A COLLEGE football team hopes to find an extra edge on the field by saving hundreds of thousands of dollars off it.
The team plans to save $668,000 in equipment costs to invest in other areas.
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The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders play in Conference USA in FBS Division 1.
They often face some of the biggest football programs in the country with huge budgets.
But Middle Tennessee is cutting back on jerseys and helmets in a moved backed by their new general manager Dana Marquez.
Marquez spoke to Front Office Sports about the plan to use one helmet with two jerseys.
He said, “We just went with one color, and we did a game helmet and a practice helmet.
“How are we going to best compete against different positions if we’re sitting here spending money on stuff that really we’re only wearing one time a year?”
The black and gray uniforms were both ditched and helmets will be the same color for their remaining two kits.
It will save the team $500,000 in helmet costs for 2025.
And eliminating two alternate uniforms will bring in another $84,000.
That money will help the team ease salary cap pressure and hire new staff.
Some of the money will also go into NIL deals for the players.
But Marquez wants the squad to have to earn the extra dollars.
They are eligible to increase their allocation from the team by directly working for them.
Front Office cited one particular case study where offensive linemen recently met with a peanut butter company.
They created their own editions of the spreads to sell.
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Members of the team also visit farmers markets and film commercials.
Marquez said, “If we’re going to pay you $2,000 a month and you want to make $4,000, you’ve got to work to get the $4,000.
“What it’s doing collectively is getting them engaged in the community, and now our fan base is now recognizing our players.
“Everybody’s still running off of an old model of, ‘This is the way athletes are done,’ and they’re trying to compete with the Power 4.
“That’s not who we are.”
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