USFreak

The Spring game is always a sensitive subject for fans.  A big part of it is the coaches are trying to get a good look at each of the kids, but at the same time they need to play it safe and make sure nobody gets injured.  The rules are obviously changed to hedge none happen, but who didn't gasp when Hall came up gimp?  Sometimes they also don't want to tip their hat too much to next season.  While I don't think the Spring Game should be NBA-like experience with big point totals and no defense, I do think there are ways it could be tweaked to make it more entertaining.  While I love watching the game I can understand that not everyone is so easily entertained. The simple one everyone harps on is 1s playing 1s and 2s playing 2s.  More realistic and more continuity to the game on both sides of the ball.  Plus, anybody that has spent time on the practice field knows when the 15-play scrimmages break out it is for real.  There were points where Saturday's game were for real, but the fact that it was two teams of 1s and 2s and 3s ....well, it just seemed a little off. Beyond that, do you bring a little of the backyard game in?  Sure, why not.  Midnight madness in hoops is all about the dunks and the showboating and there is no reason not to try some really outlandish trickery in a spring game.  Let the coaches innovate and maybe try a few plays the opposition (Penn State, Miami, the Ville (they have a ton)) ran over the course of the past two seasons.  Throw in a flea flicker, a hook and ladder....heck, even bring back the Wacky Bull for a play.  If people in the stands can really get up and cheer for things (even near misses on a creative play) they'll have had a good time. If the play has shown up in Miami's or Penn States or UCFs playbook in the past few years it may be even interesting to see how the defense (and even the offense) reacts. If you think about it a couple of the more exciting moments the other night were when the kickers kicked from 50+ yards out.  Normally you don't see that too regularly so it broke it up a bit. It is a practice with fans attending, but it is also a mini-marketing event as well - season tickets are sold among other things.  You don't want to make it a three-ring circus because that obviously isn't Leavitt's style, but he could maybe give each coach 5 ridiculous/creative play calls over the course of the game. ÂÂ

So you are saying it sucks? :-)

Bien, you have obviously motivated them. Your consistent pressing for more and better marketing has been used in their research and they have responded with the "Are U Ready" campaign. Good job. Kudos on sticking to your guns and demanding more savvy marketing in the Tampa Bay area targeted at alums. It will help provide that targeted 'blast' that introduces fans across the Bay to USF, the Big East and the BCS. Good job Steve and keep up the hard work. Your feedback is really paying off. Next items -- media coverage and helping fans develop a connection to this team.

How about Sarasota product Dickie V? "Are U Ready? The Bulls are awesome baby!"

The yard sign idea is a great one. If USF could find a sponsor to give out 'house flags' (better ones as the current offerings are not great) that would be incredibly effective at getting the message around the Bay area in Fall. It could quickly turn a sea of homes into Bull supporters. In most neighborhoods those flags go up in August and stay up through November. It could be coordinated as a give-away at the FAMU game. The trick would be getting the Iconic U on there (no, not the shield :-)) and convincing the sponsor not to try and get some obnoxious Pepsi logo or something on there with it. Anyhow, I'd love to see more Bulls house flags. Who among us isn't sick of the Seminole and Gator ones? P.S. I know I'll take heat for the shield, but the campaign is "Are U Ready" after all. :-)

