Now that the travel drama, at least on the way there, is finally behind them, the Delaware State football team takes the field to open the 2024 tonight at midnight eastern, 6 p.m. local time. to face Hawai’i.
As with most FBS-FCS games, a guaranteed payment is on the table and the Hornets stand to make $180,000 for their 5,000-mile trip to Honolulu.
A report by USA TODAY Sports states that Hawai’i “is obligated to pay Delaware State $180,000 to participate in the game. The agreement was signed by the presidents and athletic directors of both schools in late February and is fairly typical for Hawai‘i when it plays FCS programs to fill out its schedule.”
Delaware State will make a little more than another FCS opponent the Rainbow Warriors have scheduled. Northern Iowa, which visits Honolulu Sept. 21, will be paid $165,000. The contract agreement also states that Hawai’i is to cover roundtrip airfare for Delaware State “for a travel party of 100 not to exceed fourteen hundred dollars ($1,400) per fare.” The host school also covers hotel and transportation.”
The Hornets will become the first HBCU to play a game in Hawai’i since October 2, 1976, when Grambling State, led by Eddie Robinson and Doug Williams, defeated the Rainbow Warriors 34-23.