There is a reason the Super Bowl is the most-viewed program on television each year. People love watching football and bowls are the biggest stage a team can play on, and a big-time stage entails big-time bucks.

So while the players are excited for the opportunity, the university is looking ahead to what a bowl appearance and the possibility of a victory to bring success to the program. Here are the top five things both fans and the fincance-oriented can look forward to when the Rams take on the Washington State Cougars in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl:

1. Money for the new stadium. The winner  of the game will receive a payout of $750,000. Though this sum is miniature in comparison with the winnings of  BCS payouts (BCS champions will receive $18 million), it will go a long way towards Jack Graham’s potential stadium to house the Rams.

2. The Mac-Attack will be back. The “Bold New Era” has turned the Rams around quickly, but another sub .500 win season would’ve added blemishes to McElwain’s record. The fans, this media member and most important — the players have bought into the Big Mac mentality, so the added job security is a big plus.

3. Fifteen (plus 45) minutes of fame. The game against Alabama was nationally televised, and though the Rams didn’t get the spanking the world expected, they didn’t get a win either. With  record-low attendance this season at Hughes, the Rams will be in the national spotlight. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN, whose viewership broke records for non-BCS bowl games last year; ranging from three million viewers to as many as eight million for a single game.

4. Five-star recruit buffet. Or at least an influxe of 4-stars. A bowl bid highlights a college football program on the map, separating it from mediocrity for high school studs looking for a Division I home. McElwain and his coaching staff are currently flitting about the country, looking for upcoming athletes. The addition of the Gildan Bowl bid to McElwain’s CSU resume just made being a future Ram more appealing.

5. A one-way ticket to home-sweet-home. If the team was looking forward to flying home for the holidays, their plans just got sweeter. Though their homecoming will be delayed a couple of days, the school will pay for all of them to fly straight home after the game. Besides being saved from the extra flight-time to Denver, they will have a little more jingle in their pocket to buy Christmas presents for McElwain.