Skip to main content

This week was the week of hometowns on The Bachelor. When Peter Weber visited Madison Prewett’s family, the two also stopped by Auburn University to play basketball. Prewett is the daughter of Auburn director of basketball operations Chad Prewett, and she won four state basketball championships in high school. So did ABC have to pay to film The Bachelor at Auburn University?

Peter Weber
Peter Weber | Paula Lobo/ABC via Getty Images

‘The Bachelor’ filmed Madison Prewett’s hometown date at Auburn University

Prewett graduated from Auburn University before going on The Bachelor to compete for Weber’s heart. Because the school means so much to Prewett, Weber and Prewett visited Auburn University for their hometown date.

The two visited several locations on campus and then visited Auburn Arena. Inside the arena, a video message from Charles Barkley played. The retired NBA player warned Weber to not hurt Prewett. Bruce Pearl, the head coach of the Auburn men’s basketball team, stopped by as well.

“I guess it’s a very popular show and a lot of people — I guess a lot of people watch it,” Pearl said about The Bachelor. “I just was really proud of Madison and Chad and Tonya and the Prewett family for being Auburn men and women, for representing a Christian home with great faith. It’s not talk; it’s walk. It’s lived. And I give the people at ABC credit for not rewriting that story; that’s who they are, and it may not be as flashy as some of the others.”

Did ABC pay to film ‘The Bachelor’ at Auburn?

For Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, ABC filmed several promotional shots at the University of Alabama. Brown notably loves her alma mater, so it makes sense that she wanted to visit the school when she became the star of the ABC franchise.

The Tampa Bay Times investigated the contract between the University of Alabama and NZK Productions Inc., the company that produces The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for ABC. It turns out NZK Productions had to pay the university $2,000 to film on the school’s campus for The Bachelorette.

So how does this compare to Auburn University? For The Bachelor, the Montgomery Advertiser investigated the contract between the university and NZK Productions. It turns out, NZK Productions did not have to pay anything to film at Auburn University. The newspaper printed excerpts from the contract between NZK Productions and Auburn athletics director Allen Greene.

It reads, “Lessor agrees that Lessor has not paid any money or other valuable considerations to NZK for the inclusion of the Premises in the Program… nor has Lessor paid any money to anyone or accepted any money from anyone for the inclusion of any plug, reference or product identification on the Premises.”

Who won the basketball game?

On The Bachelor, Pearl watched as Prewett coached Weber through some basketball drills. After that, Prewett and Weber played a one-on-one basketball game. Being the high school champion she is, Prewett easily beat Weber.

At the Auburn Arena, Pearl congratulated Prewett on making it to two final fours in the past year. In 2019, the men’s basketball team at Auburn made it to the Final Four in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. By making it to hometown dates, Prewett made it to the Final Four of The Bachelor.

Best in Entertainment