If you want to make things more affordable make sure you have and use a hotel or airline credit card. I flew in game day morning and and spent Friday at a Courtyard by Marriott for free on my free anniversary night gift from their rewards program. If the game had been at noon, as it had been in the past, I would have flown home the same day and not needed a hotel in the Bahamas at all. The last flight out was at 7:23 PM and if the game ran long or had weather delays it would have been tight to make the flight, since you have to clear both security and Customs and Immigration in the Bahamas rather than when you reach American soil. Also I was able to cover the expense for all of my taxis on the island for free on winnings at Atlantis after the game.
If you want to go to a the bowl game next year, start your planning and savings now. If you wake up on the day the games are announced and have to start having to put together and find the money to go it is probably too late. Ditto for March Madness.