Times Refutes Trib's Story of USF & Notre Dame

[Jewbull]

Per everyones favorite morning star Dan Scilio. If someone can find the times article, please post it.

[Zonald]

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/23/Sports/Don_t_expect_Bulls_to.shtml

Don't expect Bulls to line up against Irish

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer

Published August 23, 2006

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TAMPA - Notre Dame's commitment to play 18 football games against Big East schools from 2011 to 2016 likely won't include any dates with South Florida.

"In terms of the Big East games, our interest is in getting into the New York and New England corridor," said Notre Dame senior associate athletic director John Heisler, who coordinates the Fighting Irish's football schedule.

Notre Dame already has committed to six games with Pittsburgh. The Big East games start the year after the Irish's rivalry with Boston College ends, so the remaining games likely will be in the Northeast, Heisler said.

"Our intention there was not to split them up evenly among the eight Big East teams," Heisler said.

USF's best bet for playing Notre Dame would be in the off-site games the Irish will start playing in 2009, rotating one each year among Texas, the Meadowlands in New Jersey and Florida. Heisler said he has had preliminary talks with representatives from Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Jacksonville.

USF remains a "viable option" for such a game, he said, but school officials haven't gotten to the point of matching opponents with cities. USF athletic director Doug Woolard said he would be receptive to playing Notre Dame in another city in Florida.

FIRST CROWN: The early favorite in the race to be USF's first Big East champion might be George Kiefer's men's soccer team, which won the league's Red Division last year and returns nearly intact.

ESPN.com's Soccernet ranked the Bulls No.6 nationally in a preseason poll, and USF did not give up a goal in three preseason exhibitions. The Bulls start their season Friday at Florida International, with its home opener Sunday against Fordham.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: The men's basketball team's five-game tour of Italy ended with a 3-2 record and offered an encouraging level of offense, especially from senior forward Melvyn Richardson.

Richardson, the starting center until LSU transfer Kentrell Gransberry is eligible in December, averaged 19.2 points in Italy. That's impressive considering he totaled 18 points in 16 Big East games last season.

The Bulls' primary scoring threat should be senior Melvin Buckley, filling in as a shooting guard in Italy. Buckley, showing little sign of the knee surgery he had this summer, scored at least 28 in each of his final four games in Italy, including 36 in the finale.

TWO-SPORT STAR: When football coaches say they want big, strong recruits to help them with long drives, this isn't what you normally think of.

Jake Lanefski is a 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive lineman from Mobile, Ala., being recruited by the Bulls as well as Memphis, Army and Navy. Want versatility? Lanefski finished fifth in the world in his age group last month with a golf drive of 339 yards in the RE/MAX Junior World Long Drive Championship in Texas.

Lanefski, at the high school from where USF landed tight end Ben Busbee two years ago, has been offered a scholarship by Memphis, and his future is likely in pads, not slacks. After all, the winning drive in his division last month - a ridiculous 420 yards - cleared his by nearly a football field.

THIS AND THAT: By next week's season opener, USF's football program is expected to announce a new venture with recruitingradar.com, giving the Bulls an online presence aimed directly at recruits. Coaches can coordinate their communication via e-mail and text-messaging through the site. ... Season ticket sales are already ahead of where USF finished last year, but the Bulls are promoting sales with billboards on Fowler Avenue across from University Mall and on North Dale Mabry Highway as part of a $150,000 marketing campaign that includes TV and radio spots. ... The Bulls, adding some player-friendly touches to their athletic facility, have put a $4,000, 55-inch plasma TV in their weight room. "We need to make that house a home," coach Jim Leavitt said.

Greg Auman covers USF for the Times. He can be reached at auman@sptimes.com and you can read his blog online at blogs.tampabay.com/usf.

[Joe]

I knew it would be too good to be true.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. (This is coming from a former hardcore Irish fan) Notre Dame fans are Florida fans times 3. Their boosters run the athletic department, thus the reason Tyrone Willingham became the 1st coach ever fired by the school.

I'm sure when rumors of playing USF came out the bigger alumni lost it. They want to play traditional powers and are snobs about who gets to play the "great" Notre Dame.

[E.T.]

Season ticket sales are already ahead of where USF finished last year,

This is great !

I disagree with a TV in the weight room ... unless it's by the treadmills or boring cardio things like that.

[CyberBull]

The Tribune report from a few weeks ago had direct quotes from notre dame's athletic director saying that they were interested in playing USF in Tampa. you win some you lose some....go figure. Sounds like notre dame changed their mind....again. Who knows what will happen in 5 years.

I  appreciate both newspapers making the effort. Not many programs have the benefit of two major papers covering the day-to-day events of the program.

[Joe]

The Tribune report from a few weeks ago had direct quotes from notre dame's athletic director saying that they were interested in playing USF in Tampa. you win some you lose some....go figure. Sounds like notre dame changed their mind....again.

It was their alumni I guarentee it...they heard USF cringed and said a big N-O. I said it months ago, they didn't make the Big East deal with any intention of playing every team. They signed the deal with Pitt and Rutgers and will probably use the remaining games with Cuse and WVU...may throw UConn or someone else (possibly us) in at the Meadowlands.

[Knight_Light]

The Tribune report from a few weeks ago had direct quotes from notre dame's athletic director saying that they were interested in playing USF in Tampa. you win some you lose some....go figure. Sounds like notre dame changed their mind....again.

It was their alumni I guarentee it...they heard USF cringed and said a big N-O. I said it months ago, they didn't make the Big East deal with any intention of playing every team. They signed the deal with Pitt and Rutgers and will probably use the remaining games with Cuse and WVU...may throw UConn or someone else (possibly us) in at the Meadowlands.

Actually, I bet it was their Northeast Fan Base that screamed the loudest.

ND is one of the Top 2-3 schools in almost every major Northeast Market.

Heck, during MASS on Saturday or on Sunday...one can find almost anywhere in the Northeast a comment during MASS "praising" ND's victory...or praying for their potential victory that Saturday night.

The only time in ND's history that they played a neutral site game in FLA...18,000 seats were empty (ND played a Navy in 2000 as the Middies went 1-10 that year).

From Boston to NY to Philly...ND is probably #1 or #2 team amongst the locals.

I think they like their games to be played where most of their fans are located.

KL

[E.T.]

USF athletic director Doug Woolard said he would be receptive to playing Notre Dame in another city in Florida.

I am glad of this ... there is a Navy base in JAX ... so we could have more fans against Notre DANG  

Just hope we get to play them.

[Triple B]

I'm sure when rumors of playing USF came out the bigger alumni lost it. They want to play traditional powers and are snobs about who gets to play the "great" Notre Dame.

Did I miss the memo where Rutgers became a "traditional power"? As the case was made in the article, it was more of a "where" than " who" when they looked at scheduling BE teams ....

[Joe]

I should have said traditional football schools. Rutgers is the oldest football program in the country and thus falls under Notre Dame's "acceptable to play us" requirements.

I think the "where" is an excuse. They are in talks to play a game at Jacksonville in 2009 and in Orlando or Tampa in 2010.