Some good points CoolBull. 1) I agree with you that if no independent access is going to be given the SID can at least post watered-down daily reports to at least provide the fans who do sustain an interest in the program something to wrap their hands around. Easy to do, university-controlled, and very benign. Plus, when not much else is out there fans can eat it up. The side benefit would be that a paper could pick up a quote and maybe print a sentence or two of it the next day. 2) I have to side with McMurphy and Auman if they don't print or run anything. They are beat writers assigned to covering a program. If the program decides it doesn't want any coverage by limiting access -- well, they have no responsibility to write anything about that program. The goal of the media lockout was probably two-fold -- 1) to limit information and 2) to make the beat reporters job more difficult. In the end the program probably needs the exposure more than the Trib or Times needs to write about it. For years USF faithful have complained about the local TV stations and newspapers not giving USF its due. If USF decides they don't want the coverage, well that is a different animal. 3) Getting your money's worth - this is probably a sensitive area. I know the really hard-core fans will do anything they can to get to games and wrap themselves around every piece of information. I'm betting some fans are more on the fence and put thought into whether to renew each year. I know USF can't baby every fan out there, but there is always room to improvement. They can prioritize concerns each year -- put out a quick survey of season ticket holders. Find out what was done right and wrong then address the top 3 and convey these actions to fans. I KNOW that you can't do everything, but when fans don't follow you blindly (like UF or FSU) putting the effort forth does make a difference. They may already do this so my apologies for suggesting it if done. Again, this is not meant to be critical, but rather just a discussion of ideas. Please see it that way. --------------- Cyber, I agree with you that winning is going to be what it takes. Winning isn't a vacuum either, though. It isn't just like putting all your chips on one horse and hoping it crosses the finish line first. There are other things that can be done as well to better the odds -- no, they aren't going to affect the numbers and bottom line like a bowl appearance or a winning season will, but in aggregate they can make a difference. I'm NOT saying these AREN'T being done either (so don't jump on me for that). I know there are folks working hard in those offices to move other things forward that have nothing to do with winning. It may be little things like getting tailgate times expanded for larger donor lots or it may be "Family Packs" for individual games or it may be Season ticket pushes for workgroups. I'm just saying every little bit makes a difference and, that while resources are tight, there are things that can be done to impact support. The team isn't 11-0, but they are still known as a winning team that has had on-field success and there are opportunities. I think generally the Tampa Bay area has a high opinion of Jim Leavitt and the Bulls. There is no 'approval rating' like the presidency, but I imagine the Bulls would fairly entrenched in the positive category with alums and Bay area fans. Anyhow, fun to talk about. We've said it a thousand times, though. Winning cures everything.

Like I said in my above post -- at this point maybe a lot of it doesn't matter and it is driven by demand. As you said, if people want to follow the Bulls there are opportunities. If not, there is no law that says they have to. If things are going perfectly and to plan then it is all good. USF may be charging down the path to greatness and we can all tag along for the ride. I know when I (or anybody here) types an opposing viewpoint I'm going to get painted as a traitor/turncoat. It isn't the party line and maybe it should be ignored. On the other hand, it is a good forum to gauge how others feel about issues such as this. As I said above -- it may simply not be important at this point in the program's history.

Yikes. That is harsh. I just want to point out that none of these above are me. I have been critical of some of the coverage in fall and spring, but I haven't (till now) posted here about Spring. I figure I better post something before it is inferred to be me. Personally, I'm not sure this program is at the point where any of it matters. Do I (personally -- my opinion) think there are some aspects that can improve? Yes. I do think at this level of sport (basically can equate to minor league team vs. major based on support and level of play) there are opportunities. I know the big bump will come from winning, but winning is rarely guaranteed (unless you are an SEC team playing an OOC opponent :-)). In short, yes, ******** about the small stuff here seems petty, but in terms of the larger marketing plan it is a cog that the "connected fan" may feel is important. These are the fans that help breed new fans. Now of course there are plenty of other cogs like moving games, the tailgating experience, the off-field troubles of players, and so on. Individually, maybe none of them matter, but collectively they add up different ways for different folks. I think long-term fans are fans because of the ownership and the knowledge and connection they build (and that means following their team -- whether it be Yankees, Red Wings, Mariners or whoever -- through all phases of the progression). I've been to USF games with a lot of folks who can't name a player other than the quarterback. They show up, but they don't even know what they are watching and it doesn't take much pressing to figure out they don't care. If USF goes to bowl games 10 consecutive years I think the connection will develop naturally, but it never hurts to continue grow support and relationships in the greenhouse in case the conditions aren't absolutely perfect out in the elements. Is it OK to whine about not having consistent coverage for a Tampa team in Tampa? Maybe. I guess it depends on what a person wants out of the relationship. If it is merely a place to kill time Saturday nights in the fall....probably not. If it is a familiarity and connection with the team on a more granular level -- probably. I guess it is all driven by demand at this point. It is pulled rather than pushed. Maybe that is a good thing. It seems to be a different model of building support, but they may indeed know what they are doing.

