gobulls83

 

 

I doubt it but I can see why the are favorable. UCF has won 10, 11 and 12 games in the past four seasons. They have good facilities and solid fan support. My brother is a high school coach in Georgia and says Tyler Harris is the real deal and with their WR's won't miss a beat.

As I said, doubt the big 12 wants them but they look much better than we do.

 

Yeah, UCF is suddenly attractive because of a quarterback recruit who hasn't even set foot on campus yet and because they won a bunch of games against sorry-ass competition (including this year's AAC). Right.

Youre being short sighted. They have won everywhere they have played, us, not so much. Make fun of their tin can stadium but other schools understand what that means to have. Also, say what you want but their President is viewed very favorably in athletic circles. More than anything, they had great tv ratings in Orlando this year, that is a powerful thing to show.

 

Winning and losing have nothing to do with anything. See: Rutgers, losers in the Big 10. See: Boise State, big winners, still on the outside looking in. Pitt haven't won **** lately, Syracuse ditto, both are now in the ACC.

And UCF's TV ratings were decent in the Orlando market specifically, but nationwide? Not so much. It's going to take more than a single season of a few games getting decent ratings to make them attractive.

UCF isn't going to the Big XII, and that's pretty much the end of it. Believe they are if you want, but time will prove you wrong.

It's not my info to give. Bausfkid teased the first half and most of us rode him like a pony. I can also remember the "HEM IS A FRAUD" threads when I announced the Holtz firing and it didn't happen right a after the game.

It's Collin's info, not mine. You want answers? Ask him. If nothing happens by next week, are good and ill be glad the info I got was wrong.

I'm not saying you should tell us what it was. But getting upset at baseless speculation when you decide to say "something major is happening, but I'm not telling what I think it is" is ******* stupid. That was the only way the conversation you started could end.

Just because "calm before the storm" is a phrase doesn't mean all calm leads to a storm. If more conference moving and shaking was coming, this is exactly when the rumor-mongers would be most active.

I doubt it but I can see why the are favorable. UCF has won 10, 11 and 12 games in the past four seasons. They have good facilities and solid fan support. My brother is a high school coach in Georgia and says Tyler Harris is the real deal and with their WR's won't miss a beat.

As I said, doubt the big 12 wants them but they look much better than we do.

Yeah, UCF is suddenly attractive because of a quarterback recruit who hasn't even set foot on campus yet and because they won a bunch of games against sorry-ass competition (including this year's AAC). Right.

 

If that's it and were not part of it, then Cincinnati would be the other AAC member to get an invite for an even add across divisions.

This is what I'm afraid of. And it's when the normal tweetniks and bloggers that usually talk realignment are silent that I start to get worried.

I will be happy to be wrong.

 

I don't get this at all. Nobody talking about conference movement is a sign that conference movement is imminent? What?

Jesus shut up it has nothing to do with conferences or ******* ucf

I just want to point out, YOU are the one who started all the baseless speculation. If you weren't going to share what piece of info you think you know, then there was no point in saying anything at all.

 

Another point-how would USF athletics know ANYTHING going on inside the building at UCF? Unless John Hitt called Dr. Genshaft to mock her sometime in the past few days about them getting an invite to the Big 12 without USF, how exactly would they know?

 

I would imagine they would know well before it being released to the public...It's a pretty tight circle up at the top and people know what others are up to.

 

OK, but then USF fans know it before UCF fans? And before the media?

Get a grip people. UCF isn't going anywhere - it should be obvious not just for those reasons, but also for the obvious reason that UCF is not an attractive expansion candidate. Why would the Big XII want them? Because they had two of their football team's three noteworthy wins ever this season? Please.

While I don't lend any credence to this particular poster, I broached this topic a while back in another thread. UCF to the b12 without USF is more likely than some of you realize. I'm actually expecting it. This is not a joke. 

It not being a joke doesn't make it any less laughable.

The only thing that has me doubting willis is a UCF student is that "departure" is an awfully big word for a UCFer to spell correctly. But I guess even they have spell check on their computers.

Maybe it's the other way around. In 2004, Lee Roy Selmon stepped down just when it was announced that USF was joining the Big East. So maybe another AD change means another conference promotion!

I propose, in tribute to this loser, we instead make this thread a collection of UCF jokes. Mine is the first post in this thread.

Three ten win seasons in four years, against garbage teams. Boise State was much more impressive for a much longer time and are still on the outside looking in. Get real.

