BaltoBull

EXACTLY. Once we were to get into the ACC, the ACC wouldn't really be worth getting into anymore. I think the best we could hope for if the ACC blows up is forming a 'best of' conference made of the remainders of the ACC and the best of whatever-it-is called conference we are in now. We'll still be on the outside looking in thanks to the 'big 4', but perhaps we could piece together a better tv contract and come up with some, more interesting games.

Quality of opponents overall is up. Miami, Louisville, and Cincinnati is better than any 3 team combination from last season. SMU isn't that bad either. Let's see what the quality of opponents looks like a few years from now when the 'power' conferences are larger, playing more conference games and playing more games exclusively against one another ala B1G & PAC and B12 & ACC. As it stands, our most impressive OOC opponent next year, when our new conference gets fully in gear is NC State. After that, I think marquee HOME games are going to be really hard to come by and as I said before, I really don't see Michigan State coming and playing in Tampa in 2017. But hey, we may get lucky and Indiana might come and visit us in 2015. We'll see.

It's the same per game price as last year. We have one extra game on this years schedule. Okay, to me that's fine. But once all the new teams are added to the schedule, I will be very disappointed if we are being to pay as much as we were in the Big East. Before some of you denounce me, let me point out, our (and our conference mates) relevance has clearly been downgraded, as has the quality of our opponets. Doug Wollard can send me as many letters of renewal as he wants, but he needs to be realistic and realize fan apathy is, if it hash't already going to set in. I consider paying less for season tickets as another ramification for the reshuffling. Season ticket prices need to reflect the quality of the product on the field. If we do somehow end up in a more relevant conference, I will be happy to pay more for a 'better' product.

I was wondering when and what they were going to do to entice season ticket holders from bailing. A "National Letter of Renewal"? http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=206658260 Admittedly, some of the prizes aren't that bad. I just hope moving forward, they are not expecting us to pay what we were before. Name of Season Ticket Holder Permanent Address Season Ticket Holder ID Signed Director of Athletics This is to certify my decision to renew my University of South Florida Football Season Tickets I certify that I have read all terms and conditions included in this document. I have discussed them with friends, family and co-workers regarding the institution named above, and as a season ticket holder I agree to be bound by them. I understand that signing this NLR is voluntary, but if I don’t, Coach T. will probably have a representative call me within the next 10 minutes to find out why he hasn’t received it y et. If I falsify any part of this NLR, I understand I will receive multiple requests from the representatives of the institution named above to recruit new season ticket holders. I understand if I don’t falsify anything, I will still receive multiple requests from the representatives of the institution named above to recruit new season ticket hold ers. My signature on this NLR sets me apart as a true Bulls fan and a member of the USF Football season ticket family. It also reserves me a seat on Coach T’s bus. NLR Deadline Date: May 1, 2013 Need more info: 2013 Season Ticket Renewal Central

Honestly, I'm just thinking aloud, but, what if this is a subtle indicator of the B12 coming into Florida with one or more geographically close teams? Easy travel and high attendance for FSU/Miami -or- USF/UCF fans if selected. If one of the FL teams doesn't get the spot, then it's excellent exposure to possible recruits on 1-4 and elsewhere in the state for the other B12 teams AND they can tell recruits they would be playing close to home at least once a year. I could be completely full of s*** about this, but it does make me wonder if the B12 is being proactive, playing chess and setting up some pieces. The Big Eight (now B12) had ties to the Orange Bowl (B8 Champs played there) that began in 1968. They never added any Florida teams, so why now? My theory is to ensure attendance, build interest and expose the conference to recruits - pretty much the same reason why Florida is supposedly a target of the B12 - television sets. Work with me here, I've seen a reason for preferring the B12 because it will bring travelers into town. Okay. But, I think the attendance of bowl games will change once practically every 'power team' has a shot at the post-season, judging by the way the conferences are accumulating these bowls. Maybe. And again, I'm going off on a wild tangent here, what if you set up geographically close 'bowls' to conferences and their teams and they served as the first round of a future playoff system? Then, once your team won that game, you could be expected to travel further for another? And remember, bowl game 'success' is measured in part by butts in seats, right? Another tangent, but, okay, the bowl host cities might not be thrilled about the hotel impact, but the people selling the tickets to the game would be, which could lead to maybe a bigger payout for the game, which eventually means more money for the conference. I don't think the 'power conferences' care about being known as a conference that brings people to distant cities as much as they would prefer to be known as a conference that fills stadiums. If it's about insuring attendance and television showing full stadiums, I think this is what you would want. The bowls might not be happy about not bringing in a bunch of out-of-towners, but eventually the conferences could say, "Okay, our overlords at ESPN will create a new bowl for us close-by, thanks." So, under this admittedly wild premise, it would make sense for the B12 to plant seeds with a bowl game in Florida. Like always, I could be full of s*** and some of what I'm thinking might not make sense. But, right now, I'm enjoying looking into the future and asking hypotheticals.

