NOW I AM MAD..... THE ORACLE IS A RAG

[Belle of the Bull]

I will repeat what I typed:  I don't think USF winning the big east would improve my Electrical Engineering degree.  More money generated from athletics could improve the popularity of the school as far as people wanting to come here, but the biggest thing is the money generated which most likely would just go back into athletics to support the non-money-making programs and a new stadium and basketball practice facility.

Obviously you haven't spent much time with any provost from a top collegiate institution that does well in athletics.

You do realize that about 20 Million folks will be watching a FREE 3 hour commercial tonight for the UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA and The UNIVERSITY of OHIO STATE.

Plus, I can't recall the USF President who was around when USF approved the start of their football program...but one of the REAL seasons given was for the school to improve its overall national profile, which would help academic and research exposure for USF.

Many "top" students want to be able to enjoy a "total" collegiate experience...and to many...that means strong academics, lively campus life, social clubs, and SPORTS!

If you can't understand the LINK between ATHLETICS and ACADEMICS/RESEARCH...then you missed the boat.

KL

PS. I'll give you a small hint: Alumni that actually spend more time back on their collegiate campuses...DONATE more $$$$$$ back to the academic side of the school...than those alumni that disengage/don't visit/spend time on their own campus.

Do you know what the #1 campus activity that brings back more alumni than any other event?

ON-CAMPUS FOOTBALL GAMES!!

Correct! This is exactly what I (and many others) have already said. If they don't get it now, I don't think they ever will...

PS- it was Betty Castor who was the President when we got football...

[USFan]

Bump... just a reminder for tomorrow  

[Jamie]

This is like the college freshman who meets a new boyfriend/girlfriend, but can't stop talking about the one they had from back in high school. If they meant that much to you, why aren't you still with them?

I mean, it's not THAT much harder to get into UF than it is to get into USF. If she's talented enough to be an editor at the Oracle, I imagine she could have at least gotten herself admitted to UF if that's where she wanted to go. This isn't a Communist country, you can go to whatever university will have you.

[windbane]

Just because you live in the US doesn't mean you have to support our country in various wars or international competitions either.

It is an American right to be able to question the leaders of our country, so yeah, I don't have to support every war.  Thanks for reminding me.  Loyalty to this country does not mean BLIND loyalty.

Just because you belong to a particular church doesn't mean you have to support their members during hardships. Just becuase you belong to a family doesn't mean you have to support them either. It's called loyalty...why do I bother trying to explain it to people who just don't get it.

Go on, wear your gator gear or whatever else you want, do it on campus and by all means write an article justifying it.

Let me get this straight...you are comparing being a fan of a college athletic team with caring for members of a Church or family?  Are you serious?  I'm well versed in what loyalty means, but again, it's just a sports team, it is not life or death.

Oh and yeah, using Harvard for comparison purposes is just like apples and oranges.

It is not just Harvard.  There are plenty of schools that do not rely on Football and Basketball as their main success as a University.  Believe it or not, a lot of students choose where to go based on, what's that thing you do in college, oh yeah, academics.

Frankly I completely disagree with you. We are 50 years old and for the most part nobody in this country knows anything about us. We will never have the tradition or the respect as Harvard (very few will) so getting our name out there anyway we can and in a positive light does add value to your electrical engineering degree. In addition, the better our teams do the more loyal students actually become, the more loyal they become the more they will be willing to donate as they become successful and the more they donate (to athletics and academics) the better facilities and better professors the school can bring in...the result? Yes, a better academic institution with more national recognition that not only benefits you but benefits all current and future USF students and alumni. So, yes I think supporting another institution over our own is harmful, but hey, you got your degree and by the sound of things probably also have a good career going with it so don't see the benefit to yourself and as mentioned loyalties these days is really all about yourself and screw the rest right?

Look, I said it makes the school more popular to people that like sports, but I don't think that directly translates into becoming a better academic institution.  I think we have a great reputation as a medical research center and are opening a "world-class alzheimer's center" according to the Oracle.    I think a company hiring me would see a football championship and recognize USF, but may or may not recognize that the school has a great engineering record unless they have met great USF engineers before.  

Seems to me most of the money donated from athletics success would go to athletics, but even if this connection benefits academics down the road, hopefully I'll have enough experience with my job to not need athletics to be the beacon of recognition for the academic institution I attended.

Btw, I will not wear Gator gear because I went there for a year; I hate them.  But by your logic I should remain loyal to their team because they taught me for a year.  That brings me back to my point, however.  I don't think some people wearing shirts on campus has any effect on donations.  You can not force people to like this school or to wear what YOU want them to wear.  Leave them alone.  Assuming I wore my FSU gear on campus, if some jerk told me I should not wear it I'd tell them to mind their own business.  Most likely, however, the person would know it's just about sports and not academics.