Quick one -- USF hosted tailgate event with free beer/wine/food for everybody.  Honestly you aren't going to get any "new" fans there, but if the Spring game is made into an event where people can tailgate, schmooze and be merry you will find more than enough people to go.  At the very least you want to bring in the 107/207 --> 110/210 donors and have a grand time. The free booze/catered event would likely double the price of the day (from 20k to 40k), but you got to look at a team like Louisville that is jumping into the Big East feetfirst for you lessons.  They took a 58k ad out in the NY times and hosted a 40k free for all in St. Louis for the Final 4.  If it takes a sponsor to pull it off -- do it -- but USF needs to take these opportunities (spring game and 5 home games) and make the most of them. After the game also have a "meet and greet/grin and grab" where everybody can come down on the field, take pictures, get autographs, headbutt Jim Leavitt.  That's what the day is all about.  Milk it. They have a great product to sell -- sell it.

Quick one -- USF hosted tailgate event with free beer/wine/food for everybody. Honestly you aren't going to get any "new" fans there, but if the Spring game is made into an event where people can tailgate, schmooze and be merry you will find more than enough people to go. The free booze/catered event would likely double the price of the day (from 20k to 40k), but you got to look at a team like Louisville that is jumping into the Big East feetfirst for you lessons. They took a 58k ad out in the NY times and hosted a 40k free for all in St. Louis for the Final 4. If it takes a sponsor to pull it off -- do it -- but USF needs to take these opportunities (spring game and 5 home games) and make the most of them. They have a great product to sell -- sell it.

Where's my friggin' Tahitian Shirt? :-)

Yes, but they built that second one all with independent contractors.

I was sorta joking w/ the Rivals alert. Hence, the smiley face. As Ping mentioned he was new to both sites. I also agree with everything you said above, but when you talk about the Internet you are talking about the "Napster model" that essentially got Napster shut down (now reopened as a pay service). In your CD example: "I buy a CD for $16.99, I play it, (I might even make a copy on my DVD burner) I play it at a party for others, I lend it to others - no problem." I lend it to others/play at a party -- that's obviously fine. I make a couple copies for friends - Still a form of copyright infringement, but the Feds aren't going to bang down your door. Happens everyday. Share it on the Internet -- not so fine. Everybody and their mother can get hold of it and now something that the band put blood, sweat and tears into (and probably a lot of whiskey and marijuana) is FREE for everybody with a PC. Listen, I don't really care anymore. As you (Brad) said earlier it is a waste of time. Enough words have been wasted on this subject. I'd personally rather dedicate the effort towards covering more USF stuff and getting the Bull community together than arguing over something that won't matter in 3 weeks. The information is obviously there at Rivals/Insiders/ESPN in different forms and everybody knows that. Rivals does recruiting and more targeted coverage of the individual college programs. Dave and I are just a small part of that. There is an opportunity to be a larger part of that, but honestly it doesn't amount to me ******** about anything that is lifted from the Rivals site. It is more about us showing the rest of the Bulls fans out there that there is quality, targeted information put out about the program on a regular basis. We've been pretty good over the past 4 months and I think that it has shown in how we've grown. We certainly would love to see the message board side of that back to what it once was, but you and I have discussed that as well. Anyhow.... Back to the Perrilloux discussion. Oh, I didn't see it referenced here, but there are some developments with Hill. Hang on to your hats.

Rivals alert, Rivals alert. Code Red, Code Red. :-)

Shoot man, I don't know what to tell you. It is just my opinion. I have nothing to back it up. I'd imagine they'd dedicate most of the room to FSU, UF and Miami first, though. Those guys got about 50 times the following USF does. Tampa paper or not those guys are the power brokers.

Well, I'm not saying that. I think there are generally two consistent sites for the information and the stuff flows pretty freely (ie. there was a McCray update like 15 minutes ago on Rivals). I guess all I'm saying is there is no real conspiracy by Rivals to knock USF players down the chart. I think if you compare the overall rankings on signing day they are generally pretty similar. I personally agree that a player like Johnny Peyton should have been ranked a little better than #58 last year, but ultimately it was probabaly a fair ranking.

Do you guys think the Rivals network is the Devil repackaged? Let's look at the facts -- the higher ranked guys USF is looking at right now are basically the ones angling to get on with Miami, FSU, UF -- guys like Phillips, Stewart, Jean-Francios, etc. I'm not sure if you guys realize this yet, but USF hasn't arrived.  Sure, they've made great strides, but the guys they are going after aren't Miami and FSU first-stringers.  They may have one or two a year, but look at last year.  Cornelius Ingram and Brent Scheaffer were TOPS on USF's list.  Either one would have started at QB last year and played all four years.  Schaeffer shared the position in a stroke of luck and we'll be lucky to see Ingram in any regular basis on that field.  Now players like Gordon and the others are great players, but they are the guys Miami and FSU are "thinking" about.  Also, I'm not so sure it is about USF players getting pushed back as much as it is about other's stock rising.  A kid that is getting legitimate interest from Tennessee, Georgia, Clemson, etc. is going to move up the flagpole.  There are a few examples where it is not true, but generally look who is out in front. This is not to take anything away from Grothe or DeArmas, and so on, but both of those guys were unranked at the beginning of the season.  Their stock rose when they signed with Bulls and I'd argue it has been steady.  Problem is - other guy's stock continues to climb.

