FIU stadium

[JoeB]

Looks like a cool little stadium, once all is done.  Phases 2-4 eventually?  Does that mean the stadium will be only one sided with the endzone (Phase 1) for more than 1 season?  

[bull2saintleo]

my bad....according to Wikipedia, phases 1-3 will be ready for the 2008 season, with the Student Services building and Phase 4 coming in 2011

[Knight_Light]

South Florida cornerback Trae Williams fondly refers to it by a nickname. Bulls head coach Jim Leavitt considers it "one of a lot of reasons I'm very fortunate to have a pretty good job."

No, they're not talking about the USF cheerleading team; both men are referring to Raymond James Stadium, the home stadium of the Bulls' football team and the site of Saturday's Senior Day match up with Syracuse at noon.

"The field is beautiful," USF sophomore wide receiver Taurus Johnson said in an e-mail about the stadium the Bulls share with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "You can really run. And whether the end zones are painted with Buccaneer logos or when they have our logos and the Bull in the middle of the field, it's tight."

Let me guess...that didn't get that quote when TSA had to put an extra layer of SOD in the end zones for a few games this year...which created a 2-3 inch DROP/RISE in that part of the field.

Also...and maybe Taurus Johnson might be surprised...but MANY College Fields are "beautiful"..heck, believe FSU's grass field always gets ranked near the top of the college list come playing surfaces rankings.

RJS is a beautiful stadium...but when there are 40,000 empty seats for many of the games...in college football...that certainly doesn't help creating an "atmosphere".

[Knight_Light]

Exactly. They go to watch the football. Doesn't matter where it's being played.

Not true, FSU only brought around 25,000 fans to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl in 2006. The ACC Championship game only had 50,000 bodies in the stand, for a right to go to a BCS game in 2005; FSU brought about 1/2 of them. They only brought 20,000 and were outnumbered by Penn State fans at the Orange Bowl in 2005. When Doak sold out it's estimated that almost 50,000 fans have to drive in for the games.

Most people make it a weekend to get together with friends from school. There are several reunions. I don't believe for one minute that the football game is the "only" thing people are driving up for.

Look at Kentucky, they're horrid, yet they pack 60,000 fans in many weekends, the reason is beyond football.

Keep trying, Joe. All those things you're alluding to are mainly because of the history and tradition of going back for a home game. The location in the city is a moot point. An OCS won't bring back into town any more fans than home games do now. Where the OCS would be good is to get the students too lazy to go to RayJay for a game exposure to the atmosphere of college football and maybe hook them.

That's where you are wrong.

Remember those 200,000 USF Alumni that do NOT purchase season tix?

Guess what individual schools/colleges/departments, etc...at Universities use as their #1 event to draw Alumni BACK to their individual schools/colleges?

Answer: ON-CAMPUS FOOTBALL WEEKENDS!!!

That's ONE way to bring back Alumni...who many not be so interested in sporting athletics at first...but once they attend a special event at their old college/school at USF...and maybe attend a football game later that night with said group...MANY get turned ON to ATHLETICS!!

Just look at all the events that are scheduled during a football on-campus weekend at schools like UF, at UGA...Ga Tech...Wisconsin...Penn State...etc...

Remember, the #1 Activity/EVENT that brings ALUMNI back to college campuses is ON-CAMPUS FOOTBALL GAMES...and many are drawn not by the game itself...but from ALL of the activities going on all over campus that weekend.

THAT'S the HUGE difference between an off-campus stadium that you do not own, vs an on-campus stadium that you do own.

Alumni, Students, (and their parents/families/friends), will come.

[Triple B]

Let me guess...that didn't get that quote when TSA had to put an extra layer of SOD in the end zones for a few games this year...which created a 2-3 inch DROP/RISE in that part of the field.

Do you have ANY idea how big a loser you are when you know stuff like this concerning our team when 99% of our own fans couldn't give a crap about it??

[smiley=loser.gif]

[JoeB]

my bad....according to Wikipedia, phases 1-3 will be ready for the 2008 season, with the Student Services building and Phase 4 coming in 2011

Thats what I thought.  Still it looks to be a cool stadium for FIU.  What kind of capacity roughly, 45,000 or so?

[WoolyBully]

Remember those 200,000 USF Alumni that do NOT purchase season tix?

Guess what individual schools/colleges/departments, etc...at Universities use as their #1 event to draw Alumni BACK to their individual schools/colleges?

Answer: ON-CAMPUS FOOTBALL WEEKENDS!!!

Hmmmm...possibly true, but to a lesser extent as applies to USF. As it is now, we have thousands upon thousands of alumni in the local area who are NOT buying season tickets, and I'm willing to bet that their decision is NOT based on the physical location of the football stadium.

It is more likely that, given our 10 years of existence, the bulk of the Alumni are graduates of the Drive-Thru-U days, and as such, are still addicted to the Seminator 'Canes, if they have an interest in football at all.  

There was a post on here some time back, from JimUSFSig, about the attitude of students (and alumni) relative to USF in general, sports in particular.

The bottom line was that for a majority of students/alumni, there is no interest in sports nor is there considerable fond memories of days gone by. For years it was get in, get the degree, get out. And it will take generations - not just a few years and some construction - to shake that.

If it were not the case, we would have been selling out RayJ, since day-1, every Saturday just with the alumni in the area.... 8-)

[JoeB]

I agree with Wooly.  Alumni aren't buying season tickets due to where the stadium is and they aren't buying tickets due to cost.  These things are very inexpensive.  The problem is deeper than that.  Every year we'll get better, but the problem will not solve over night.  We just need to keep winning so we can maximize our fan base and build a following the old fashioned way.  

[Knight_Light]

Remember those 200,000 USF Alumni that do NOT purchase season tix?

Guess what individual schools/colleges/departments, etc...at Universities use as their #1 event to draw Alumni BACK to their individual schools/colleges?

Answer: ON-CAMPUS FOOTBALL WEEKENDS!!!

Hmmmm...possibly true, but to a lesser extent as applies to USF. As it is now, we have thousands upon thousands of alumni in the local area who are NOT buying season tickets, and I'm willing to bet that their decision is NOT based on the physical location of the football stadium.

It is more likely that, given our 10 years of existence, the bulk of the Alumni are graduates of the Drive-Thru-U days, and as such, are still addicted to the Seminator 'Canes, if they have an interest in football at all.  

There was a post on here some time back, from JimUSFSig, about the attitude of students (and alumni) relative to USF in general, sports in particular.

The bottom line was that for a majority of students/alumni, there is no interest in sports nor is there considerable fond memories of days gone by. For years it was get in, get the degree, get out. And it will take generations - not just a few years and some construction - to shake that.

If it were not the case, we would have been selling out RayJ, since day-1, every Saturday just with the alumni in the area.... 8-)

Never said it was the be-all end-all...but feel free to ask any Dean of an individual college/school at any large University...and ask him/her what event draws the most alumni BACK to their college/school for programs/events/socials, etc...and how it helps them raise $$$$$ for ACADEMICS.

On-campus football is a win-win for ATHLETICS and ACADEMICS...as those who COME BACK to campus are much more likely to donate to ACADEMICS vs those that don't.

#1 activity to bring them back? On-campus college football weekends.

[Triple B]

I agree with Wooly.  Alumni aren't buying season tickets due to where the stadium is and they aren't buying tickets due to cost.  These things are very inexpensive.  The problem is deeper than that.  Every year we'll get better, but the problem will not solve over night.  We just need to keep winning so we can maximize our fan base and build a following the old fashioned way.

To quote our imbecilic Kanigit troll ....

Winner, winner

chicken dinner