Mike Stuben

Basically Skip got what you are describing. He makes about 2 million a year, but USF has an out, that it can buy out years at just 500 thousand a year. Imagine what it would be like USF had to pay the whole balance on Skip's contract in termination. Then there would be no talk of a coaching change right now.

I did want to remind everyone the disaster for football that being an independent was in our past. We were a I-A Independent in 2001 and 2002. The results: in 2001 we went 7-4 but were bowl ineligible because we scheduled two games that didn't count. So for bowl purposes we were 5-4 (we played two I-AA's, and both didn't count because they didn't award enough scholarships to count, the rules allow you to count 1 win vs. I-AA, but only if you schedule the right I-AA) .... then in 2002 we went 9-2 but as an Independent, 9-2 was not good enough for a bowl game, despite the fact that many 6-5 teams went.

I like our chances for the ACC too, but C-USA is a very realistic possibility. If the Big East ceases to exist, which is possible ... and we are left behind from an improved conference home .... then I would say there is a 90% chance we end up in C-USA .... I do want to stress, I am not saying 90% likely .... but 90% likely if the Big East dissolves and we get left behind.

Paul, 8 wins would have been a great goal a couple years ago... after the last two seasons, going to a bowl will be a nice improvement. Not to mention, if you look at the roster this was the year to win big, next year was set up to be the rebuilding year (based on number of seniors, in particular at skill positions).

Do you honestly think that they don't know how a portion of our fanbase feels about Skip? Based on the lack of action... yes. Doug also just gave a standard response on evaluating after the season His lack of action has nothing to do with not knowing the feelings of a portion of the fanbase ... and the response is the one he's always given regarding coaches. Triple B is right about the history. Very similar to the last couple years under Coach McCullum. This is just a guess, but here is what I will guess will happen ..... Doug will evaluate the season after it is over, sit down with Coach Holtz and inform him he is being retained for the next season, but that his job is in jeopardy and that he must meet a certain goal to keep his job after the 2013 season. I would suspect that goal would be becoming bowl eligible. So 6-6 would be the minimum acceptable season. Then if USF fails to win 6 game in 2013, Coach Holtz is let go, and Doug really doesn't have to fire him, since Holtz will have already known that failing to win 6 game automatically results in his dismissal. But all of that is based on Doug making the call on Coach Holtz's future, if Doug's boss makes the decision, then who knows what will happen. (if Doug makes the decision, of course, he will get buy in from the President) This is not any inside information, just my guess based on viewing the past.

No mountain west .... C-USA would be first choice, MAC or Sun Belt would be the back up. Houston/SMU/Memphis would be the schools who would consider going West ... but that is all down the road. And I don't care where UCF goes ..... as long as they don't end up better than us, I don't care if they end up with us, or left behind (no offense, just how I feel).

I can help with this one. Conference entry fees are rarely paid in cash, they are usually withheld from future tv money. For example, if the entry fee is $15 million, the school entering might agree to allow the new conference to hold back $5 million of tv money each of the first 3 years. Exit fees are a little similar, If USF were to leave the Big East, we wouldn't write a $10 million check, the Big East would withhold tv money on the backend from us, then we would write a check for the difference.

I don't mean to rain on this parade, but are we certain that we are ahead of BYU, UCF, Houston, SMU or Memphis? I am not 100 sure that our ticket out is after Rutgers, UConn, Louisville and Cincinnati ... there may be some other schools that might be in line too. I'm not saying for certain, but lets not assume too much here.

I was nice enough not to bump the fire Jose thread.

Why not station an usher at the entrance or exit to the store. Ensure folks have a ticket before entering the store. You don't have to sell very many $100 shirts to pay for an hour or so of an usher! I hear you, and this is not an attack on you or your idea, but I just want to give you some other points to consider. I can think of a workaround. My friend enters the arena, collects another ticket stub, enters the team store and gives me (who entered through the street entrance the extra ticket stub, and then I am in. Or my friend makes two copies of his email ticket, and I use one from the team store (since they can't scan tickets in the scenario you just mentioned). Yes, there is an elaborate system that could be set up that involves un-scanning of a ticket to enter the team store, then rescan entering the arena. But the most profit minded plan is to close the team store a half hour before doors opening and switch which door is open. (or if the store is not normally open on a Saturday at 5:30, simply open when the arena opens.) And then, lets assume the store makes a sale from between 5 and 6 pm (and that is not a guarantee, speaking as the person who ran the merchandise for USF basketball for 3 seasons)..... then you have to ask, if the store didn't open until 6PM with the arena doors, would that same sale have been made, just later. If Bob buys a shirt at 5:45 but it costs extra staffing, would he have not bought it at 6:15 when no extra staffing was needed. There were many men's basketball games where the total merchandise sold was about $250 to $300. That isn't profit, just revenue, before the costs are taken out: like sales tax, cost of the merchandise sold, merchandise lost, broken, stolen or ruined (drunk fan spills a beer on a shirt), staffing or the hard costs like supplies. I'm not saying selling more gear or being open more isn't better. And, if we draw big crowds, early opening may make sense, but there is a lot to consider.

