CHICAGO — Michigan Stadium’s $226 million renovation project deserves a true million-dollar opener.

To dedicate the towering sky boxes, more than 3,000 club seats and new capacity crowd of 108,000, there needs to be a game worth watching.

Sure, money plays a crucial role in any scheduling scenario. But when the Big House’s gates swing open on Sept. 4, 2010, there’s more at stake in the Wolverines’ opponent than dollar signs. Potential victories, national exposure and fan appeal all should play a part.

And judging by the recent announcements, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and the Athletic Department seemed to have nailed this one squarely on the head.

"We're close, but until we have a contract in hand … we're going with a BCS school, home and home," Rodriguez said Monday at Big Ten Football Media Day.

A BCS home-and-home series is a very bold move, and one can assume it has taken a great deal of discussion and craftsmanship.

Scheduling is tough work. Between the payouts, television contracts and filling open dates, scheduling nonconference games has become a bigger business than ever before. Many teams schedule years in advance, and for Michigan to pick up a BCS opponent in such little time seems very impressive.

Whoever Michigan’s opponent on Sept. 4, 2010 may be, this series could cost the Wolverines. More likely though, the scheduling wizards crafting this game hit the right buttons.

THE MONEY

Rodriguez isn’t acting brashly when he says Michigan ideally seeks out an opponent who will be a “one and done.”

“If you come to our place, we don’t want to return it,” Rodriguez said. “If we can’t find that with a BCS school, let’s find one with someone who we can go back a few years down the road.”

His reasoning makes perfect business sense.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Michigan had more than $99 million in revenue for the 2007-08 season, which was good for fourth in the country. Even in a slumping economy, Athletic Director Bill Martin has used his shrewd business sense to keep the Wolverines swiftly afloat financially.

A large majority of the surplus comes from the revenue generated by hosting seven or eight home football games every season. To bring in a non-BCS opponent could cost upwards of $1 million.

But the profit generated from home game ticket sales and other sources greatly exceeds the cost. It still delivers a hearty sum for the Athletic Department, and outside the recent cases of Appalachian State and Utah, usually includes a victory.

“To sponsor 36 (Ohio State varsity) sports the best you can, your income level has to be high,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, whose school ranked second on the Sentinel’s list with nearly $118 million in revenue for 2007-08. “We need seven or eight home games all the time to run our schedule. We always want one of those September games when everyone in the nation notices.”

The Buckeyes’ marquee September game has included big-market college programs like Texas, Miami and this year, Southern California's trip to Columbus.

Tressel said that, six years ago, Ohio State needed an early-season game on a grand stage. Though the Buckeyes have stumbled in the early-season national spotlight, the marquee BCS nonconference matchup along with regular home games generates the impressive attention and revenue.

After Michigan fulfills its end of the bargain by playing a BCS opponent on the road, the end-of-year surplus might be less. But the thought of the Athletic Department buying a win against a mid-major team as it simultaneously unveils a multi-million dollar project, makes little sense.

THE WINS

The Big Ten, along with many of the major conferences, struggles to make the perfect schedule.

Critics say the nonconference schedules of BCS schools are padded with cupcake games against Mid-major conferences. In their eyes, the old days of early-season marquee matchups have faded.

But with the pressure coaches face intensifying every year, it’s easy to see why a team would want a schedule ensuring a quick 4-0 start.

“The better the team you bring in, the percentage of winning goes down, and the percentage of you keeping your job goes down,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said.