WoolyBully

Well...what would you want to do on a beautifl spring day in scenic Louisville, Kentucky....as opposed to a beautiful spring day in Tampa (pointe du vacation) Florida?

I think turning it into more of an "event" would be the way to  go (BBQ, low-rent bands, etc.). As it is now, only the the die-hard fans are going to attend that thing down at the stadium.  

Very good points, and yes we tend to hammer the marketing department relentlessy.

While some of it is deserved, let us not forget that, at the same time, it's also fun to tell other people how to do their jobs from the safety and anonymity of the internet.  :

I still think USF should be taking out one full-page ad in the sports section of the Trib prior to each home game.  Do some more billboard / tv/ radio advertising.

Advertising to me (Wooly) is a waste , 'cause I'm going to be there regardless. It's the great unwashed who need exposure to USF football.

The ideal situation would be for all of the alumni - '56 - '97 - who did not have USF football, to shun their fascination with UM/USF/UF and sign on with the Bulls.  

Just be like me...a great FSU fan, until USF started playing. Now the sun rises and sets on USF football at the Robinson residence.

As for basketball...I don't know if dropping the ticket prices would get more thru the door. To me,  there's not a world of difference between dropping $10 and $16 bucks.  As for the alumni not showing up in the lower section...I dunno. Having made my donation and bought my ticket...I'm certainly going to be there. I guess some others just look at it as an investment...and they'll show up when the product gets better, but until then...they'll still write the checks and buy the tickets...even if they don't use them.

``The only negative about USF is he would have to sit out a year. He wants to know if he does what all he's supposed to, what are the odds he'll play [in 2006]? He's not expecting any promises.''  

How to quantify your odds? Well...if you're the best there is, you'll play...on the other hand, if we find someone better than you - you'll ride the pine. However, if you're really looking to garner some playing time with no risk...going the IAA route would be the way to go.  It's good that he's not expecting any promises.  

care to elaborate for us without the Trib??  

...there's no such thing as "without the Trib". If we can find our way to the bulletin board, we can find our way to the newspaper.

http://tampatrib.com/sportsnews/MGB27R2RM2E.html

Hell, you have to blame the community on attendence because they dropped the ball. The students were at the Southern Miss game, but the community was not. The Students were at the Tenn Tech game, but the community was Buc happy and did not show. So far, the community has not pulled through since the first ever game for USF. Blame the lame ass Tampa bay sports fans on our attendence.

Just curious...when you use the term "community", how is that defined?  I'm having a difficult time ascertaining why someone - who is not an alumni or student - should even be expected to just arbitrarily show up for a Bulls game, simply because it's the local school. If I graduated from x-university, but was resident in Tampa, I guarantee that  I'd not be springing for season tickets.

It's almost as if you expect Joe Schmoe to attend this stuff - simply becuase it's in Tampa. Surely that isn't your line of thinking, is it? I'm not  a Bucs fan and feel no obligation to attend games, simply because they're here.  I understand that at one point there was some sort of soccer team and a hockey team here as well....again, I was nowhere to be found.

I attend USF games because I am an alumni. If I moved to Atlanta, I would not be buying season tix to GATech simply because 'it's the home team' and I live in the vicinity.

On the other hand, if you're questioning why we have such a large local alumni base, but only garner 16K in season ticket sales, I'd have to default to the issue of '56-'97 students not having a USF football team to rally 'round.

Student attendance? No idea...I would defer to an actual student for thier input on USF football.

That's what we said about USF football back in the day!

Have faith!

'fair nuff...40 years to get a team,  tack on an additional 40 years to succeed...let's see, that would mean .... just after my 87th birthday.

...pop open today's Trib, Sports Section, Page 5, Column 4...

USF Finds Cash Cow

By ALAN SNEL asnel@tampatrib.com

Published: Dec 11, 2004

TAMPA - The University of South Florida may have struggled on the football field and basketball court this past year, but its Bulls logo merchandise scored big sales in local stores.

University officials credit a redesign of the USF logo last year for more than doubling retail sales of Bulls merchandise to $2.5 million a year, said Tom Veit, a USF assistant athletic director. South Florida officials changed the old bull character into a three-letter acronym with horns extending out of the logo's ``U.''

