s growth ambitions: converting college sports followers into general travelers.

Of the 30,000-plus fans expected to be in attendance Saturday, Anthony Travel estimates that as many as 16,000 of them will have in some way engaged the company’s services as part of their trip. That involvement could range from the simple booking of plane tickets to purchasing an eight-day, three-city, all-inclusive Irish tour package.

“This is just the next and biggest evolution in that entire lifecycle, if you will, because it’s a global world, and universities tout their global presence,” said Anthony, who has spent much of the past month in Dublin, participating in logistics meetings in anticipation of this weekend’s festivities.

This year’s Classic heralds an expected return to a degree of normalcy for college sports travel, which has dealt with constant disruption for the past two and a half years. For the two companies that have come to dominate the college sports travel industry—Anthony Travel and the Iowa-based, family-owned Short’s Travel Management—this forthcoming academic year will showcase their diverging approaches to both servicing and profiting from the space. 

Indeed, where COVID once appeared to be an existential threat to the travel agencies, Anthony says the pandemic has ultimately solidified its business: Over the last 12 months, 47 athletic departments have renewed their contracts, and 10 new departments have signed deals.

“Our value is at the highest when somebody is in a time of need,” Anthony said.

The Ireland Classic builds off Anthony Travel’s long-running endeavor—pun intended—to pursue college sports fan travel, in addition to handling the nitty-gritty of moving teams between competitions.

To that end, many of Anthony Travel’s deals with athletic departments have included specific terms granting the company the rights to serve as the school’s exclusive fan travel agency. Anthony Travel also separately engages in specific fan-travel arrangements with university alumni and booster organizations, as well as with main campuses or entire university systems to service faculty and staff travel needs.

While it has continued to grow its university operations, there have been hiccups. Earlier this spring, the University of Pittsburgh’s faculty protested the school’s pandemic-era policy requiring all university travelers to book through either Anthony Travel or Concur, the online expense management tool. In April, after several faculty leaders complained to the school’s administration about their experiences with Anthony Travel, the school backed off the policy to allow for alternative booking options in the event university travelers can find a better rate.

“From an Anthony Travel standpoint, service levels have returned to what they’d deem a high standard,” a company spokesperson told Sportico .

While Anthony Travel has persistently tried to grow beyond the athletic department, its main competitor has kept its ambitions in check. 

Short’s Travel Management, founded in 1946, made its foray into college sports in 2003, when it won the NCAA travel management contract for all the association’s end-of-season championships. Two years later, the company began approaching individual schools about regular-season travel needs, which now forms the core of the business.  

Then, about a decade ago, Short’s made a strategic decision to focus more on the corporate client side, thereby ceding much of the college sports industry to Anthony Travel. Ryan Dohmen, president of Short’s charter airlines division, attributes Anthony Travel’s customer boom in the late aughts and early 2010s to his company’s unilateral disengagement. Short’s eventually returned to the intercollegiate fray about five years ago and, following the pandemic, made college sports its dedicated focus.

“We decided that the corporate side of the business wasn’t where we wanted it to be,” Dohmen said.

Short’s currently holds around 70 travel management contracts with athletic departments but, unlike Anthony Travel, has declined to pursue fan or other kinds of university-related travel.

Last year, the company made waves when it won back the Florida State athletic travel account from Anthony Travel. Rosey Murton, FSU’s chief procurement officer, said that amid the financial pinch of COVID-19, the school was motivated to find cost savings, particularly on charter flights, which it did by moving its business. 

Contrary to the Anthony Travel norm of physically embedding its employees into athletic departments, Short’s handles almost all of its university accounts remotely, believing that this enables the company to attract a better talent pool. 

“One of our slogans is we were remote before remote was cool,” Dohmen said.

In the case of FSU, however, Short’s agreed to maintain an on-site agent, per the school’s request.

Anthony Travel contends that, even with advancements in technology, the constant contingencies involved in college team travel are still best tended to by having an agent down the hall from coaches and athletic directors. Anthony says that since just the summer, a dozen of its schools have requested an additional on-site agent as part of their ongoing relationships.

