College football teams are increasingly spending big bucks on lodging, as many opt to stay in hotels the night before home games.
Gatehouse News did an investigation into the trend and found that the 93 schools included in their 2018 study spent $4.91 million on home-game hotels, a median of $44,000 annually per team.
The study identified University of Florida, Clemson University in South Carolina, Oklahoma State University and UCLA as the top spenders.
Rob Wilson, associate athletic director of Florida State University, which spent almost $96,000 on home-game hotel rooms in 2018 said the practice is about reducing distractions. “FSU’s upperclassmen are spread out in private housing all over the city, including large apartment complexes that often have loud, late-night parties,” Wilson said in defense of the practice.
UC Berkeley told Gatehouse that hotels allows space for meetings and reviewing film, as well as performing walk-throughs.
According to the Gatehouse report, while teams might have good intentions with these hotel stays, they might be misguided.
Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at the Oregon Health and Science University, told Gatehouse that the practice could disrupt sleep.
“From a medical perspective, all other things being treated equal, I would opine that sleeping at home would give them the best night of sleep and the best sleep quality in order to best prepare them for the game the next day.”
