When the Rice Owls and Stanford Cardinal square off at Allianz Stadium in Sydney next Sunday in the National Collegiate Athletic Association season opener, it'll conclude a journey 18 months in the making and mark one of the most significant days in the proud history of these two college football powerhouses.

There's more to this operation than just shipping a couple of football teams across the Pacific, although that in itself is a mighty undertaking given both teams will be bringing their entire playing rosters, which number roughly 100 each.

Each travelling party will boast upwards of 200 people in total, including coaches, administrative staff, medical personnel, media teams, sponsors and supporters.

Between them, Stanford and Rice will bring close to 30 tonnes of cargo, everything from playing and training equipment to luggage, exercise bikes and even American football goalposts.

So extensive is the freight being flown to Australia, Stanford don't have room for the 40 cases of Gatorade they usually take to an away game.

"We're encountering a lot of issues with travelling across the world; we're going over an ocean, so instead of driving an equipment truck full of equipment, we've got to put it on the airplane," Stanford's senior associate athletic director Matt Doyle said.

"We have to go through customs. Typically our buses would pull up right to the tarmac and the players and staff would walk right onto the airplane and take off. We obviously can't do that.

"We're moving our entire operation for a full week to another country, things like tackling sleds, tackling dummies, goalposts, all of that has to be brought with us. There isn't any place in Australia that has that or they don't have the quantity that we would require for a full week of practice."

California-based Stanford have one small advantage in that they can fly into Sydney direct, while Rice have to travel from Texas to Los Angeles, before switching planes and then heading to Australia.

Instead of using a chartered flight, both teams will fly to Sydney via a commercial buyout, meaning almost everyone on their respective planes will be part of the college football travelling party.

"We have an extra layer because we're putting our freight on two planes," Rice senior associate athletic director Simon Dover said.

"I don't sleep well lately because I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I've forgotten something.

"Ten to 15 individuals have specific responsibilities, from the laundry and equipment, the freight, people looking into meals, one person dealing with the hotel, meals and rooms, some working on specific events and cultural activities.

"People meet once a week around a table to work on this.

"It's a bucket list item that in my industry you would never know to put on your bucket list. The odds of getting to play an inter-collegiate football game overseas, let alone in Sydney, you'd never even dream about it."

Dover and Doyle have been to Sydney on a reconnaissance mission to prepare for this game.

Doyle has been here twice: 12 months ago when the California Golden Bears played the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in last year's season opener, and again in February to start mapping out an itinerary.

Both teams will embark on jam-packed schedules upon arriving in Sydney on Monday, intertwined with practice sessions in preparation for Sunday's midday kick-off.

There will be visits to the zoo, harbour cruises, lectures at the University of Sydney, trips to Bondi Beach and appearances at the Children's Hospital, among other commitments in a huge week.

College football in America is an entirely amateur sport, and the players in action on Sunday will be either in their late teens or early 20s.

For Dover and his staff at Rice, the chance to bring their entire playing roster to Australia was a cultural opportunity too good to pass up.

"That's exactly why we would do something like this – this could be the experience of a lifetime for many of these young men," Dover said.

"So many of these young men, because of circumstances, or socio-economically, might never get to do something like this the rest of their lives. And a third or half of them have never had a reason to get a passport."

Doyle shared his counterpart's sentiments.

"Having an opportunity to travel to Australia and take on this experience is probably the primary factor for how we came about this game," Doyle said.

"All the other factors are important as well, but that's the No.1. We're going to your wonderful country to experience everything it has to offer. Hopefully in the seven days that we're there, the people in Australia and everyone involved will really embrace what Stanford football is all about.

"It's a great week and I think they'll really come away with a great appreciation for everything Australia, like I did on my two visits."

– 18 months of planning;

– more than 400 players, staff, administrators and fans;

– almost 30,000 kilograms of cargo including equipment and luggage;

– 300 hotel rooms booked out at two hotels;

– five buses required for each team;

– 40 cases of Gatorade (Stanford's typical away load, although they couldn't fit it on the plane)