For now, the travel agencies are in D-I customer acquisition mode, creating some notable jostling in SEC country. Last year, Anthony Travel announced a deal to serve as the conference office’s official travel partner and this past January won the competitive bid for Vanderbilt athletics, which had previously been a Short’s client. At the time, the Commodores gave Anthony Travel its sixth SEC program, along with Arkansas, Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Missouri. Six months later, however, Short’s pried Missouri away from Anthony Travel; Short’s also holds the contracts for Mississippi and South Carolina.

Florida and Georgia currently handle their team travel in-house. Tennessee uses World Travel, Kentucky uses a local agency, while LSU and Alabama both employ the corporate travel management company, Christopherson.

In the Big Ten, Anthony Travel holds sway, servicing every conference athletic department aside from Minnesota’s—a loyal Short’s client. Anthony Travel also contracts with anticipated 2024 Big Ten members USC and UCLA, and rumored hopefuls Stanford and Oregon.

Anthony told Sportico the consolidation of wealth in college sports will likely guide his company’s future partnerships. In time, the company may see fit to limit its contracts to only certain kinds of college football powers.

“We want to be where it makes sense,” Anthony said. And where it makes sense might include more overseas destinations.

Anthony told Sportico that he has been in serious discussions with at least one other foreign city about hosting an early college football matchup, in addition to the one in Ireland. He declined to provide additional details.

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Sport-Travel.com understands that the college coach has a budget to scout, recruit, hire staff, and plan for opponents securing travel is required to be successful at each and everyone of these tasks. In the past coaches have spent countless hours making travel arrangements for their team and coaches. Sport-Travel.com is changing that one team at a time.

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Welcome to collegiate travel planners, collegiate travel planners (ctp) is the #1 higher education travel service provider in the united states. we provide end-to-end travel management services to 165+ universities and colleges nationwide..

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I had five students this past Wednesday that needed to compete in DC on Thursday afternoon, and they were scheduled to fly out on Wednesday morning. All flights east were canceled that morning, and I immediately picked up the phone and called CTP. I had four students in Chicago and one in Indianapolis, but CTP worked on it and walked me through it, and got all my students on flights the next morning so they could get to DC in time to make it to the hotel to change, make the networking luncheon, and compete. I've even had one of those teams already advance to the Sweet Sixteen round of the competition – and that would not have been possible without CTP!

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How Collegiate Sports Tourism Drives Economic Impact in Alabama

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Alabama’s location in the South is synonymous with religion – the religion of collegiate athletics. Celebrating state pride through college sports is a deep-seeded tradition that both unites and divides families but also lends itself to a “welcome wagon” for families, fans and student-athletes traveling to events in destinations across the Yellowhammer State.

College football tends to come to mind with powerhouse rival programs at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) and Auburn University (War Eagle!), but collegiate programs and events span the state from NASA hub Huntsville to the white-sand beaches along the Gulf Coast, sparking sports travel for families and fans from all over.

In the Huntsville area, creativity stands out among many collegiate events and having two NCAA schools in the region – Division I Alabama A&M and Division II University of Alabama at Huntsville. The Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau spearheaded transforming Toyota Field from a minor league baseball stadium into a football field for the Jacksonville State vs. University of North Alabama game in 2022, bringing the first college football game to the city of Madison. The event generated more than $1 million in economic impact, drew 10,000 fans to the game and brought national attention from ESPN with a live ESPN+ broadcast.

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“College athletics are woven into the fabric of Alabama, so hosting these championship level events is part of our DNA,“ said Joel Lamp , sports convention sales manager for the tourism office. “These events provide Huntsville an elevated platform to tell our story, but also introduce our city to potential residents about the jobs and quality of life in our area. While everyone knows about Alabama and Auburn, we have so many other great college programs that are doing big things that combined make a massive economic impact on the state.”

Home of world-renowned FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, or “The Shoals” as the region is referred to, is steeped in music history but also sees major economic impact from sports travel. The Careco TV Boat U.S. Collegiate National Championship for bass fishing has taken place in Florence on Pickwick and Wilson Lake for the better part of the last decade, contributing greatly to the local economy.

