The Eastern Michigan University athletic department stands to make more than $3.8 million in guaranteed payments over the next several football seasons, athletic director Derrick Gragg told the Board of Regents today.

The money comes from universities that pay the Eastern Michigan football team to travel to their stadium for non-conference games.

And while regents are happy to see the revenue, they asked Gragg if he could renegotiate some of the lower payments, including the money coming Eastern’s way for traveling to Michigan Stadium on Sept. 17, 2011.

The Eastern Michigan football program will collect $1.4 million in guaranteed payments for games this season and is scheduled to bring in $3.8 million in the next four seasons.

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This year, the football team is due payments of: • $850,000 from Ohio State University • $350,000 from Vanderbilt University • $600,000 from Virginia.

Eastern lost to Ohio State, 73-20, and to Vanderbilt, 52-6. The Eagles face Virginia on Saturday. Eastern will pay Army $150,000 for having Army’s team travel to Ypsilanti for the Sept. 4 game.

In the 2011 season, the football team will get payments of: • $550,000 from Penn State University • $465,000 from the University of Michigan.

Gragg said both 2011 contracts were below market payments and were scheduled before he took over the athletic department in 2006. The Eagles have one open date on the 2011 schedule.

Eastern will pay Howard University $350,000 to travel to Ypsilanti for a home Eastern game.

In the 2012 season, Eastern will get: • $650,000 from Michigan State University. • $750,000 from Purdue University.

Eastern will pay Army $150,000 to come to Ypsilanti. The Eagles have one open date on the 2012 schedule.

Gragg noted that the Michigan State and Purdue games were scheduled before he was athletic director, but he was able to renegotiate the contract with MSU, raising the payment from $400,000.

In the 2013 season, Eastern will get: • $150,000 to travel to Army. • $850,000 to travel to Rutgers • $425,000 to travel to Penn State University.

Gragg said the PSU game was scheduled before he took over at Eastern.

The money that is raised helps fund a variety of items in the athletic department budget, including the Mid-American Conference membership fee, the football turf, the football travel, the soccer field, some women’s basketball travel and more, Gragg said.

David Jesse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.