Final offer, $25 a ticket, any of the 3 games. These are the absolute best seats (well, except for the folding chairs on the court itself) for the games. Face is $40, I'll take $25. Plus, you will most likely get free movie tickets too (if the Bulls score 60 or more points).

Just to jump in here ..... The team store has 2 entrance doors, one always has to be locked. One door is to the outside and one door is too the arena concourse. If both doors are open then fans can enter the arena without a ticket to the game. In the moments before the arena doors open, the outside door would have to be locked, because you can't have customers in the store as the arena opens, it would be a cluster. So, in this case, I think the right thing was being done. (and is very standard at many other stadiums and venues that have stores that open to the street when a game isn't being played.)

I have a crazy (and I'll keep it quick story) about USF Football playing in Hawaii ..... 2002 USF was given a conditional bid to play in whatever they called the bowl game in Hawaii that year. I knew I wanted to be at USF's first bowl game, but I couldn't afford plane tickets ... our fate (Cincinnati vs. ECU I think) ... the wrong team won, we didn't get the bid, and I didn't have to fly my whirlwind trip to Hawaii and back for just one night out there. We watched that game from the Beef O'Brady's up on Fowler, with a lot of the USF players there, pulling for ECU to win...just win...doesn't have to be an arse whooping, but just a win. Well...didn't happen. Which worked out sort of well, as I spent the entire evening, while watching the game, scheming and plotting on how I could sell this trip to the Mrs. My toe-hold was that she was born in Honolulu and... but, as Pirate fate would have it, no reason to get the luggage out of the attic. I was at that same Beef's. I remember getting the call from friends to meet them there. I thought I would watch the game and head home. We were so disappointed in the results that I don't think I got home until 4 or 5 the next morning. To be young again. Now if I want to drink at 5AM, then I better get to bed early and set my alarm.

I don't buy USF FOOTBALL tickets to watch another school's "awesome band", I come to see football D-1A competitive football, not to watch some cupcake get paid to take a whoopin'. Games Scrimmages against teams like FAMU are boring, and do nothing to help build/maintain the USF fan base. There is no "best case scenario" when it comes to USF forcing D-1AA crap down the throats of season ticket buyers. Most USF fans don't ... they buy to watch USF FOOTBALL ... except ones like you, apparently. You must buy to watch the other team. FCS games are staple amongst most FBS programs at our level .. Are you new to college football? Really, then why do so many not show up for the 1-AA games, or leave right after the "awesome band" plays??? Is your vision failing, or do you have a reading comprehension problem? What is it that you don't understand about: "I come to see football D-1A competitive football, not to watch some cupcake get paid to take a whoopin'." I wasn't in New Brunswick for the Rutgers V Princeton game, so I'm a relatively new, How about you... when did you attend your first college football game? For obvious reasons, you completely ignored the most pertinent point of my response ... FCS games are a staple amongst most FBS programs at our level. We're going to keep playing them, so keep whining if you must. It's what we've come to expect. I am going to give some approximate guesstimate numbers to back up Triple B's point. I-AA fee to come play a check game in Tampa .... about $400,000 I-A fee to come play a check game in Tampa .... about $750,000 The I-A in that example is a bad Sun Belt or MAC sort of team, not someone that will drive ticket sales. Value of all single game tickets sold for Stony Brook vs. UTEP (and I don't remember the numbers) is roughly the same. So, an extra $350,000 in USF's pockets for the same results ... a win and a home game without having to return it. Now, like I said a while ago in this thread, it is awesome when we can do both (like last year).... but the need to have home games dictates that we will have 1 annual game vs. a I-AA. With 4 non-conference games, I would assume that one will be a I-AA, 1or 2 will be big time I-A (meaning a power conference, not always a top team), and 1 or 2 will be I-A from a lesser league. The argument of for 2 power league non-conference opponents would be one at home each year and the need to make the schedule tougher with the Big East's perception slipping some with the realignment of so many schools. The argument for only one power league non-conference game would be that since we have 1 more BIG EAST game, we have an extra tough game and need to make the non-conference schedule easier. As a fan I like the first argument, but I don't get a vote (and I didn't get a vote as a ticket salesperson, but I also would have taken option #1).