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Meanwhile along The Plains, the “Auburn Family” welcomes droves of fans and sports travelers each year and has hosted many collegiate events from NCAA regional men’s and women’s golf championships, the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships as well as a variety of SEC championships. With student-athletes like Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee and a variety of Olympic swimming medalists competing for the university as well as teams like six-time NCAA champion equestrian being consistently at the top of pack, Auburn’s influence in bringing in sports tourism is key, but Auburn-Opelika Tourism’s scope is vital.

“Part of hosting championship events is ensuring the experience extends beyond the competition, and that takes a collaborative effort with the community,” said Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen . “Our friends at Auburn-Opelika Tourism as well as the city of Auburn, the city of Opelika and surrounding communities embrace our visiting teams when they compete on The Plains and provide a championship experience that is second-to-none.”

Making your way down the state, Baldwin County, the 11th-fasting growing metro area in the country, relies on sports tourism, particularly outside of the peak summer season. Foley Sports Tourism hosts a variety of collegiate events and in 2021 secured a 10-year contract with the Sun Belt Conference having hosted its women’s soccer, cross country men’s and women’s and volleyball championships.

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“The impact for our destination is not only vital from an economic standpoint, but yields a positive community environment as well,” said Shellie Kichler , marketing and sales director for Foley Sports Tourism. “Hosting major championship events helps to grow interest, enthusiasm and encourages participation from our community and are key to successful development of youth athletes.”

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach – Alabama’s 32-mile white-sand beach destination – has been home to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship since its inception in 2016. Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism/Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events, the city of Gulf Shores and host institution University of Alabama at Birmingham have the championship through 2024.

“Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events and the city of Gulf Shores have gone above and beyond when it comes to being the destination for the NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship,” said Ted Feeley , associate athletic director of communication and beach volleyball sport administrator at UAB. “They make this a special event for everyone involved and it is a bucket list item to see the sport of beach volleyball played at the highest level. The beautiful beaches, amazing food and first-class accommodations have made the NCAA championship a destination trip for the student-athletes, coaches and fans, and it is an event that continues to get better each and every year.”

In 2022, sports tourism contributed 133,145 room nights and $93.82 million in economic impact in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and the NCAA championship is one of approximately 140 events the organization facilitates each year.

“Alabama is a vibrant state filled with diverse landscapes from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf Coast,” said Beth Gendler , president and chief executive officer of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism and GSOB Sports & Events. “We hope as sports travelers experience our beaches during athletic events, they will decide to explore other parts of the state for sports and leisure trips.”

Alabama is shining as a collegiate sports draw, but the road trip doesn’t stop there. Communities are growing through the state and the economic impact of sports tourism extends far beyond the initial visit. Student-athletes, families and fans come for sporting events but return for Southern hospitality and experience the “welcome wagon” again and again.

Born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, Ally Mills Dorrough, APR, TMP, received her bachelor’s in public relations at Auburn University in 2011. Dorrough joined Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism in 2013 as its public relations coordinator and became the communications and marketing specialist in 2018. In 2023, she was promoted to communications and marketing manager for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism and Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports & Events. She is an elected member of the national PRSA Travel & Tourism Section Executive Committee (named the 2024 national chair), an active member of Alabama PRSA (previously served on the board of directors) and serves on the South Baldwin Chamber Foundation Board of Directors.

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Caitlin Clark is the most valuable women's college basketball player. Here are all the ways she makes money for herself and her team.

  • Caitlin Clark is a 22-year-old guard for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
  • Analysts and writers have called her unprecedented popularity the "Caitlin Clark effect."
  • She's converted that popularity to numerous endorsements and brand deals worth $3.1 million.

Insider Today

As the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament kicks off, there's one name you'll likely hear a lot over the next two weeks: Caitlin Clark.

The 22-year-old guard, who will play her final March Madness games this year as an Iowa Hawkeye before entering the 2024 WNBA draft, is well on her way to achieving GOAT status.

