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GREENSBORO -- After a three-year absence, nobody is happier about Northwest Guilford's return to the state football playoffs than Vikings athletics director John Hughes.

But he knows success has its price -- $4,500 to be exact.

That's how much the school is paying for three chartered buses to transport the Vikings' football team to tonight's first round state 4-A West playoff game at Richmond County. The bill grows to nearly $5,000 when you throw in dinner for all those players, coaches, trainers and cheerleaders.

And if the Vikings win tonight, they get to play -- and pay -- all over again next week.

The spectacle that is the first round of the state football playoffs is met with excitement and trepidation by athletics directors, many of whom have one eye on the scoreboard and the other on their budgets.

Because the N.C. High School Athletic Association doesn't reimburse schools for travel this time of year, schools sometimes scramble to cover their costs. And those costs can get expensive. Five years ago, Northeast Guilford ran up a $17,000 tab during the Rams' improbable run to the state championship game.

"The kids work hard all season so you love to see them get this reward," said Hughes. "At the same time, if you're the one making out the budget, you know it can get expensive."

Increasingly, Guilford County high schools and other districts are struggling to cover increasing travel expenses for all athletics teams. Playoffs for so-called non-revenue sports like volleyball and soccer are crimping many budgets.

Last month, Northeast Guilford played host to Southern Lee in a first-round boys soccer game. After paying for officials, security and turning over a percentage of the ticket sales to the NCHSAA, the schools split the rest of the ticket proceeds.

Each took home 40 cents.

"I started laughing to myself after doing the math," said Northeast athletics director John Primm. "It's nice to make a profit, but a lot of times we're happy to break even."

More often than not, schools that hit the road in the playoffs lose money. Last month, Northwest traveled to Asheville High School for a first-round field hockey match. The Vikings lost the match and about $500 after paying for a school system bus and hiring a driver.

"That doesn't mean it wasn't worth it," said Hughes. "It was a great experience for the girls and they earned it, but it's still a loss."

Athletics directors prepare the upcoming year's budget early in the summer. They can budget for a lot of things like equipment and travel to regular-season contests. The post-season is something different.

Asked Hughes: "How can you budget for something you don't know you're going to even be around for? It's the great unknown when you're drawing things up."

Schools often rely on ticket revenue to make ends meet in the postseason. The NCHSAA takes $1 of each ticket sold for an endowment fund for its member schools. That fund has returned more than $500,000 to schools over the years to help mitigate playoff expenses.

The association then takes 15 percent of the rest of the gate for the first three rounds,. Their cut increases to 25 percent for regional games and 60 percent for the championship game.

Rick Strunk, associate executive director for the NCHSAA, said the group receives several complaints each year after it announces football playoff brackets. Many come from athletics directors and coaches of lower-seeded teams that have to travel great distances for first-round games.

Some schools spend as much as $500 for each private bus they charter for long trips. For short trips, schools pay the district to use a standard school bus -- about $1.50 a mile.

Hughes said Northwest Guilford's general athletics fund will pay for some of tonight's expenses. The school will receive about 40 percent of tonight's gate, but that won't be close to covering the bill. He hopes the Vikings' booster club will cover the rest.

Primm remembers the 2003 football playoffs, when the Rams were expected to play one game in the playoffs, then head home. Instead, the Rams knocked off Bertie County, Fike, West Brunswick and West Craven -- all on the road -- to reach the state championship game.

In the end, the school spent about $17,000 for charter buses.

The Rams lost the title game.

Fortunately, a larger-than-normal crowd helped Northeast recoup a lot of that money.

"That was an expensive month, but if you asked the parents and kids from that team they'd tell you you couldn't put a price on that experience," he said.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com