USF gaining national recognition for anything would be nice to brag about, but it's not exactly going to change my life.  And in particular, a sports team winning something only gives you bragging rights about sports topics.  Is UF going to become a better academic place now?  Do you really believe that?  Is Miami a lot better for winning those championships?  Georgia Tech is a great engineering school, but I don't think it would get any better if one of their teams won a championship in a sport.  Everyone knows Duke sucks at football, but that doesn't seem to effect their basketball success now does it?  Likewise they are also great at academics.  One area does is not needed for success in another.

Even if you completely disagree with me, as you seem to do, I still don't think people should be up in arms that some girl wears UF shirts.  Get over it, seriously.

[DawgPound]

Ok, now you're talking stupid speak.  Why not run around the Alabama student section wearing Auburn clothes yelling War Eagle while you're at it?  You're using the extreme rivals to try and justify yourself, which is a bad representation of reality, since most schools are not hated rivals of each other.  Comparing UCF or USF to UF is nothing like comparing Alabama and Auburn or Michigan and Ohio State.  First of all, only the delusional minority think either school is even close to being a "rival" to Florida.  It would be like wearing a Michigan shirt at CMU or vice versa.  CMU, the inferior, would whine and cry about someone wearing a Michigan shirt on their campus while there isn't much they could do since their tradition and prestige is so much lower.  They just need to deal with it.

I watched that video a while ago and it made me laugh.  I laughed at the ones who were busy kicking and smacking the mascot around cause the people who walked by and didn't make a scene looked too normal.

This is fun... I never thought I would see this from two UCFers.  Keep in mind that this is on USF's main board.

I only chimed in cause I just happened to be on your campus recently wearing another college shirt.

[BULLheaded]

Just because you live in the US doesn't mean you have to support our country in various wars or international competitions either.

It is an American right to be able to question the leaders of our country, so yeah, I don't have to support every war.  Thanks for reminding me.  Loyalty to this country does not mean BLIND loyalty.

Just because you belong to a particular church doesn't mean you have to support their members during hardships. Just becuase you belong to a family doesn't mean you have to support them either. It's called loyalty...why do I bother trying to explain it to people who just don't get it.

Go on, wear your gator gear or whatever else you want, do it on campus and by all means write an article justifying it.

Let me get this straight...you are comparing being a fan of a college athletic team with caring for members of a Church or family?  Are you serious?  I'm well versed in what loyalty means, but again, it's just a sports team, it is not life or death.

Oh and yeah, using Harvard for comparison purposes is just like apples and oranges.

It is not just Harvard.  There are plenty of schools that do not rely on Football and Basketball as their main success as a University.  Believe it or not, a lot of students choose where to go based on, what's that thing you do in college, oh yeah, academics.

Frankly I completely disagree with you. We are 50 years old and for the most part nobody in this country knows anything about us. We will never have the tradition or the respect as Harvard (very few will) so getting our name out there anyway we can and in a positive light does add value to your electrical engineering degree. In addition, the better our teams do the more loyal students actually become, the more loyal they become the more they will be willing to donate as they become successful and the more they donate (to athletics and academics) the better facilities and better professors the school can bring in...the result? Yes, a better academic institution with more national recognition that not only benefits you but benefits all current and future USF students and alumni. So, yes I think supporting another institution over our own is harmful, but hey, you got your degree and by the sound of things probably also have a good career going with it so don't see the benefit to yourself and as mentioned loyalties these days is really all about yourself and screw the rest right?

Look, I said it makes the school more popular to people that like sports, but I don't think that directly translates into becoming a better academic institution.  I think we have a great reputation as a medical research center and are opening a "world-class alzheimer's center" according to the Oracle.    I think a company hiring me would see a football championship and recognize USF, but may or may not recognize that the school has a great engineering record unless they have met great USF engineers before.  

Seems to me most of the money donated from athletics success would go to athletics, but even if this connection benefits academics down the road, hopefully I'll have enough experience with my job to not need athletics to be the beacon of recognition for the academic institution I attended.

Btw, I will not wear Gator gear because I went there for a year; I hate them.  But by your logic I should remain loyal to their team because they taught me for a year.  That brings me back to my point, however.  I don't think some people wearing shirts on campus has any effect on donations.  You can not force people to like this school or to wear what YOU want them to wear.  Leave them alone.  Assuming I wore my FSU gear on campus, if some jerk told me I should not wear it I'd tell them to mind their own business.  Most likely, however, the person would know it's just about sports and not academics.

USF gaining national recognition for anything would be nice to brag about, but it's not exactly going to change my life.  And in particular, a sports team winning something only gives you bragging rights about sports topics.  Is UF going to become a better academic place now?  Do you really believe that?  Is Miami a lot better for winning those championships?  Georgia Tech is a great engineering school, but I don't think it would get any better if one of their teams won a championship in a sport.  Everyone knows Duke sucks at football, but that doesn't seem to effect their basketball success now does it?  Likewise they are also great at academics.  One area does is not needed for success in another.

Even if you completely disagree with me, as you seem to do, I still don't think people should be up in arms that some girl wears UF shirts.  Get over it, seriously.

: