Novelty Items Are No Jokes : Northwestern Will Soon Find Out How Much Rose Bowl Is Worth

Remember all those years when it seemed as if it was illegal for anyone other than Michigan or Washington to play in the Rose Bowl?

From 1981 to 1993, Michigan appeared in seven Rose Bowls, Washington in five.

Then, after the 1993 season, in a possible sign the apocalypse was at hand, Wisconsin wound up in Pasadena. And last year, Oregon made it.

Now, get ready for the most unlikely of all recent New Year’s Pasadena visitors: Northwestern.

The only thing more amazing than a Northwestern Rose Bowl team would be Oregon State.

It’s odd enough that USC is Northwestern’s foe on Jan. 1--it’s the Trojans’ first Pasadena visit since 1990. But this will be the Wildcats’ first Rose Bowl since 1949.

Pat Richter, the Wisconsin athletic director, talked Sunday about what it means for a school to play in the Rose Bowl after a long absence. The Badgers’ 21-16 victory over UCLA in the ’94 game was Wisconsin’s first Rose Bowl appearance since 1963.

He said Northwestern Athletic Director Rick Taylor will find a strange sight when he reports for work this morning.

“He’s going to find his office full of merchandising people, waiting to see him,” Richter said.

“Financially, the merchandising part of the Rose Bowl game is significant to a football program, particularly if you haven’t had a Rose Bowl team for a long time.

“Before we went in ‘94, we were averaging about $320,000 a year in merchandising income. The year after the Rose Bowl, it was up to $1.4 million. I’m talking about the Rose Bowl and Wisconsin names on everything from clothing to stationery to Christmas tree ornaments.

“A Rose Bowl sweat shirt that wholesales for $20--we got $1.20 from that. It’s a major source of revenue. Potentially, it’s enormous.”

Merchandising, even more than stepped-up recruiting or increased season ticket sales, was the greatest benefit of Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl experience of Jan. 1, 1994, Richter said.

“It’s actually hard to recruit the year you’re in a bowl game because the coaching staff is so involved in preparing for the game,” Richter said.

“And it puts added pressure on a coaching staff too. Immediately, people want to know: Can you build on it? Can you sustain this new credibility?’ ”

Wisconsin hasn’t. The Badgers were 7-4-1 the season after their Rose Bowl, but only 4-5-2 this season.

Oregon did.

The Ducks, who last January lost to Penn State, 38-20, finished 9-2 this season and play Colorado Jan. 1 in the Cotton Bowl. They also broke their home attendance record this past season, playing to capacity crowds in all six games.

Wisconsin already played to capacity crowds before its Rose Bowl year.

Oregon earned roughly $500,000 in merchandising revenue this year, up from a pre-Rose Bowl yearly average of about $200,000.

As for Penn State, already a high-profile program when it made its first Pasadena appearance after last season, the rich got only richer. A spokesman couldn’t obtain merchandising revenue figures Sunday but said one national ranking for the last quarter indicated Penn State had moved from fifth to second.