With that comes millions of dollars in endorsements , a surge in popularity for women's sports, and, almost certainly, a lot of pressure.

Here's how Clark has used her skills on the court to become one of the most powerful active college athletes .

Caitlin Clark made her college-basketball debut in November 2020 — and immediately began breaking records.

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Clark, who is from West Des Moines, Iowa, swiftly made an impact during her freshman season. As of now, among her many records and accolades, Clark is the NCAA Division I all-time scorer, a three-time All-American, a three-time Big Ten MOP (most outstanding player), and the 2023 AP Player of the Year .

Her prowess on the court has proven valuable to her school.

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For her senior season, tickets are almost 200% more expensive than last year, The New York Times reported, citing data from Vivid Seats, a ticket-resale provider.

Almost 10 million people — a record-breaking number — watched her team play Louisiana State University in the NCAA finals last year, which LSU won 102-85.

A moment in the game between Clark and the LSU star Angel Reese — in which Reese taunted Clark with a gesture Clark had made multiple times — went viral, dominated headlines, and sparked a conversation about double standards for Black athletes .

Women's sports are projected to generate more than $1 billion globally in 2024 — and stars such as Clark are a major driving force.

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In November, Deloitte released a report predicting that women's sports revenue would hit $1.28 billion in 2024, up by 300% from its 2021 forecast.

A tech analyst, Michael Pachter, told The New York Times, "You do need women like Caitlin Clark who are so great that you can't miss them."

In January 2024, the NCAA signed a $920 million deal with ESPN to broadcast women's March Madness, where Clark will undoubtedly leave it all on the court.

Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, told the Associated Press the deal is worth $115 million annually, 300% more than its previous deal with ESPN .

But besides bringing capital to women's sports, Clark has made herself a brand. Some estimates say her likeness is worth $3.1 million.

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In 2021, the NCAA made the landmark decision to let college athletes profit off their names, images, and likenesses, or NIL, for the first time.

Clark wasted no time — as of now, according to the college-sports analysts On3's NIL ranking , Clark's NIL rights are valued at $3.1 million, the fourth-highest in the country only behind the basketball player Bronny James, the football player Shedeur Sanders, and the gymnast Livvy Dunne .

One of Clark's first — and best-known — endorsements is Nike. She signed with them in June 2022.

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On X , formerly known as Twitter, Nike Basketball confirmed Clark and fellow basketball players Bronny James, Haley Jones, DJ Wagner, and Juju Watkins had all joined Nike as part of its first class of student-athletes.

After the deal, as Footwear News reported, Nike could sell official Hawkeyes merch with Clark's name — something it hadn't been able to do before the NIL rules changed.

There's no public information about how much Clark's deal will net her, but she's certainly been a loyal Nike wearer.

She's been spotted wearing various styles on the court, and she gave her teammates Kyler Murray's "Be 1 of One" Nike Dunks on her own birthday, Sports Illustrated reported .

Gatorade is another of Clark's high-profile sponsorships.

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In December 2023, Clark joined the Gatorade team, making her the second women's basketball player and fourth college athlete ever to partner with the sports drink brand, ESPN reported.

"Working with a brand like Gatorade is really a dream come true, but NIL is about more than just endorsements and partnerships. Athletes are learning about entire industries, how they work, and how we might be able to pursue other passions while we are playing and after our playing careers are over," she told ESPN.

Exact figures are unknown, but Gatorade confirmed the company would donate $22,000 to the Caitlin Clark Foundation — a reference to her jersey number, 22 — whose mission is "to uplift and improve the lives of youth and their communities through education, nutrition, and sport," according to the foundation's website .

In 2023, Clark became the first college athlete to partner with State Farm.

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Following in the footsteps of star athletes such as Patrick Mahomes, Clark joined up with State Farm, becoming the first college athlete to do so.

"Sports marketing is a key part of our growth strategy, and our investment over the last several decades has shown great business impact," Kristyn Cook, the chief agency, sales, and marketing officer for State Farm, said, according to Sports Illustrated .

