ESPN Does not have us going to St. Pete...

[IncrediBULL]

Will there be deals for students? $30 is a lot of money.

Historically, USF has bought tickets using the student athletic fee and made those available for free or discount to students. 

I doubt there will be too many of them, and it may be a first come, first served basis.  But look for USF to do something for students. 

Remember, this is an ESPN money maker, not a USF thing, so it is at the mercy of the bowl.  RIght now seems like you'd be paying $30 for a ticket.

[bullsfan555]

I definitely will go if we make it - and since I go to USF St. Pete it's almost like a football game just for my campus!! I really want to see the Trop set up as a football stadium. Have they played football in there before? Should be cool to see.

[Mag Pie]

Don't they make students pay for the away games?  So...wouldn't they make them pay for this too?  $30 isn't much considering no one has to pay for hotel, flight or gas..blah blah.  This will be by far the cheapest bowl game I'll be going to.

And it's also the easiest of the 4.  No switching shifts at work, heck, I won't even have to take time off, no sleeping in airports, no 9 hr drives anywhere, no thinking of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre while trying to pump gas at a REALLY dark gas station late at night on Cherry Creek Road that has gas nozzles that are not hooked up to the machine...... yeah, I'm glad this bowl will be easy to plan.

[BleacherBull]

We'll I certainly will be paying for gas, hotel, and blah, blah, blah . . . as will most other out-of-state Bulls fans.

[smazza]

If it is as solid as Brett says, then I hope USF, ESPN, St. Petersburg and the local business start promoting this heavily.  I hope we make the best out of the situation and none of us should act too good to go to the local bowl.  It could be a lot of fun.  I'd love to see the hype get started. 

See my reasons above.  I hope the USF community gets around this game.  It will be fun to enjoy the festivities of a bowl so close to home.   And all that St. Pete has to offer...

if usf is staying home how much promotion is needed?

[CousinRicky]

We are planning on going to the St. Pete Bowl whether or not USF plays.  Will go just to support the bowl and cheer for whichever Big East team is playing.

[Sunil]

St. Pete's downtown is laid out very well, and the potential is there to make it very enjoyable. Hopefully Mayor Baker gets the community to rally around the event...especially with our St. Pete campus being relatively close by.  

The Bulls need to put aside any dissapointment and try to view this bowl as a way to make further inroads with fans/locals/recruits in Pinellas county who may not have otherwise hopped aboard the bandwagon. Playing what is essentially a "home game" across the Bay may plant seeds that could develop into a real blessing in the years to come. (With that said, I hope it doesn't become a regular thing for us!)

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

i know we all collectively strive for a more prestigious bowl--- namely a BCS bowl--- but i think it's a good thing to have a bowl right in our back yard.

if anything, it basically gives us another home game on the season, and is basically our "insurance policy" that we can fall back on in the event of a mediocre 6-6 or 7-5 season.

sure beats Canada, and although the Pizza Bowl has a SEC tie-in, i'd much rather stay in Florida to play a C-USA team if Birmingham doesn't select from the SEC.

not to mention there are fewer distractions.

IMO, one of the biggest mistakes from last year was letting the guys party it up in El Paso before the game.  they were distracted and not prepared, and i doubt that will happen if they stay on campus in familiar surroundings.

[Jihme]

i don't really think it's a function of the st pete bowl passing on us.  i think it's more about the other bowls passing us.  what is the pecking order for st pete bowl?  i think it's just a lock that no one else wants us and that because of that, we'll end up in st pete.

[BullsOnThaRize8]

the way I understood earlier was, its almost like the Rose Bowl except much worse...if USF is magically available to be taken by St. Pete bowl then it's a lock because we will fill up the stadium. This is the first year of this bowl game. They need the stadium to be full. Having USF for the st.pete bowl should be similar to Notre Dame being a lock with their affiliations.