Hawaii in the middle of the college football food chain

As the University of Hawaii football team unpacks from its 8,946-mile round trip Michigan odyssey, Tennessee Martin prepares to embark on its 9,714-mile Hawaii adventure.

While UH looks forward to its $1 million check from playing at Michigan, UTM sets about earning its $260,000 — plus expenses — payday from UH.

Welcome to life in the college football food chain.

Nationally ranked Michigan, a Power Five conference school, warms up with UH, a Football Bowl Subdivision mid-major program. Then, UH gets the kinks out this Saturday at Aloha Stadium against the Skyhawks, a Football Championship Subdivision low major.

Next week, UTM goes home and plays tiny Bascone College, an NAIA team that will make the 500-mile trek from Muskogee, Okla., to northwest Tennessee.

Echoing the thinking of Michigan, which was heavily favored over UH, and the Rainbow Warriors, who are the strong pick over UT Martin, Skyhawks coach Jason Simpson says, “Next week we are able to bring an NAIA team in here, which doesn’t guarantee a win, but …”

Ideally, UH would play one so-called “money” game a year for the money it adds to the besieged bottom line and, this year, that was the Michigan game. But, well, the Australia opportunity came up to make another $500,000 or so and show the players and coaches a part of the world they might not otherwise see, so UH jumped at it.

Meanwhile, you have UT Martin, which is 1-21 versus FBS opponents, and would, ideally, challenge upward and play one FBS member per year for the money it brings, such as the 28-7 loss at Cincinnati last week.

But the Skyhawks have a $7 million stadium expansion and renovation project to help underwrite, so they have been playing two FBS “money” games a year since 2014. This year that meant Cincinnati and Georgia State, while in the past, it has been trips to Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Mississippi State. Each appearance earning the Skyhawks “about $400,000,” Simpson said.

Then, along came the opportunity to add a 12th game (FCS schools usually play just 11), a Hawaii experience and a few more bucks by playing at UH, so the Skyhawks grabbed it. “Hawaii was looking for a game (against an FCS foe) and it matched up with an opening we had, so my athletic director asked me about,” Simpson said.

So, now, the Skyhawks are one of two schools in the 125-member FCS to have three games against FBS opponents on their schedule.

Simpson said, “this will be the first time for probably 99 percent of us (to visit Hawaii). This is an experience for the kids (and) we will net some money at the end of the day and we appreciate that.”

Under terms of the contract, UT Martin gets $260,000 in up front cash and UH provides airline seats for a traveling party of 110, plus 56 hotel rooms for three nights in addition to buses and an equipment truck.

And, then, it gets to go home and play Bascone College before opening up in the Ohio Valley Conference.

That is how it is in the college football food chain.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.