Alabama will earn a guaranteed $4.7 million for its participation in the 2012 game in Dallas against the University of Michigan, according to University of Alabama Assistant Vice President for University Relations Deborah Lane. Lane confirmed the specific guarantee via email Thursday.

It is the same amount guaranteed to the Michigan Wolverines.

Earlier this week, AnnArbor.com revealed the contract between the University of Michigan, Cowboys Stadium L.P. and ESPN. There were many interesting details contained within the contract. Details like the fact that Big 12 officials are likely to officiate the 2012 college football game between Alabama and Michigan.

Alabama will get “at least 25,000” tickets to sell to its fans, according to Lane. The same amount is allocated for Michigan.

According to an addendum to the Michigan contract the Cowboys Stadium capacity is 85,000 of this 64,000 are reserved seats, 11,000 are suites and 10,000 are standing room only. The schools are allocated “two complimentary 20 person suites.” Both teams are to be treated “equally for pageantry elements.”

The Michigan contract also included a map of Cowboys Stadium. Below you can view the map.



This neutral site game between Alabama and Michigan follows on previous neutral site games for Alabama. Since Nick Saban arrived, Alabama has played Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech at neutral sites. Saban has spoken positively about neutral site games as a way to feature the program on national television and gain exposure in the region hosting the game.

Alabama plans another neutral site game in 2013 as the Crimson Tide returns to Atlanta to play Virginia Tech.

In July when the 2013 game was announced, Saban spoke about the matchup: “We’ve had the opportunity to open the season twice before in Atlanta, and the experience has been extremely positive for our team and our fans,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “The Chick-fil-A Kickoff in the Georgia Dome is a great venue for college football. It has a bowl game feel, and the staff has done an outstanding job of making it a first-class event. We have a lot of respect for Coach Beamer and the Virginia Tech program, and we look forward to another great game in 2013.”

In September, Saban covered the topic of neutral site games on his radio program. According to Izzy Gould of al.com, “Saban asked fans if they prefer home-at-home such as the Penn State series the past two years, or the neutral site games such as next year’s game against Michigan in Dallas. The fans cheered louder for the neutral site games. Saban said those games are better for recruiting. He also said it’s better for a business standpoint in terms of making money for the program.”

This was not the first time Saban discussed the benefits of neutral site games. Saban talked consistently about the benefits of traveling to Atlanta for games—gaining exposure in the Georgia recruiting area from the games.

However, Saban cautioned that while everyone believes the additional exposure of these types of games helps recruiting, there is no concrete evidence to back up this assumption.

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