"Welcoming Caitlin Clark to our team expands and strengthens our ability to positively impact communities and reinforces our commitment to raising the visibility of women's sports."

Since then, Clark has appeared in multiple State Farm commercials, including one released on the eve of the first game of March Madness .

Another of Clark's recent, high-profile deals is with Panini America trading cards.

college sports travel partners

Trading cards are a huge market right now . Clark was previously signed with Topps, one of the best-known trading-card brands, but her deal with Panini America made her the first female athlete to sign with the company.

"It's an honor to partner with Panini America as their first multi-year exclusive female athlete, and I'm excited to collaborate with them on my own collection," Clark said in a press release .

Clark announced her intention to enter the WNBA draft this year. No doubt more sponsorship deals are just around the corner.

college sports travel partners

In February 2024, Clark announced she'd be foregoing a fifth season at Iowa and would instead enter the WNBA draft, ESPN reported.

After the announcement, speculation reached a fever pitch regarding where she'll end up, but it's widely believed the Indiana Fever will use their No. 1 pick to draft Clark.

That's where Gainbridge, an annuities seller based in Indiana, comes in. According to The Athletic , Gainbridge contacted Clark's agents at Excel Sports Management for a sponsorship deal, which she signed in February. Another reason the connection is interesting? Gainbridge owns the naming rights to the Fever's arena.

Gainbridge's chief strategy officer, Minji Ro, told The Athletic that it didn't matter if Clark had ultimately chosen to stay in Iowa.

"We were in no matter what," Ro said. "Because that's the power of Caitlin Clark. So she plays in Indiana, that's great, but it doesn't actually matter where she plays because she's going to sell out everywhere."

All eyes are on Clark as March Madness gets underway. But, with her WNBA career poised to begin this year, she's just getting started.

college sports travel partners

Much has been written about Clark's potential, career, and what it could mean for women's basketball.

But for now, all her focus is on her final March Madness tournament, and the potential of winning her first national championship.

college sports travel partners

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Michigan women have travel woes getting home after first-round March Madness loss

Michigan guard Elissa Brett (0) passes against Kansas guard Zakiyah...

Michigan guard Elissa Brett (0) passes against Kansas guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) during a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. Credit: AP/Ashley Landis

The Michigan women's basketball team had a hard time getting home after its overtime loss to Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The team played in Los Angeles on Saturday and was supposed to take a charter flight back to Michigan that evening along with the school's band and cheerleaders. That didn't go according to plan.

The Wolverines got to the airport and sat outside for nearly 3 hours waiting for a second pilot.

“Due to nationwide weather delays on Saturday and nationwide crew shortages, the charter airline had to ferry in the captain from Texas to crew Michigan’s flight home,” NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright told The Associated Press.

Michigan's travel party finally started going through security screening to get on the plane at 8:30 p.m. PDT and then boarded an hour later. After sitting on the plane for 75 minutes, the team found out the pilot was over his allotted flight time for the day, so the plane couldn't take off.

“The carrier told NCAA staff that the officers and crew were willing to extend to get Michigan home. NCAA staff and Short’s Travel worked with the airline and the school, and believed the flight would still be able to depart that evening,” Durham Wright said. “However, after the captain eventually arrived and the team boarded the aircraft, he determined he would no longer extend, noting fatigue. Safety is paramount.”

To make matters worse, the buses that had dropped the team off at the airport had left, which goes against NCAA rules. That forced the team to take ride-share cars back to its hotel.

Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider stands on the sideline during...

Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider stands on the sideline during a first-round college basketball game against Kansas in the women's NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. Credit: AP/Ashley Landis

Staff members waited 45 minutes for the buses return to transport the team's luggage.

Players took to social media to share their plight.

The Wolverines returned to the airport on Sunday morning and, after about an hour delay, finally were on their way home. They arrived back in Michigan at 7 p.m. EDT without further issues.

“We regret the inconvenience for Michigan’s program and apologize for their experience, which did not meet NCAA expectations,” Durham Wright said.

