Northwestern football coach Randy Walker had one goal for his team at the Motor City Bowl.

“We came here with one purpose, not to play good, not to make any other kind of statements. We just wanted to win,” he said.

Well, they may not have done that, losing 28-24 to Bowling Green.

But they did do something else. They made some money.

NU will receive a projected $1.9 million from the Big Ten’s bowl profits, according to Sue Lister, Associate Commissioner for the Big Ten. That’s up from last year’s amount of $1.85 million.

The $750,000 the Wildcats earned from the Motor City Bowl was sent to the Big Ten, along with the bowl payouts from each of the conference’s seven other postseason qualifiers. The money is then divided equally among the conference’s 11 teams.

“The Big Ten is more equitable in that sense,” said NU Director of Athletics Mark Murphy, comparing the conference to others, in which strong bowl performers receive higher proportions of revenue.

NU will use about $750,000 of its bowl payout to cover the expenses, consisting mainly of transportation and hotel accommodations, Murphy said.

“Not only did we have to pay for hotels in Detroit for 5 nights, but also housing the players past finals,” he said.

This year’s bowl profits are higher than last year’s because of the conference’s strong presence in bowl games. This was the first time ever that eight Big Ten squads made bowl games, Murphy said. There were also two teams playing in high-paying Bowl Championship Series games. Michigan received approximately $14 million for the Rose Bowl and Ohio State $7.6 million for the Fiesta Bowl, according to Lister.

Along with its payout from the conference, NU made money from merchandise sales. Murphy said that local merchants were able to take advantage of items with the Motor City Bowl logo.

Murphy also points out that the team didn’t just benefit financially. Participation in a bowl game in four out of the past nine years is good for recruiting.

“It’s good publicity for the school, and I think it helps out all of our teams,” he said.

The players also benefit from the experience, getting in two weeks of extra practice time and playing in a nationally televised game.

“Some people look at it and say, ‘It’s the Motor City Bowl,'” Murphy said. “I think it was a first-class experience. For Northwestern overall, it was a real positive.”