I have a crazy (and I'll keep it quick story) about USF Football playing in Hawaii ..... 2002 USF was given a conditional bid to play in whatever they called the bowl game in Hawaii that year. I knew I wanted to be at USF's first bowl game, but I couldn't afford plane tickets ... so I had to use my miles .... but award seats to Hawaii over the holidays at the last moment are hard to come by ..... so my routing was Tampa to Atlanta, to San Francisco to Honolulu. ... I would then be on the ground in Hawaii for 36 hours - just one night.... then I would fly Honolulu to Los Angeles, to Atlanta to Birmingham ... then I was on my own to figure out how to get from Birmingham back to Tampa ..... I had Delta hold that for me the day before the game that would decide our fate (Cincinnati vs. ECU I think) ... the wrong team won, we didn't get the bid, and I didn't have to fly my whirlwind trip to Hawaii and back for just one night out there.

Pretty sure the rule is still out there too ... any year you go to Hawaii, you can schedule 13 games. The NCAA made the rule to help Hawaii get home games, so it allows you to add one more game to the schedule, which is very lucrative.

I don't buy USF FOOTBALL tickets to watch another school's "awesome band", I come to see football D-1A competitive football, not to watch some cupcake get paid to take a whoopin'. Games Scrimmages against teams like FAMU are boring, and do nothing to help build/maintain the USF fan base. There is no "best case scenario" when it comes to USF forcing D-1AA crap down the throats of season ticket buyers. a I-AA game a year is a reality of the world USF Football lives in right now. They count, so they are a game (not just a scrimmage) and I will strongly argue that playing FAMU is better for USF and many fans than Stony Brook (the only reason FAMU isn't every year is that they know the value they bring and charge more). Playing UCF every year (home and away) would have done far more to create interest in Bulls Football than FAMU and other glorified hs teams. But you can't compare that .... if we scheduled UCF, that would not have impacted the I-AA home game on the schedule.

I don't buy USF FOOTBALL tickets to watch another school's "awesome band", I come to see football D-1A competitive football, not to watch some cupcake get paid to take a whoopin'. Games Scrimmages against teams like FAMU are boring, and do nothing to help build/maintain the USF fan base. There is no "best case scenario" when it comes to USF forcing D-1AA crap down the throats of season ticket buyers. a I-AA game a year is a reality of the world USF Football lives in right now. They count, so they are a game (not just a scrimmage) and I will strongly argue that playing FAMU is better for USF and many fans than Stony Brook (the only reason FAMU isn't every year is that they know the value they bring and charge more).

Lets take a quick look at the categories of games and what we have done in the past. Money paid to a I-AA to come to Tampa: one a year (in a couple years where we had scheduling trouble we had 2 of these). They are going to continue. Best case scenario - FAMU and to a lesser extent Bethune Cookman (they bring fans and in FAMU's case, when not suspended, they bring an awesome band). Worst case scenario, school from far away no one has heard of (example: see Stony Brook) Money paid to a 1-A school to come to Tampa: only once has this happened. UTEP last year. It was a ground breaking game and one I hope we can do again in the future. This was one of the most "big time scheduling" thing we ever did. The thought that we were a "have" and not a "have not" and could afford to pay a school on our level to come to Tampa. 2 for 1 with 2 games in Tampa: We have done this twice, FAU and FIU (note, FIU bought out of the second Tampa game... at the last moment..... but the contract was signed as a 2 for 1 .... and the last FAU game of that deal is coming up next year). This is a great way to get non-BCS league opponents. They get a nice home game and we get two home games for only 1 road trip. Home and Home with I-A non-BCS school. I hate these games, with a few exceptions. Bad deals for USF include Western Kentucky and Ball State. Nevada wasn't a bad deal because of the necessity of needing a game when TCU left the BIG EAST pretty late in the cycle. Here are some exceptions where these deals don't hurt as bad: Service Academies, respected competitive teams like BYU, fun destinations for the fans (UNLV, Tulane) or regional schools (UCF would be an example, if they weren't going to be in our league). Home and Home with I-A BCS league schools: These are the best deals for us fans, they bring big time games to Tampa, the best one we ever signed was FSU, Miami was next best, other good deals for USF include: NC State, UNC, Pittsburgh and Kansas. Games with state and regional schools are best, but all games in this category are good. Road game with no return with a I-A BCS school: Nothing screams out small time, have not ... then taking a check game to be someone's homecoming. We have shocked two school and beat Auburn and Notre Dame, but most of these games end badly. Fans don't get a home game against a good opponent. The team often loses (see: Penn State, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Okalhoma .. etc).... It is important to note that we have only signed one of these deals since joining the Big East, and that was Notre Dame.... other games we played in this category as a Big East member were signed previously. Here is a fun list to consider too, it might not complete, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head: Schools who have canceled on us: Utah FIU Eastern Michigan Schools we have canceled on: Illinois State Bowling Green (we canceled a bunch of games with them after they played one game in Tampa and we beat them ... when they were top 25 and Urban Meyer was their coach) Utah State

