San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

Armed Forces Bowl trip challenged by state travel ban

Sophomore+running+back+Juwan+Washington%2C+senior+wide+receiver+Mikah+Holder%2C+sophomore+linebacker+Kyavha+Tezino+and+senior+fullback+Nick+Bawden+lead+SDSU+onto+the+field+before+its+opening+game+win+over+UC+Davis+Sept.+2.
Kelly Smiley
Sophomore running back Juwan Washington, senior wide receiver Mikah Holder, sophomore linebacker Kyavha Tezino and senior fullback Nick Bawden lead SDSU onto the field before its opening game win over UC Davis Sept. 2.

In being invited to the 2017 Armed Forces Bowl, San Diego State football will have to wrestle with California’s recently imposed travel ban.

Assembly Bill 1887, put into law on Jan. 1, 2018, prohibits state-funded travel to any state that has passed a law discriminating against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people.

On June 22, the attorney general added Texas to that list, meaning the SDSU Department of Athletics can’t use state funds to pay for expenses for the bowl, which takes place in Fort Worth, Texas.

Senior Associate Athletic Director of Business Administration Chuck Lang said the team will be using funds from the Campanile Foundation to pay for the travel expenses.

The foundation handles funds donated to the university.

Lang said the Mountain West Conference will reimburse the athletics department $776,600 for the bowl, which will go directly back to the Campanile Foundation.

The conference will pay SDSU $500,000 as a base refund, plus $200 per mile. Any money the conference has left over after the reimbursement expenses it will split evenly between the conferences.

They will use unrestricted donor funds if the travel costs total over $776,600. Lang said he did not have an estimate of what the total travel costs will be.

He said the department put this contingency plan in place earlier this season.

The same process was used for pre-scheduled games for the men’s and women’s soccer teams in Texas.

Lang said that the athletics department will no longer schedule games in those eight states, which also include Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee, but that it would revisit the idea in the future.

About the Contributors
Zach Engberg, Sports Editor
Zach is a senior at San Diego State University majoring in journalism. Zach was the Sports Editor at The Daily Aztec, where he has been working since 2015. Zach has covered the SDSU football, baseball and women's lacrosse team, while reporting other breaking news stories. Born in San Francisco, Calif., Zach is an avid fan of the SF 49ers, Oakland Athletics and Golden State Warriors, and is still mourning the 2016 Finals loss and Super Bowl XLVII. Zach will someday work as a television sports commentator, joining the likes of Joe Buck, Mike Tirico and Marv Albert.
Kelly Smiley, Photo Editor
Activate Search
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
Armed Forces Bowl trip challenged by state travel ban