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Michigan women have travel woes getting home after first-round March Madness loss

Michigan guard Elissa Brett (0) passes against Kansas guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) during a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Michigan guard Elissa Brett (0) passes against Kansas guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) during a first-round college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider stands on the sideline during a first-round college basketball game against Kansas in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Kansas guard Wyvette Mayberry (0) defends against Michigan guard Lauren Hansen (1) during a first-round college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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The Michigan women’s basketball team had a hard time getting home after its overtime loss to Kansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The team played in Los Angeles on Saturday and was supposed to take a charter flight back to Michigan that evening along with the school’s band and cheerleaders. That didn’t go according to plan.

The Wolverines got to the airport and sat outside for nearly 3 hours waiting for a second pilot.

“Due to nationwide weather delays on Saturday and nationwide crew shortages, the charter airline had to ferry in the captain from Texas to crew Michigan’s flight home,” NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright told The Associated Press.

Michigan’s travel party finally started going through security screening to get on the plane at 8:30 p.m. PDT and then boarded an hour later. After sitting on the plane for 75 minutes, the team found out the pilot was over his allotted flight time for the day, so the plane couldn’t take off.

“The carrier told NCAA staff that the officers and crew were willing to extend to get Michigan home. NCAA staff and Short’s Travel worked with the airline and the school, and believed the flight would still be able to depart that evening,” Durham Wright said. “However, after the captain eventually arrived and the team boarded the aircraft, he determined he would no longer extend, noting fatigue. Safety is paramount.”

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark celebrates with teammates after a second-round college basketball game against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, Monday, March 25, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 64-54. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

To make matters worse, the buses that had dropped the team off at the airport had left, which goes against NCAA rules. That forced the team to take ride-share cars back to its hotel.

Staff members waited 45 minutes for the buses return to transport the team’s luggage.

Players took to social media to share their plight.

The Wolverines returned to the airport on Sunday morning and, after about an hour delay, finally were on their way home. They arrived back in Michigan at 7 p.m. EDT without further issues.

“We regret the inconvenience for Michigan’s program and apologize for their experience, which did not meet NCAA expectations,” Durham Wright said.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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Women's NCAA Tournament 2024: Scores, schedule, times, how to watch March Madness games

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Editor's note: Follow all the women's March Madness scores, updates, highlights and upsets with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage .

March Madness shines its spotlight on women's basketball as the NCAA Division I Tournament gets set to tip off .

Sixty-eight teams have been selected and placed in the brackets , the pools are up and running and now it's time to go dancing. The action kicks off Wednesday with a pair of First Four games , with two more to follow Thursday.

The 2023-24 season has sparked unprecedented interest in women's basketball, and now the stakes will be even higher as teams battle to reach the Final Four in Cleveland. Will Caitlin Clark lead Iowa back to the national championship game? Will undefeated South Carolina win it all for the third time in seven tournaments? Will LSU become the first repeat champion since UConn won four in a row between 2013-16?

Grab your TV remotes, settle in for the madness and immerse yourself in the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament schedule, from the First Four to the national championship game:

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.

Women's March Madness schedule 2024

(All times Eastern Daylight)

Wednesday, March 20 — First Four

  • (16) Presbyterian 49 (16) Sacred Heart 42
  • (12) Vanderbilt 72, (12) Columbia 68

Thursday, March 21 — First Four

  • (11) Arizona 69, (11) Auburn 59
  • (16) Holy Cross 72, (16) UT Martin 45

MORE MARCH MADNESS:   USA TODAY Sports expert picks  |  Printable bracket  |  Bracket breakdown/analysis