I don't know how to edit this post .... I made a mistake .... face value is $40 a ticket (correctly stated in the very first post) ... so with my new markdowns!!!!! I am now asking $30 a ticket for Friday and Sunday and $35 for Saturday night. ..... sorry about the mistake.

Ok, the lack of response surprised me a little. I will take $10 off the cost of each ticket for Friday and Sunday and call them $35 each (face is $45). I'll take $5 off each ticket for Saturday night and call them $40 each. They are front row, dead center court. I want to mention too, I went to the Eckerd game, and the seats were awesome. Tons of leg room, awesome view, and you can hear the game. You are so close you hear the coaches talking to the officials, the players talking to each other and all the other sounds of the game that only a few people get to hear.

Quick self serving post. If anyone is looking for 1 ticket. I have Section 114 Row A seat 4 (and I am in seat 1, so you don't actually have a fat guy next to you). Face is $45, I am asking $25, which is the same price as a level two ticket on ticketmaster. Front row center court. Ok, my self serving plug is over ... and yes, I will be there tonight.

I know some will argue that, but I simply don't believe staying with ESPN is better. To ESPN we are nothing but a necessary evil to purchase to keep product away from competition, nothing more. They won't promote us (especially now with an expanded ACC). Even if they have a bigger name than NBC/NBC Sports right now, I don't see how being relegated to ESPNU, ESPN3 (internet only) with an occasional Thursday or Friday ESPN2 game is better for the conference than atleast one prime game on NBC a week, and multiple games on NBC Sports (or their other cable stations). Not to mention partnering with a company where its in our mutual interests for us to succeed and in which they will promote during prime viewing (Sunday night football). It may be a step back for a year or two while NBC Sports gets built up, but it will be 3-4 steps forward once that happens. With ESPN, we will always be buried and status quo. Personally I could see the Big East do something like sign Tier 1 (for prime game on NBC) and Tier 3 rights (for filler on NBC Sports) with NBC, and Tier 2 rights with Fox for their regional sports stations (or even with ESPN for Thursday/Friday or ESPNU filler). You have made a huge assumption here that if true ... then you are correct. The Big East can't dictate which NBC channel games are shown on. I would be shocked if NBC was willing to offer up a game a week NBC. If they win the contract it is all about stocking up their sports network channel that currently very few people watch. If NBC got the deal I would expect a couple games a year on over the air NBC ..... but I hope I am wrong. It is sort of like those C-USA games on CBS College Sports Network now ..... I'd watch more of the games, but I never have the channel on, so I don't see previews and simply forget to look there on Thursday nights for an alternative to the ESPN game.

I wonder if there has been some movement with ESPN. I just can't see why the BIG EAST would give the WWL an extra day unless they think a day might possibly matter. Jurich has a point, 9 million from ESPN might be better than 10 million per school from NBC Sports Network. That is not to say the Big East should leave lots of money on the table, but leaving a little is not always a bad thing. I would also think that until this TV deal is done, keeping the league together has to be a top priority to the commissioner, and that means keeping Louisville happy. (Funny thing is the way Nebraska or Oklahoma fans refer to Texas as the bully of the Big 12, Louisville was the bully of C-USA) .... At one point Louisville made a power play, and the other schools voted them out of the league (conditionally), and Louisville backed down.

Women's soccer overachieved a bit this year. Men's soccer, on the other hand, was plagued with injuries and woefully underachieved. I hadn't given this much thought until I was at the game yesterday looking over the roster, but the women's team should be in great position to be even better next year. Lots of talent that are not seniors. They will lose 2 starting defenders and Taylor Patterson (midfielder) who will be a key loss, but lots of contributors coming back. Our RPI was in the 50's going into the match yesterday. We have an outside shot at the NCAA's even if we lose the next one. One more win and we should be a strong contender for an at large. Two more wins and we get the automatic bid. Our men's team should make it too, their RPI is good. But even with a great RPI, I am a little nervous.