Wins and losses have nothing at all to do with it. UCF is not going to the Big XII.

I'll believe it when I see it. It's going to take more than a dude with one post to make me believe it - I think it's more likely you're just some dumbass UCF idiot. But we'll see I guess. Why would the Big XII want UCF?

 

I had never heard of him either...

 

http://www.tampabaysports.org/about/staff_directory/higginsR

http://www.tampabaysports.org/information/archive_news/2013/pressTBTHiggins060913

 

It would be a non-traditional hire, that is for sure... but he has familiarity - he's a USF alumnus and former assistant athletic director.

 

I might be jumping on this bandwagon.  This guy has the type of dynamic personality that get us to the level we aspire and at his age,he will be able to relate to all levels of athletics...players, coaches, students/fans. We really need that kind of energy at USF.   

 

He's certainly worth an interview at least. And without being in that interview, I think it's impossible for any of us to assess his worthiness.

I liked the hiring of Woolard at the time. I liked the hiring of Holtz at the time. Both ended up being major disappointments. I'm going to try and hold off on getting to upset or excited about the next AD until they make their first big hire, be it in basketball or football. But I like what I know about Higgins.

mea culpa Bausfkid - I called you a liar. Sorry.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/rob-higgins-is-tampa-bays-big-game-hunter/2125670

Rob Higgins is Tampa Bay's big game hunter

 

By Greg Auman

Times Staff Writer

Rob Higgins stood behind the lectern making his pitch to bring the Women's Final Four to Tampa.

 

The carefully orchestrated costumes his staff wore introduced the NCAA committee to the stereotypical characters of the area, from tacky tourist to cruise director to deep-sea fisherman.

"Guys, we feel like we know you better than anybody," said Higgins, himself in a tuxedo jacket during the presentation in 2008. "We will work our pants off for you guys."

With that, he stepped from behind the lectern to reveal he wore no pants. On the back of his boxer shorts were the words, "VOTE TAMPA BAY."

Tampa landed the 2015 event.

• • •

Rob Higgins is a little-known man who creates memorable moments.

At 34, he is Tampa's big game hunter, heading the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, a nonprofit corporation partially funded by Hillsborough County and charged with bidding on and hosting major amateur events.

Since Higgins took over in 2004, it has brought the ACC and SEC men's basketball tournaments, ACC football championship, Frozen Four and Women's Final Four to Tampa Bay. Currently, it is stalking the new College Football Playoff championship game.

Higgins and his team land such events by making a lasting impression on selection committees. He is creative and deft at recruiting the right allies. Among his signature moves is the power cameo, a surprise guest from the local sports scene to underscore his message.

When he decided, in 2005, to pitch Tampa as an outside-the-box option for the Frozen Four, the NCAA hockey championship weekend that had never been held in the South, he found the perfect representative. Midway through his pitch, he was interrupted by the Lightning's Marty St. Louis, the NHL's reigning MVP who walked into the room … carrying the Stanley Cup.

"It was all about getting people excited about the possibility the NCAA could come here, and obviously, it paid off," said St. Louis, who played in the Frozen Four while at Vermont and told the committee of Tampa's passion for the sport.

"It's a Super Bowl destination. Tampa has so much to offer; warm climate, beautiful weather. There was so much here besides watching a couple of hockey games."

The NCAA intended to award Frozen Fours for 2009-11 but threw Higgins a curve at the end, asking him if Tampa could host in 2012. Without blinking, he reached into his bag and handed over facility and hotel agreements for 2012 — in place as a contingency.

Another power cameo? When Tampa bid on the 2008-09 ACC football championships, Higgins left his cell phone on during the pitch meeting and a call loudly interrupted him.

He took the call — enjoying the looks of surprise from committee members — and told the caller if the Tampa pitch meant so much to him, he should be there in person. On cue, Ronde Barber, the Bucs cornerback and graduate of ACC school Virginia, walked in to espouse the virtues of Tampa Bay.

Barber said Higgins is a thoughtful friend.

The Buc joked at his retirement announcement that Matt Bryant got the key to the city of Tampa in 2006 for a 62-yard winning field goal against the Eagles in a game during which Barber returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Higgins kidded he'd take care of the slight. And last month, at the end of the Sneaker Soiree, an annual event honoring the local sports community, Mayor Bob Buckhorn gave Barber the key to the city.

