FIUPantherFan

You guys are welcome!!!!

I'm glad to have him back, though as you all have said, it's pretty strange circumstances. I also don't believe he will be the new defensive coordinator at FIU, which if he was returning, would make a little more sense. I believe that with the increase in salary for the head coach, there would be a similar % increase for his assistants so a DC @ FIU might be making the same if not a bit more than a position coach at USF. Again, though, he is not being offered the DC job at FIU. Oh well, I always though he was one of our best coaches along with Tony Nathan, welcome home Bernard Clark!

The band was great and I had fun sitting with the rest of our fans and I was treated with a lot of class and respect by the USF fans (surprisingly after all the back and forth in the message board.)  Thanks for the great experience in Tampa!  By the way, the band decided not to wear their uniforms, here they are in case you were wondering

Just to put your concerns about our attendance to rest, its tickets sold not in attendance....Not to worry, we will sell those tickets, just like we did last year. Our AD has been very smart in that our plans include the possibility of season ticket holders donating "purchased" tickets to a childrens charity at a discount. I myself took advantage and paid for charity tickets, an additional 10 throughout the season. When you add together all our season ticket holders (about 10K at the moment) and their possible donations you can see that we are not at all scared of the possibility of not meeting the attendance requirement. The important thing for the school, is to get those tickets in the stadium. Speaking of wacky politicians, that's what most of you on this board seem to be. Picking at the 1/2 people in our board who are overly optimistic, when in fact, the majority of us believe that it will be a minor miracle to beat you guys. I will be in Tampa to support my school regardless of whether they win or lose and I think it will be an interesting game to see where we are in relation to other Florida schools.

FIU rep. in the Athlon Sports Sideline Spirit Award....She's by far the best looking of the contestants... http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/8054/sideline-spirit?action=display_round&round=1

We are trying to figure out what section the visiting team sits at so that we can all buy tickets in the same area, come help us out. Also, does the visiting band sit close by the visitors section or separate from them? http://fiuathleticscom.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1154388918&page=3

1. That's 25K bigger than your on-campus stadium. 2. Because the existing schools don't have $75MM in existing PRIVATE donations which will be $150MM once the state matches them (as they are required for ANY public university who privately raises the money). If the existing Universities can economically afford to double their class sizes by 2008 then they should try it. No one is stopping any of the current universities from proposing it, but guess what, they aren't. Both FIU and UCF are taking advantage of that fact, as they should since they are COMPETING with the other institution.

http://fiuathleticscom.proboards20.com/index.cgi

It's good to see that people are worried about our financial situation. Not to worry though, it was all raised through private funds, which , WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DONATED IF THERE WAS NO FOOTBALL. So thanks, but the finances are just fine. And further to answer the size of the stadium question. A couple of years ago UCF wasn't averaging enough to fill a 20K stadium after DECADES of football, it's only our 5th year, I think once we hit the 10 year mark our first expansion will be done. Good luck with your programs, I also hope the $$$$ is worth it.

From the Miami Herald Stadium project might result in a move to OB The Golden Panthers' plans for a new football stadium could mean that all five of their 2007 home games would be played at the Orange Bowl. BY PETE PELEGRINppelegrin@MiamiHerald.com Florida International already will play one game at the Orange Bowl this season. But when plans for the Golden Panthers' new on-campus stadium go into effect this year, FIU could end up playing all five of its home games at the Orange Bowl. The Golden Panthers visit the Orange Bowl on Oct. 14 to play Miami, but construction of their proposed 23,700-seat stadium might force FIU to relocate to the Hurricanes' home stadium, according to FIU athletic director Rick Mello. ''Our target date for the new stadium has always been 2007,'' Mello said. ``In order to get it done that quickly, it will necessitate us playing one season outside our stadium, and the Orange Bowl would be the likely place, and that would have to be worked out with UM.'' The Hurricanes released their 2006 schedule this week, and only two home games conflict with Golden Panthers' home games: Sept. 30 and Nov. 4. But Mello said those dates could be changed because of each team's television schedule. ''The two conferences may move games for TV,'' Mello said. ``We've put everyone on alert about a possible relocation to the Orange Bowl: Dade County schools, the Orange Bowl and UM. They know what our intentions are. We may possibly have to move those two conflicting games to Thursday night.'' Before FIU can relocate, the Golden Panthers have to choose a price and design for their new stadium from design teams at the end of February. Once the plan is chosen, Mello said, he will go to campus committees to get proper approval followed by the ''ultimate approval'' from the FIU Board of Trustees, and then construction of the stadium would begin. ''We have spent a serious amount of energy on stadium plans,'' said Mello. ``But nothing is official until we receive proper approval from the board of trustees.'' The stadium construction plan would call for a design-build style in which the construction company would bring in the infrastructure and the new seats. The existing bleachers at FIU Stadium would be removed. The goal is to provide 23,700 seats, with eventual plans to expand that. Relocating for one season won't be a first for an FIU team. The Golden Panthers baseball team had to play its 1995 and 2000 seasons at Homestead Stadium when its baseball stadium was built in two phases. Mello said the football stadium would be built in one phase. The target date for the opening of the stadium is September 2007 for the home opener against Maryland. ''Right now there's nothing that would stop from the opening of the stadium in 2007" Mello said.