A source has told the OC Register that the UCLA Bruins look to break even on their trip to San Francisco for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a game which the Bruins lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini 20-14. The Register reports that UCLA was given $750,000 plus the cost of travel which should run close to $160,000. The athletic ticket office for the Bruins was required to purchase 11,000 tickets at four different price points, which total at $550,000.
The Bruins were able to sell 3,000 of their 11,000 tickets. The rest of those tickets were purchased by the university, giving six tickets per player as well as coaching staff. 5,000 tickets were then donated to needy and military families in the Bay Area.
The payout for the bowl is reportedly $837,500 [correction: the Pac-12 payout for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was $925,000], so the UCLA official who spoke to the OC Register expects all the above mentioned expenses to be covered by the payout. The Bruins aren't on an island though, the Pac-12 pools all of the bowl profit and distributes it evenly. Still, the Bruins not taking a loss means more of the multi-million dollar payout to come from Oregon and Stanford's participation in BCS Bowls to go around.
While the University walks away from the bowl with a stipend, the players themselves get to participate in fun vacation like activities such as going to Alcatraz. The players are also given gifts. Each player was given a Soundmatters Personal Audiophile loudspeaker, Fossil watch, cap, and a Timbuk2 custom messenger bag.