Ford told me straight out he had no interest in Bulls. Then again, so did Jake Griffin last year.

This was a total last minute thing. I talked to him Thursday and he said he wasn't coming (Duhart cancelled and was going to Illinois) because Meyer wanted him to come to USF. Phillips told me flat-out he wasn't coming (well, to be fair he said 90% chance he wasn't coming). Now either the coaches read (or heard about it) and got him back on the schedule or God only knows. These things are fluid. As of Thurs. night the three of them were here and there. Looks like Bulls got them into town which is good. Obviously they are waiting to see specifically what happens w/ Miami, UF, FSU....as most of the players that are on the fence w/ USF.

There are 22.5 million reasons he isn't having a tough time.

I agree. McClellan for sure. OJ Murdock just gives me a Cedric King sort of vibe. McClellan's size would give USF another big target. No knock on short receivers, but Peyton was just in a different strata. Paul, he's 6'3" 260 lb. DT out of Gibbs.

My personal feeling is this is a courtesy visit to Dawsey to give USF a little more cred and that Perrilloux will stick w/ Texas. Still, the press won't hurt the Bulls one bit. We'll call him and find out, but I'm sure Brett and Greg are dialing right now. 8 to 5 gig for those fellas.

Looking above I just think they are citing the source. Scout, Rivals, ESPNinsider, Trib, etc....the link is just provided if you want to read more. I guess I'm curious as to the expectations. Do you just want whole thing copied and pasted? I can tell you the articles are surely valid. Nobody made up the information about Perrilloux. The chances he signs with USF are obviously slim, but he'll visit (if you go to his player profile on our site you'll see it is midweek on the 16th), but yes obviously I'll say the article is worthwhile (although maybe I'm biased :-)) I agree with you that this site should not be some advertising site for any other site, but if the information comes off another site (free or pay) I think it is responsible to at least cite where it came from and provide a link. The Perrilloux piece obviously originated on Rivals. I'm not sure how else the information would be refererenced as, to my knowledge, it was something that broke there. In regards to Velcro's comments ("i don't see why they couldn't work together sometimes but merging... just don't see it. "). Yes, you are probably right, but that doesn't mean we won't keep trying - on both fronts. Also, let's just let sleeping dogs lie here and not drag the pay vs. free topic out any more. We obviously have free message boards over there and may add one or two here shortly, but I certainly don't want to start anything over here. I know Brad at one point said I never posted over here and I've been over here posting when I can lately. Obviously when I see something I've written referenced I comment on that (as I normally have specific knowledge) and I LOVE arguing with GarySJ about the schedule (a 4-year argument now - Note: He wins now that USF plays 5-game home schedule next year). I guess I'm hoping to bridge whatever gap there is between two sites because while I think there is a lot of duplication of effort I also respect what Brad is doing because I did it for so long. Part of the reason usfbulls.com died was because honestly I got sick of so much money going out of my pocket. I loved the message board aspect at the time (as it was really the core of it). Anyhow, hopefully we can move the conversation back to Perrilloux. We're in the process of calling him now to get more info on how USF came into the picture (if Brett or Greg don't beat us to it. :-))

Yeah, Warchant (FSU's site on rivals) kicks ass. The numbers are absolutely astounding. Those fellas do a good job and their access to the program is incredible. I wish we (meaning any of us -- Dave, beat reporters, Brad, etc) could get that level of access. Back to the original subject there is some great video of Perrilloux (and one on one face to face videos out there if anybody has any interest). Obviously there may be other sources for it as well, but I know that we got a boatload of it. Good stuff if you haven't seen the kid play.

Well we can't just "give" away that information can we? :-) Just another reason I'd love to see these boards come together. Duplicate info all over. CG P.S. Yes, he is going to visit.