"There's something about him. He certainly has creativity, but he also has a lot of initiative," Barber said. "I didn't know him from anything when he called me (for the ACC pitch). He's a very likeable guy who has some really good ideas."

• • •

Higgins, who attended Jesuit and majored in mass communications at USF, has been the commission's executive director since 2005, but he has been precocious all his life. His start with Tampa athletics came at age 7, during Sunday mass with his family the night after a USF men's basketball game.

As congregants exchanged greetings, Higgins turned to then-Bulls assistant Tommy Tonelli and instead of the standard, "Peace be with you," he offered a smile and said, "Good game last night, Coach."

Tonelli asked him after the service to be a ball boy. From there, Higgins remained a fixture with USF basketball, graduating to team manager before he even graduated middle school and coordinating his schedule at Jesuit so he could attend afternoon practices. By his sophomore year of high school, he was traveling for weekend road games.

"At a very young age, he was willing to accept responsibility and understood the importance of what his role was," former Bulls coach Bobby Paschal said.

When Paschal left coaching for an administrative role at USF, Higgins, whose basketball playing days ended in eighth grade, followed suit. He excelled so much, he was an assistant athletic director before he finished his degree.

He came up with a basketball reunion game, calling former players such as Chucky Atkins, selling sponsorships and tickets, ordering uniforms and giving himself a taste of his future. He helped plan the building now called the Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center and helped coordinate the NCAA Tournament games in Tampa in 2003 — at just 24 years old.

"I knew that being in that position that Rob would exhibit the talent he had to deal with people," Paschal said. "He was so perceptive about how to get things done and how to get people to do things that needed to be done to accomplish our goals. He's done a tremendous job, but even at a young age, I had no doubts he would be extremely successful and a strong benefit to our entire community."

Higgins' community pride shines through everything he does. His wife, Casey, who played basketball at Kansas, is the athletic director at Corpus Christi Catholic middle school in Temple Terrace, where daughter Laney, 9, and son Landon, 7, attend. You'll find Higgins at their soccer and basketball games, happy to boast he has never lived or worked anywhere but in Tampa.

"Have never, and hopefully, will never. This is a dream job for me," he says from his office at Tampa's SunTrust Financial Centre. "I was fortunate enough to go to high school here, and there's a reason why I chose to go to USF and stay in my hometown. I wanted to be here forever. I really don't envision myself doing anything else."

• • •

Through the years, Higgins has built relationships that have helped unite the local sports community. When he came to the sports commission, he had a staff of two and there were about 100 such groups across the country. Now he has a staff of six and there are more than 600 such groups.

Tampa's has had its hands in 115 events over the past year. They range from local children's triathlons to national events, including preparations for that 2015 Women's Final Four he bid for with no pants.

Last month's Sneaker Soiree, a fundraiser for the commission, brought together a who's who of local sports, including coaches Greg Schiano (Bucs), Joe Maddon (Rays) and Jon Cooper (Lightning).

Higgins' job was to introducetroduce Florida graduate and former ESPN reporter Jenn Brown as emcee. But he always likes to put on a show.

He had two requests for Titus O'Neil, a former Gator football player now a 6-foot-6, 270-pound pro wrestler who was supposed to grab him on the stage and carry him off as part of the banquet's opening: throw him over the shoulder nice and easy and take it easy on the baby oil so as not to ruin Higgins' suit.

O'Neil came on stage as scripted, glistening with oil, of course. But a bigger surprise awaited Higgins when O'Neil hoisted him up.

"He goes five-hole," said Higgins, referencing the space between a hockey goalie's legs.

So the look of shock on Higgins' face as he hung above the air was not staged, a reminder that some of the more memorable events in life are beyond even the most detailed, careful planning.

"He does not mind making fun of himself," Barber said.

• • •

Creativity, fun and relationships might help Higgins' next big game hunt, the championship of the new four-team College Football Playoff.

Bill Hancock is the executive director of the BCS and College Football Playoff. Higgins has known him since he was an executive with the NCAA basketball tournament.

Hancock jokes about the size of the NCAA's operations manual ("an inch-and-a-half thick") but said he learned during an early visit to Tampa about Higgins' attention to detail.

"We could say we need 24 water bottles for each bench, and he'd say, 'No, the book says 28,' " Hancock said. "And he did it in such a nice, polite way: I'm coming to you hat in hand here. The book says 28."