I think that is what has been in the works and is the end game of all of this. Honestly, I think if the 'power 5' (and I still think it will be the 'power 4' eventually) are making the exorbitant amount of money this set-up will provide, it will make sense for them to split and give up their tax-exempt status. It will be worth it for them to regulate and only worry about themselves. Imagine being able to change the rules to make 'better' and 'more exciting' games. Imagine not having to be tied down by 'stringent' academic requirements. Imagine being able to pay players in the open. Imagine being able to license and sell players images. As far as the old AFL/NFL concept - unless you are referring to the two leagues potentially different policies and rules, the budgetary, facility and ultimately, athletic difference between the 'power schools' and the 'Gang of Five' schools won't even be close. Also, there will be absolutely no chance of a merger as the moves being made now are ensuring the 'power' conferences presence geographically close important media markets, the accumulation of 'brand schools' not to mention the schools that would potentially be part of leaving the NCAA are doing so, in large part, because they've decided there is nothing to gain by playing the 75+ other schools in Div. 1.

Honestly, I'm just thinking aloud, but, what if this is a subtle indicator of the B12 coming into Florida with one or more geographically close teams? Easy travel and high attendance for FSU/Miami -or- USF/UCF fans if selected. If one of the FL teams doesn't get the spot, then it's excellent exposure to possible recruits on 1-4 and elsewhere in the state for the other B12 teams AND they can tell recruits they would be playing close to home at least once a year. I could be completely full of s*** about this, but it does make me wonder if the B12 is being proactive, playing chess and setting up some pieces.

"League officials have discussed a multisite, rotational bowl partnership of the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC to maximize matchups over six years, according to two sources with knowledge of those discussions." "The Music City Bowl in Nashville, Belk Bowl in Charlotte and Alamo Bowl in San Antonio are among the sites being mentioned." http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21826498/sec-big-12-acc-big-ten-discuss-power-bowl-alliance To me, this is just more evidence that the 'power 5' are going to control everything of value in CFB. Granted it's not the 'greatest' bowl by any means, but what about the Pinstripe Bowl? Given where the vast majority of our teams are now geographically located, with only UConn and Temple being close by, who else can see the bowl going to the B10 (Rutgers, Penn St., Maryland & possibly Virginia) & the ACC after our contract expires? I don't know, I could see the Russell Athletic Bowl switching allegiances sooner or later as well. Orlando would be a great consolation prize for 'power 5' fans who wont be traveling to a marque bowl. As the 'power 5' conferences continue to expand, they should have enough teams to fill the spots. Imagine being able to offer almost all the teams in your conference a bowl bid of one sort or other. It might not be the sexiest matchup and you might not get great attendance to all of them, but you will take the payout for the bowl and add that to your conference's coffer as well, not to mention more t.v. exposure for practically all of your teams and the extra practices that come along with it. ESPN who owns the majority of these bowls certainly would mind this either, I would think. By my count, that leaves us with potentially only 3 bowls (Beef O' Brady's, the Compass and the Liberty). Follow my logic here, if the 'power 5' gets wrapped up and starts playing their teams exclusively in their bowls, does anybody else see our bowl opponents becoming more ridiculous? I think the 'power 5' will laugh at sending any teams to St. Petersburg, Birmingham or Memphis. Maybe we pick up the R&L Carriers, Military (if we can hold onto Navy) and Independence bowls? I don't know. Who will the opponents to these games be? CUSA? Sun Belt? MAC? What do you think the payoffs for these games will be? Either way, get ready for AXII's bowl season to be over by Christmas. Sorry to be a downer. But this is what I'm thinking our future. I would prefer to just dump the bowl concept and just go to a Championship Series with MWC, C-USA and the MAC. Each of our best teams playing one another with home field advantage to boost money and help attendance followed by a championship game in a neutral location. Sell the concept to the highest bidder. The AXII is going to be laughed at and locked out eventually anyways, we might as well do something different. I am ready for the onslaught of people telling me I am completely wrong and ridiculous for suggesting this (again).