Friday, March 22 — First round

  • (8) North Carolina 59, (9) Michigan State 56
  • (2) Ohio State 80, (15) Maine 57
  • (11) Middle Tennessee 71, (6) Louisville 69
  • (1) South Carolina 91, Presbyterian 39
  • (7) Duke 72, (10) Richmond 61
  • (1) Texas 82, (16) Drexel 42
  • (4) Virginia Tech 92, Marshall 49
  • (3) LSU 70, (14) Rice 60
  • (4) Kansas State 78, (13) Portland 65
  • (8) Alabama 82, (9) Florida State 74
  • (5) Baylor 80, (12) Vanderbilt 63
  • (5) Colorado 86, (12) Drake 72
  • (7) Iowa State 93, (10) Maryland 86
  • (3) Oregon State 73, (14) Eastern Washington 51
  • (2) Stanford 79, (15) Norfolk State 50
  • ( 6) Nebraska 61, (11) Texas A&M 59

Saturday, March 23 — First round

  • (6) Tennessee 92, (11) Green Bay 63
  • (3) UConn 86, (14) Jackson State 64
  • (4) Indiana 89, (13) Fairfield 56
  • (8) Kansas 81, (9) Michigan 72 (OT)
  • (2) Notre Dame 81, (15) Kent State 67
  • (3) NC State 64, (14) Chattanooga 45
  • (1) Iowa 91, (16) Holy Cross 65
  • (6) Syracuse 74, (11) Arizona 69
  • (5) Oklahoma 73, (12) FGCU 70
  • (1) Southern California 87, (16) A&M-Corpus Christi 55
  • (7) Ole Miss 67, (10) Marquette 55
  • (8) West Virginia 63, (9) Princeton 53
  • (7) Creighton 87, (10) UNLV 73
  • (4) Gonzaga 75, (13) UC Irvine 56
  • (2) UCLA 84, (15) California Baptist 55
  • (5) Utah 68, (12) South D a kota State 54

Sunday, March 24 — Second round

  • (7) Duke 75, (2) Ohio State 63
  • (1) South Carolina 88, (8) North Carolina 41
  • (5) Colorado 63, (4) Kansas State 50
  • (3) LSU 83, (11) Middle Tennessee 56
  • (3) Oregon State 61, (6) Nebraska 51
  • (1) Texas 65, (8) Alabama 54
  • (5) Baylor 75, (4) Virginia Tech 72
  • (2) Stanford 87, (7) Iowa State 81 (OT)

Monday, March 25 — Second round

Second-round games will air from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

  • (2) Ole Miss vs. (7) Notre Dame | 2 p.m. | ESPN
  • (6) Tennessee vs. (3) NC State | 4 p.m. | ESPN
  • (3) UConn vs. (6) Syracuse | 6 p.m. \ ESPN
  • (4) Indiana vs. (5) Oklahoma | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN2
  • (1) Iowa vs. (8) West Virginia | 8 p.m. | ESPN
  • (2) UCLA vs. (7) Creighton | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN2
  • (1) USC vs. (8) Kansas | 10 p.m. | ESPN
  • (4) Gonzaga vs. (5) Utah | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Friday, March 29 — Sweet 16 

  • Albany 1 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Albany 1 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 5 p.m. | ESPN
  • Portland 4 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Portland 4 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 10 p.m. | ESPN

Saturday, March 30 — Sweet 16 

  • Albany 2 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 1 p.m. | ABC
  • Albany 2 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 3:30 p.m. | ABC
  • Portland 3 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Portland 3 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 8 p.m. | ESPN

Sunday, March 31 — Elite Eight

  • Albany 1 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 1 p.m. | ABC
  • Portland 4 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 3 p.m. | ABC

Monday, April 1 — Elite Eight

  • Albany 2 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Portland 3 Regional: TBD vs. TBD | 9 p.m. | ESPN

Friday, April 5 — Final Four

  • Semifinal 1: TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Semifinal 2: TBD vs. TBD | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Sunday, April 7 — National championship

  • TBD vs. TBD | 3 p.m. | ABC

When is the first Women's March Madness game?

  • Date:  Wednesday, March 20
  • Start time:  7 p.m. ET
  • Matchup:  (16) Presbyterian vs. (16) Sacred Heart

The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament gets underway Wednesday with a pair of 16 seeds looking to punch their tickets to the Round of 64. The Presbyterian Blue Hose take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers  at 7 p.m. ET. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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