Although sales of South Florida merchandise lag far behind the state's three powerhouse collegiate sellers - the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami - the school's green-and-gold gear shares shelf space with the Big 3 in most stores.

Bulls merchandise ranked 50th in royalties from sales among colleges as more fans and alums bought gear with the new logo during a three- month period from July 1 to Sept. 30, according to the Collegiate Licensing Co. The Atlanta firm manages the licensed merchandise programs for more than 200 colleges, bowl games, conferences and the NCAA. The company represents nearly all universities in licensing deals. Notable exceptions are Ohio State, Southern California, UCLA, Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon and Oregon State.

The 50th ranking represents a big jump in sales for USF, which ranked 100th in 2002-03 and 60th in 2003-04 for the 12- month period that ended June 30, according to Collegiate Licensing.

``The improvement they made with the new brand played a big role in the sales increase. The brand before was weak at best,'' said Aaron Coldren, Collegiate Licensing university services representative.

``They spent a lot of time developing the new brand, and it has worked for them,'' Coldren said of USF's logo look.

USF still has a way to go to catch up to the state's football powers. During the last quarter, UF ranked seventh in sales, FSU was 11th; and Miami, 17th.

Besides redesigning the logo, USF also tweaked the colors. They darkened the shade of the green, and changed the yellow to gold.

Overall, it's a distinctive look that can be featured on a polo shirt, a volleyball uniform or a football jersey, Veit said.

``It had to look good on TV, on a helmet, in print or on a uniform,'' he said.

It replaced the ``Iron Bull'' logo, which was released in 1997 and showed the image of a bull.

The current logo is simpler - and effective, Coldren said. ``Some of the best sellers have the most simple logos.''

Top university sellers typically include North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame and Georgia.

Veit said USF is projecting a 10 percent increase in sales for 2004-05, which would bump up sales to $2.8 million. In 2006, USF hopes to keep growing sales by unveiling a children's line of clothing, Veit said.

USF also has partnered with a Tampa-based sports merchandise chain to sell USF gear in the past two years. Nine Sports Fan-Attic stores on Florida's west coast and in Lakeland target USF students and alums, said Bob Derda, vice president of merchandising for Sports Fan-Attic.

The old USF bull logo still is pictured on some signs on campus, but South Florida is updating all signs to show the new logo. In fact, at University Mall, USF's old logo was displayed on a wall around the corner from a Sports Fan-Attic store selling the new logo gear.

Veit said he has talked with University Mall about updating the USF logo.

Reporter Alan Snel can be reached at (813) 259-7850.

1. What do you want Christmas/Hannukah?

R: to win more in Vegas than I'll lose...

2. What bowl game(s) are you interested in watching?

R: BCS bowls and a smattering of the also-rans...

3. What kind of toothpaste do you use?

R: the kind that comes in a squeeze tube...

4. What cell phone service do you use?

R: T-Mobile...

5. What is the last article of clothing you purchased?

R: some shirts from JC Penney.

That was for the original Labor Day telecast.

Does that same dollar value apply to last Saturday morning?

I gotta be real honest here...it does depend on where the bowl game is as to whether or not I attend.  If it's in Detroit or Memphis or Fort Worth or some other non-tourist-in-December venue, I don't think I'd make the trip. If it's either (a) BCS related or (b ) someplace of moderate interest, I'd go. That's just me.  8)

I agree. Don't go to a bowl game until you stand a chance of winning. To get in on technicality (ala North Texas a few years back....overall losing record, but conference wins gets 'em in) is not the way to go.

So....if it's a 'sound business decision', I guess it would be cool to have ESPN dictate that our games are played  at whatever-they-want on Saturday mornings - in front of an empty stadium - and we continue to take beatings on national television?

Hmmmm....I may have to re-examine my desire for season tickets.

USF is not in a position to devalue season tickets. All it would take is a few years of acute dumbness, and you'll really see attendance (oh, yeah...the NCAA does have an interest in that, don't they ) drop.

A lot of the seaons ticket holders around us - not corporate ones - just didn't show up for Memphis & Pitt. You can spin it till the cows come home, but the bottom line is this: either 'fess up that E$PN dictates USFs schedule or start thinking in terms of those who bought the ticket.