Higgins and his team impressed Hancock again this spring, bidding for the first championship in January 2015, a competition widely thought to be a shoo-in for Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington. Higgins' presentation nearly pulled an upset and put Tampa in position to land a future title game. (The next cycle could be awarded as soon as this summer.)

"He got all the resources of the community together and said to them: 'Everybody's talking about Dallas, but I think we have a chance at this. Let's get after it,' " Hancock said. "Rob and his team put together a bid that absolutely got our attention. They didn't win at the end of the day. Dallas' stadium more than anything (won) for them.

I don't want to improperly create expectations about the next round, but Rob's work was very impressive."

And no matter what his target, Higgins will be able to rely on his allies.

"He's one of those guys you're willing to do things for because he's such a good guy," Barber said. "I've never said no to him, actually. You know if he calls you, it's a good cause and something that will benefit the area."

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@tampabay.com. Follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

http://www.tampabaysports.org/about/staff_directory/higginsR

In June of 2004, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission named Rob Higgins as its Executive Director. Higgins primary responsibility is to promote the development of community sports in the Tampa Bay area, as well as leading the Sports Commission as the principal organization that bids on and hosts sports and entertainment events in Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County.

In the nine years Higgins has held his position, Tampa has successfully hosted and/or been awarded the following events: 2007 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds, 2008 NCAA Women’s Final Four, 2008 and 2009 ACC Football Championships, 2009 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, 2009 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship, 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball  Second and Third Rounds, 2012 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, and 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Higgins served on the bid committee which successfully landed the 2009 Super Bowl and the operations committee which handled several event logistics. He has been named to Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 30 under 30 list and the Tampa Bay Times Times has named Higgins as one of the top 10 difference makers in the Tampa Bay area.

Most recently, Higgins was voted as one of the most influential sports figureheads in the history of Tampa Bay, according to CBS Radio.

Rob Higgins is the director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. He is also a USF grad.

 

 

 

He still has a contract that has to be honored, what else do you expect? If McMurphy's report is true (and we all know how that goes), then he has been demoted and forced to face the fact that he hasn't done a good enough job. And a new AD will take his place. That's the best possible outcome for USF fans.

 

 

I would presume, dangerous word, there was a buyout clause in the contract.  The best possible outcome would be to utilize that buyout, if it does exist, and not be on the hook for his outrageous salary and bonuses for the next year and a half.

 

Remember ontop of his salary we will now need to place the new ADs salary; essentially by keeping him on payroll we may limit the pool of candidates that we can afford.

 

Eh, if somebody has details then I stand to be corrected, but until that comes I'm going to assume that even if he does have a buyout clause, it's not enough of a difference that you can say keeping him on staff for another year costs the university much more money.

 

CSH and CWT must have sharted in their shorts.

Soon to be a new sheriff in town.

Shaking in their boots, as they should be.

Bye bye

It's a new day

Bring in a proven winner and pay him

 

Yeah, because USF is swimming in cash, and the reason a "proven winner" doesn't coach here is because Woolard refused to pay him.

Stan Heath was about as much of a "proven winner" as USF can get.

 

 

Brett McMurphy â€@McMurphyESPN 3m

Decision to replace Woolard because of “wide-ranging dissatisfaction†w/USF's football & men’s hoop programs, sources said

WAIT, BACK UP - you mean someone at USF is actually paying attention to this crap and wasn't happy with DW coasting to retirement? GASP!

So much for my health issues theory.

Read the release. Unless they change plans, he's still coasting to retirement.

 

He still has a contract that has to be honored, what else do you expect? If McMurphy's report is true (and we all know how that goes), then he has been demoted and forced to face the fact that he hasn't done a good enough job. And a new AD will take his place. That's the best possible outcome for USF fans.

He got caught slashing Judy's tires....

Sounds kinky.

Hem is full of it. It just doesn't add up for this to be something scandalous. Not because of the suckiness of USF's teams, but because Woolard wouldn't be kept on board if that were really the reason he was out as AD. It makes no sense at all.

What a great belated Christmas present. I hope he was fired, or forced to resign, or in some way made to realize he did a piss poor job.

Oh my god. I hope this is true. The best news Brett McMurphy has ever delivered.

That's all fine. It's your right to not watch or whatever if you want. But you just have to realize that if you don't watch USF sports, then in a discussion about USF sports you by definition have no idea what you are talking about, so your opinion is totally meaningless and irrelevant.