Ohio State had just unexpectedly knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation (Alabama) to advance to the national championship game against Oregon at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a place few figured the Buckeyes could reach after having two Heisman candidate quarterbacks suffer season-ending injuries.

As cornerback Eli Apple ran across the Superdome field, his family celebrated in the stands, overwhelmed with exhilaration. But, for his mother, Annie, the thrill was soon replaced with an all too familiar fear.

Yes, another 18-hour drive was ahead — from New Orleans to New Jersey — but worse was trying to figure out how much it would cost her family — and so many Buckeyes families — to get to the title game in Texas just 11 days later.

“The sad part is, as parents, we haven’t had a moment to really enjoy the wins because after each win, we have to figure out what we’re going to do,” said Annie Apple, a vice president of the Ohio State football parents association, who had been campaigning all season for the university, Big Ten and NCAA to help alleviate the financial hardships of families who travel to see their sons play in the inaugural College Football Playoff. “I was feeling homicidal on the way back. … You’re a parent. You’ll find a way. That’s what parents do. But each win should not be a burden for the family. A win should be a reward.”

Just a few minutes after making those comments — and a few days after Ohio State coach Urban Meyer urged for action, with several of his players’ families unable to afford to attend the semifinal win — Apple received extraordinary and unexpected news, with the College Football Playoff announcing on Tuesday it will reimburse parents of players up to $1,250 per parent for travel and meal expenses to the national championship on Jan. 12, for a maximum of two parents.

The waiver is part of an NCAA pilot program which also will help cover families’ expenses during the men’s and women’s Final Fours this spring, which still needs to pass legislation to become permanent.

Earlier in the day, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith was only hopeful such change could happen next year, despite the Big Ten and Pac-12 making a combined $120 million this season from the playoff.

Originally, families only had been provided $800 total for the entire playoff from a student assistance fund.

“We know how expensive travel can be, so we’re pleased to provide assistance for parents or guardians who want to see their sons play in the first College Football Playoff national championship,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “It will make the game even more special for the student-athletes to know that their family members are receiving this benefit.”

With the teams preparing to play an unprecedented 15th game this season, Apple said the family has spent more than $15,000 to watch Eli play every game, with the Big Ten Championship and playoffs exceedingly more complicated to plan. To save money, Apple said approximately 90 percent of Ohio State’s players’ families drove to New Orleans — almost all driving double-digit hours — with several parents opting to only go to one game and some previously determining neither was financially feasible. Fundraising ideas were quickly shot down because it could jeopardize a player’s eligibility.

For weeks, the universities and the conferences told the families that nothing could be done, that it was out of their hands. Apple, though, continued her campaign, asking why the travel costs of players’ families couldn’t be covered like the coaches’ families and repeatedly questioning how a $7.3 billion TV deal to broadcast the games starring their sons wasn’t enough to let their families share the once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Then, in just a few minutes, a lost cause turned into another celebration, one that Apple could enjoy without worrying what else it would mean.

“It’s a major victory,” Apple said after hearing the news. “It’s awesome. We’re being heard. The problem initially was we weren’t a priority. We weren’t even considered. They know we’re alive. They know our children didn’t just levitate onto a football field. They have parents. They have families.

“This is America. We can change things that are not right and we can make them right. I thank the College Football Playoff committee for really making this right.That’s what’s going to make this whole system work, when people run it and not a bunch of bureaucrats. We definitely appreciate that.”