I'm still not clear on how getting pounded, beaten senseless, on National television does a lot for us. It certainly made Memphis, Pitt & Louisville look pretty good, though.  

The "attendance issue" ?

We have a season ticket base of  right around 16K. That's it! End of story. So any time we get more than 16K to a game, it's a bonus night at RayJ.

Bottom Line: the 11:00 games were an abysmal failure attendance wise. Has the university commented on the benefits of those games? Did we make a ton of money from ESPN? What constitutes a ton of money, relative to empty stands on national television.  As far as the University is concerned, they already collected the funds from 16,000 people - so who gives a crap if only 400 show up on game day.  :

You ever been to Syracuse?  I'm not sure I would burn a vacation day for that.

You're not paying attention. The Syracuse game is in addition to spending some vacation time in New York....hence the previous reference to Hattiesburg & Fort Worth.  We've done the  Manhattan gig, now we can do the upstate thing.

I do not travel just to watch a three-hour football game.  I'm a bulls fan, but I do have my limits.

Seems to me hoops suffers the same attendance issue. The only time I see a lot of students is when there's some sort of sorority/fraternty sort of thing. I don't think it's limited to football.

Huh? Are you  a working adult or a student?

Did you attend any road games this year? How many do you hit per year?

Personally, I'm only good for one per year and it definately depends on the opponent and locale. Next fall, it'll probably be 'Cuse.

USF would travel well to a bowl game. Why? Because to get there you have to WIN your way in.  This business about winning the next two out of three to become eligible (not invited, eligible) wore me out. The easiest way to get into a bowl...win.  

So I'd be leery about saying that fan response to a 4-7 team is indicitive of what USF  would or would not do.

BTW: The away games that I travel to, they're tied directly to locale. If I'm going to burn a vacation day, there better be something better than Hattiesburg, Fort Worth, Louisville, or Cincinnati to warrant the expense.

34 x 7 A'wood over LG in the third.

Not a stellar night for Grothe

Ok...everyone's throwing out a lot of  "do something...do more" stuff relative to marketing, but I don't recall hearing too many specific ideas.

What would you suggest?

Radio advertisements?

Television advertisements?

...what do you think are some things that the marketing department could be doing but is not doing?

(btw: I have heard adverts for the Bulls games on the radio. I don't really recall seeing any ads on TV, but that doesn't mean they're not there).

Nope...I think those numbers are right. The stadium was vacant on both counts.

You need to reconsider this 11:00 in the morning business. However, if you make more from ESPN than you do from game-day purchased tix...why not?

Remember, we have a season tix base of +/- 16K...so not all season ticket holders showed up!

good....now I can sleep.  

Refresh my memory...

didn't we originally have some relationship with Rivals.com? I seem to recall using that board - and for some reason, again, the details escape me, we were no longer part of Rivals...on our own.

...He told me he has to write to his readers.  I emailed back and told him that if he would write more, people would be more interested.  He didn't buy that....

That sounds reasonable.  

You have to remember that USF has been Drive-thru-U for the better part of forty years.  

It's going to take generations for USF to muscle the perennial national championship contenders around in the local fishwrap sports page.  It's not like this is South Carolina ('Cocks or Tigers...pick one) and we're the only game in the state (let alone the city).  And if you're not a Bulls season ticket holder/alumni, you probably do have more of an interest in Miami x VaTech than USF x UAB.

It's going to take time...you know it...I know it....but that doesn't mean we won't complain until it does happen.  8)

What sort of budget does the marketing department have to work with?

Any thoughts on having all these games televised? Would that, in itself,  constitute a level of marketing?

If it were left up to me, the only televised games would be road trips (local carrier or ESPN), and if ESPN is carrying the home game, unless RayJ is sold out...it's blacked out locally.  Wanna see the Bulls? You know where the ticket office is.

Just because we have hundreds of thousands of alumni within driving range does not make them automatic fans of USF football.   You gotta have a legit product to sell, which means that it will only get better going forward as the number of wins over quality opponents increases. Winning trips the turnstile...plain and simple. I don't care how often you beat Charleston Southern...we need to win over South Carolina to turn some heads.