Reality for USF is to make the best with what we have no matter where we end up. Keep winning and you make yourself appealing for the next round of expansion AND you get to play the big boys in the bowls where you can further build your rep. The ACC is the #5 conference for now, but I think it is possible for our new conference or a conference like the MWC to usurp that status from the ACC. Even with our current makeup in the new "America 12" as it seems to be called, I think we are already in striking distance of the ACC in football. "Striking distance" in what sense? On-field results? That and a dollar will buy us a candy bar. Fact is, the Big East that existed between 2005 and 2012 was ranked HIGHER than the ACC in most rating services, like Sagarin, more of those years than not. We were ranked higher than the B1G in three of those years. For all the good it did us: When it came time to dole out media money and bowl bids, we were left on the scrap heap and any of our schools was willing to jump to any other Power conference. And that's because on-field performance has almost nothing to do with the conference-desirability of a school. If it was, then the Power 5 would have been tripping all over themselves to lure Boise State, but Boise is on the outside looking in, while a Notre Dame, which until this past season had never done anything during the BCS era, can join any conference they want any time they want. The coin of the realm in terms of being desirable to a conference is not wins on the field, nor is it "market size". It is brand name recognition. Sure, we do have a path to an ACC bid, if certain cards fall the right way. But that's what it's going to take until we establish national brand visibility. Reality for USF is to make the best with what we have no matter where we end up. Keep winning and you make yourself appealing for the next round of expansion AND you get to play the big boys in the bowls where you can further build your rep. The ACC is the #5 conference for now, but I think it is possible for our new conference or a conference like the MWC to usurp that status from the ACC. Even with our current makeup in the new "America 12" as it seems to be called, I think we are already in striking distance of the ACC in football. "Striking distance" in what sense? On-field results? That and a dollar will buy us a candy bar. Fact is, the Big East that existed between 2005 and 2012 was ranked HIGHER than the ACC in most rating services, like Sagarin, more of those years than not. We were ranked higher than the B1G in three of those years. For all the good it did us: When it came time to dole out media money and bowl bids, we were left on the scrap heap and any of our schools was willing to jump to any other Power conference. And that's because on-field performance has almost nothing to do with the conference-desirability of a school. If it was, then the Power 5 would have been tripping all over themselves to lure Boise State, but Boise is on the outside looking in, while a Notre Dame, which until this past season had never done anything during the BCS era, can join any conference they want any time they want. The coin of the realm in terms of being desirable to a conference is not wins on the field, nor is it "market size". It is brand name recognition. Sure, we do have a path to an ACC bid, if certain cards fall the right way. But that's what it's going to take until we establish national brand visibility. Brilliant post! This is what I and others have been saying for a long time.

America 12, or AXII is a stupid name, IMO.

From a financial standpoint they likely are happy, but the big question is if the lack of a title game will hurt them in the calculations of the new BCS. SEC, ACC, B1G, and PAC-12 all get an extra game with two ranked opponents. The championship game is clearly important to the Big XII since Bowlsy is asking the NCAA to allow it even though they only have ten members. If Fox is willing to ensure that the Big XII members lose zero dollars then expansion is a no brainer IF the NCAA does not allow them a title game anyways. Exactly!

It's not just you. It doesn't matter. Perception is everything.

Furthermore, I believe, if "forced" by the possibility of USF/UCF getting into the B12, naturally, the Noles will pull the trigger and jump ship, costs be damned. I am not sure why many here think that if the Big 12 said "come or we invite USF/UCF" that this would have a big impact on FSU's thinking. I don't imagine FSU cares if USF/UCF join the Big 12 or not. FSU seems to have the following desires: (1) join the SEC, but that isn't happening. (2) remain in the ACC, but bail to the Big 12 if the ACC collapses. USF and UCF do not impact on any of that. I think the general consensus, at least from what I've seen elsewhere - and I agree with is that the B12's payout per team is generally accepted to be greater than the ACC's, isn't it? Plus, if the B12 gets a CC game, given the "strength" of the conference compared to the ACC's, potentially I could see FSU on the outside looking in of the NCG. FSU will not want to be leap-frogged in affiliation and payout by two 'lesser' programs in state, right? I absolutely believe if they think USF/UCF is going to get the invite, they will jump, regardless of the 'solidarity' of the ACC.

