[Tuck4Bama]

STARKVILLE — For Mississippi State, Saturday night's game against Gardner-Webb, a team from what was formerly known as Division I-AA, fills an important need: a game date filled in at the last second, a likely win.

For Gardner-Webb, the game fills an equally important need - cash.
This relationship is nothing new, what with the little schools playing the big schools for money. But as seemingly everything in the business of college sports is ballooning in terms of finance, so have the guarantees paid to opponents.

Big-budget programs, reaping the benefits of increased revenue from streams such as larger stadiums, are paying more and more for their "buy" games, making it more difficult for smaller-budget schools to schedule.
"Scheduling football now is hard, no matter where you're at," said MSU athletic director Larry Templeton, who is trying to find an opponent to play next season.

In part due to escalating guarantees, Templeton is having to search for a two-year contract in which the money will come close to breaking even, instead of a one-year deal in which a team comes to Starkville and gets a six-figure paycheck.

MSU Football: Scheduling 'buy' games more difficult