Buckeye Classic feat. Colgate, James Madison set for Ohio State

Previously, we wrote about Ohio State's men's basketball program was filling out their schedule with an event called the Buckeye Classic, a five-team event featuring the Buckeyes, Colgate, Campbell, James Madison, and Sacred Heart. While the date for the Sacred Heart and Campbell games were previously confirmed, the exact dates for the other matches, along with other details, have not been confirmed by Ohio State or the other universities.

We now have a little more information on the tournament. Land-Grant Holy Land has obtained the contracts for the four games, which will shed a little more light on the tournament.

First, the dates of the games involving Ohio State:

Sacred Heart at Ohio State -- Sunday, Nov. 23

Campbell at Ohio State -- Wednesday, Nov. 26

James Madison at Ohio State -- Friday, Nov. 28

Colgate at Ohio State -- Saturday, Dec. 6

The contract notes that the times for these games are all TBA, and that with agreement from all parties, the dates could still be adjusted, so don't necessarily chisel these in stone yet.

Thanksgiving, in case you don't have a calendar right in front of you, is Thursday, Nov. 27, so if you want an affordable game to take some of the relatives to, these might not be a bad option. Being played near Thanksgiving also means that students won't be on campus, and given that these teams aren't likely to inspire the masses, I won't expect sold out crowds.

Second, this is technically a tournament, and all of the teams will play all of the other teams, between Nov. 22 and Dec. 6. Games not involving Ohio State will not be played at Columbus, but on campus sites. The tournament technically kicks off on Nov. 22, with Colgate playing at Campbell. The full tournament schedule can be seen below:

In accordance with NCAA Bylaw 17.3.5.5.1, this tournament of sorts shall count as only one game, and will serve as that school's "Multi-Team Event". Some schools go to Maui. Colgate, well, you get to go to Columbus.

Also, per the four contracts, Ohio State will be awarding each of the four schools $100,000 for their participation. That's cheap compared to what Ohio State has to shell out to get a football guarantee game. We reported that Ohio State will pay Hawaii $1.2 million to make the trip to Columbus in 2015, and that the school will pay over $3 million combined for their three game home out of conference slate in 2015. Still, Ohio State is paying $400,000 for four games, and their nonconference schedule will likely include other guarantee games (and the Buckeyes will almost assuredly be paying UMass-Lowell and Wright State for their trips). I would expect Ohio State to be at, or near, the top of the Big Ten in terms of spending for nonconference games this year.

This story, from 2011-2012, says that Ohio State lead the Big Ten, averaging a payout of $95,000 over six guaranteed games, including a $110,000 to Valpo. Minnesota averaged $80,000, with payout ranges from $60,000 to $90,000. Last year, Michigan spent nearly $450,000 on five guarantee games, including $95,000 for a trip from UMass-Lowell.

Each school will get 100 complimentary tickets for each game against Ohio State.

Three of the schools, (James Madison, Campbell and Sacred Heart) signed their contracts with Ohio State in January. Colgate signed in April (as did Ohio State for that game). Basketball schedules are not laid out nearly as far in advance as football ones, where the Buckeyes have games slated for 2020 and beyond.

With these dates, Ohio State's schedule looks like:

Nov. 14 -- UMass-Lowell

Nov. 18 -- Marquette

Nov. 23 -- Sacred Heart

Nov. 26 -- Campbell

Nov. 28 -- James Madison

Dec. 2 -- at Louisville

Dec. 6 -- Colgate

Dec. 20 -- North Carolina (Chicago, IL)

TBA -- Wright State

There should be a few more games added to this slate. We will have more Ohio State basketball scheduling news as it develops.