I don't read that Spetman isn't happy in the ACC. It doesn't jump out at me based on his comments, although privately he certainly may be. This is what I thought was the most interesting passage: In the short term, Spetman said he's confident that the ACC is moving in the right direction, and the Noles staying remains the most appealing solution. However, he said his priority is to ensure that Florida State is prepared for the next major shift. "We've had conversations at the senior level about what we should consider," Spetman said. "There will be more of those conversations -- they'll continue. It's an evolution every day." To me, what I read is, "Yeah, sure we're happy in the ACC because we have to be, but we're preparing for a mass exodus" - is this the "next major shift"? Then he said, "More conversations - they'll continue", to me that suggests they are actively looking and waiting for the final number of Maryland's exit fee. Since they and the Terps did not sign the agreement, I assume whatever Maryland pays, FSU will as well. Also, "It would be great to be in the SEC with our radius of schools" Again, to me, given the proximity of Clemson, NC State and Wake in comparison to the distances of the schools they would play in the SEC depending on the division they land in; reads, to me as someone who does not want to be where he's at, although I still think FSU getting into the SEC is a non-starter. Saying it would "great" to be in another conference, admitting you are talking to other member schools and preparing for a "major shift" at a presser, basically when discussing the future of your program in addition to acknowledging less-than-stellar out of conference games, (due in part to factors like the contracts between the B1G & the PAC and conferences shrinking OOC schedules - hell, they don't even have ND on their schedule like ACC schools Syracuse, Pitt, BC, Wake and Miami does) all together doesn't sound too "happy" to me. I realize this is all conjecture on my part and I admit trying to read between the lines, but it is my opinion and I believe, FSU is not happy. Perhaps, I should have reworded my original statement to reflect my opinion. Furthermore, I believe, if "forced" by the possibility of USF/UCF getting into the B12, naturally, the Noles will pull the trigger and jump ship, costs be damned.

Here is an article about FSU from today. Their AD does not sound happy to still be in the ACC. I still believe ultimately, FSU will take the bait and land in the B12. If USF goes anywhere, it will be to a truncated ACC. http://espn.go.com/colleges/fsu/football/story/_/id/9020053/ad-randy-spetman-discusses-state-florida-state-seminoles-program And yes, the new feather in Chief Osceola's hat is their new IPF. I still not think we can afford one right now.

So your idea is to sit on our hands and hope we get picked up...No we have to make our athletics program more attractive to the ACC/Big 12 Building an indoor practice facility isn't going to help us in regard to improving our conference. You make your program more attractive by winning. I know we'll have the facility down the road, but we need to use that $30 million wisely. We'll have to keep $10 million ready for when another league comes calling. We also have major debt that needs to be repaid, so we can start doing that. +1

I don't think it's the right time to build an indoor practice facility either. An IPF won't help sway recruits from the in-state 'power' schools and I don't think it will have any implications what-so-ever in us potentially being invited to another conference. The forces at work then will be "potential" & tv market (B12 - not going to happen) or needing to fill the void left by other teams departures (ACC). I really think we should use the funds to pay down as much athletic debt as possible and save the rest for future endeavors.

I would be absolutely shocked if this came to pass. I agree with some of the responses I've seen attached to this post on other sites - this, if anything, is a maneuver to force FSU's hand to the B12. There is no way the Noles will stand by and allow USF/UCF to get a bigger contract and a chance for more prestige in the B12 than what they currently enjoy in the ACC.

Pay off Skip, and save some for a rainy day. Are the Sun Dome renovations completely paid off? I honestly don't know. I'm not sure we need to spend $14 mil. on an indoor athletic facility right now.

Part of me kinda hopes that once we are banished (I am taking for granted we will be at this point), the pressure to win at all costs at the highest will not be as great and maybe, USF can really dedicate itself to the mission of developing STUDENT-athletes. I'm not implying USF has engaged in any sort of shenanigans previously, although I am sure some questionable things have gone down. I just think it would be great to rise above the glitz, glam, pressure & wide-spread cheating and concentrate on the STUDENT first. I do applaud Ralph Wilcox and the academic committee for beginning to take a closer look at athletes who are academically at-risk and telingl them to look elsewhere instead of granting exceptions.

I don't. JD Alexander is a hard-core politician who likely saw his last chance to 'cash-in' while he was in office. As Bullshutter suggested, look at FGCU and how he and his interests profited handsomely. Don't forget about his other pet project, the Heartland Parkway. What, the parkway would just happen to run close to Poly and necessitate the purchase by the state of land that he owns? The man knows what he's doing. This is Alexander's piece de resistance. Bet me now if Poly ends up in UF's hands, Alexander won't be named to the board of governors and paid handsomely by Machen and his Gator ilk for making sure Gainesville has an interest in the tech corridor. If you don't think he's trying to give Poly to UF and secure his financial future, I don't know what to tell you. That being said, Alexander is a F***-nut, no doubt - a product of Florida politics at it's finest.

Donated and shared on my FB page.