Behind the scenes workers engines of SIU road trips

Before the sun rose, Sharon Lipe bought 220 Burger King breakfast sandwiches.

Lipe, secretary for the SIU football program, had the unenviable task of feeding the team for its two-day road trip to Indiana University.

Across town, Mark Scally, assistant athletic director of business, paced in his Lingle Hall office as he awaited the trip's three chartered buses.

"When coach says we leave at seven, that means the buses are rolling out at seven o'clock," Scally said. "When they're late, that means a huge crisis for me."

It's a mountain of an assignment for Lipe, Scally and the many others who put in countless time making sure a traveling contingent of more than 100 are cared for. Playing a road game involves much more than jumping on a bus.

These road trips involve months of planning. Scally and Lipe start the work in January, which is when the team learns its schedule.

"It involves a lot of advanced planning," Lipe said.

Leave the light on for them

Transporting for a minimum of 85 people prevents impromptu fast-food stops or stays at the Motel 6. Scally and Lipe must instead scout and price hotels and restaurants. Scally finishes transportation plans by June.

Once the season starts, Scally and Lipe kick into gear again. The week of a road trip is taxing.

They meet with the coaching staff on Monday to fine-tune schedules designed six months earlier. Lipe and head coach Jerry Kill coordinate practice times around stadium schedules.

The information, which includes travel schedules, forms a working itinerary sometimes consisting of five-minute increments. It is then finalized and Lipe must take the information and form pocket-sized, personal itineraries for players, coaches and support staff. The Salukis took a party of 110 to Indiana.

For all the meticulous scheduling, these trips can pay dividends.

Expenses differ from trip to trip, as does the opportunity to make a buck.

The Hoosiers bought their 35-28 loss to the Salukis for about $250,000. That money goes into a general athletic fund after expenses, Scally said.

Bus service often costs $7,500 to $9,000 for two motor coaches, Scally said. The Indiana trip's price tag was between $8,000 and $9,000, a little higher than usual because of the need for an extra bus. Bus costs pale in comparison to the expense that come with flying.

Mileage and hours determine whether the Salukis stay on the ground. If a trip exceeds about 400 miles, the Salukis take to the skies. So do the costs.

Charter flights "are usually between $45,000 and $50,000," Scally said. SIU's trip to Ohio's Youngstown State this season will top that estimate, at "about $55,000."

Logistically, the difference between ground and air transport is striking, Lipe said.

Bus trips are less organized than flights. Bathroom breaks are one of the few concerns while on the road. Imagine Darren Marquez, a six-foot-five-inch, 315-pound offensive tackle, trying to squeeze into the phone booth-sized facilities of a motor coach.

Chartered plane trips are a different story with different issues.

Post-9/11 security concerns bog down the team's charter flights. The Salukis experience the same level of security as commercial travelers, including shoe X-rays and metal detectors. Team doctors must receive permission to carry scalpels, scissors and other assorted medical supplies.

Lipe must coordinate a seating chart due to the weight of linemen. Those two groups feature players who routinely tip the scales in the neighborhood of 300 pounds so balancing the plane is a concern. If all of them sit on one side, the plane could lean during its flight.

Kill said the people behind the scenes are vital to the operation.

"(Scally) may be the most important part of our team," Kill said. "Him and Sharon."

A lot on their plates

Feeding those large linemen presents its own challenges.

The combined tab of dinner and breakfast at the Four Winds Resort, the Salukis' temporary Indiana home, approached $8,500, Scally said.

Scally said the team also spent about $2,000 on meals during the drive to Indiana and back, including the 220 breakfast sandwiches, candy bars, snack food and 30 to 40 cases of Gatorade.

The total hotel bill for the Salukis' stay in Indiana ˘ which included food, service charges and tax ˘ totaled $16,808.

Scally said most hotels charge $75 to $80 per room but the price can skyrocket depending on location.

"When you're at the hotel and they know they've got you, they generally put the screws to you," Scally said.

For the Indiana game, the team gobbled up 56 rooms. Coaches bunked with coaches, players with players ˘ the usual sleeping arrangement for road trips.

Not all fun

While road trips are an opportunity to get together with teammates and have a good time, these are business trips for the Salukis.

Between meetings, film sessions and maintaining the best grade point average in the Gateway Football Conference, spare time is a luxury most players cannot afford.

"The challenge is that we put a lot of responsibility on the student athlete," Kristina Therriault, assistant athletic director for student services, said.

Therriault also said members of the university's faculty work closely with student-athletes to ensure they do not fall behind in their studies. Arrangements are made, and schedules coordinated, to keep the Salukis on pace with the rest of the students in their classes.

Therriault follows the team on road trips to help. When she can, she books academic centers on different campuses where the Salukis can study and take tests. Sometimes student athletes must learn on the move.

Scally said Mike Trude, SIU's marketing and promotions director, proctored three tests on the bus trip to the Indiana game.

Even when the tests are completed, the meals are eaten and the game is won, the Saluki travel staff isn't done.

Just about the time the dollar amounts for one trip are estimated, last-minute planning for the next journey starts.

Once the season ends, planning starts anew.

"People just see the team magically show up and then the team magically gets home, and I don't know that anybody really thinks about all the in-betweens," Scally said.