A Milestone Triumph For Team And USF

[Ricky the Bull]

From today's Tribune editorial page:

A Milestone Triumph For Team And USF

Published: Nov 28, 2006

University of South Florida football Coach Jim Leavitt choked up after his Bulls stunned seventh ranked West Virginia Saturday. It was the highest ranked team the Bulls have beaten. The gravelly voiced Leavitt became teary when asked what the 24-19 victory meant to a program that is only in its 10th season.

A lot of USF graduates surely shared his emotions.

After all, this was a university that disdained athletics when it was established 50 years ago. School founders said they wanted an institution where academics, not sports, were the priority.

It was an understandable, but short-sighted stance. It failed to recognize the overall university experience - not just scholastics - determines students' emotional ties to their school.

As an urban commuter school without sports and the spirit they generate, USF represented little more than classrooms and parking lots to many students.

But, fortunately, subsequent university leaders realized the folly of the academic purist position and gradually jettisoned it. Now sports - especially the football program - give attending students a rallying point and make graduates feel connected to the university.

And what Leavitt, the Bulls' only head football coach, has accomplished is truly remarkable. Consider: The team did not even reach Division 1-A status until 2001. Now the 8-4 Bulls will play in their second straight bowl game, probably the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham on Dec. 23.

The Bulls were dominating Saturday against a team most thought would end up playing in a BCS bowl game. Leavitt and his team deserve praise and congratulations. What they've done transcends athletic achievement, as should be evident this week as USF graduates brag about their alma mater.

http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/editorials/MGBTBYGI1VE.html

[E.T.]

Very Nice !

I hope some past alums drop their rival colors and enter BULL Nation !

[Apis Bull]

Very Nice !

I hope some past alums drop their rival colors and enter BULL Nation !

The Bulls bandwagon was plenty of seats available.