Does new BE make OCS a priority?

[crambone]

I think the whole RJS is a recruiting tool train left the station several years ago. It was an advantage when we were first starting out in Division 1 AA, when recruits were choosing between us and the likes of the Citadel and Charleston Southern. The novelty of playing in an NFL venue did help. Its has lessoned over the years when we went 1A independent and our year in Conference USA and it more or likely didn't help or hurt.

Once we got Big East acceptance and were competing with the big boys for recruits I feel RJS became a disadvantage. High Caliber recruits aren't impressed by the Novelty of an NFL venue. Recruits do not care about seat backs, good sight lines, and modern amenities such as clubs and suites. Taking a potential recruit to a packed out on campus stadium whose colors and university prescense are everywhere, as well as having an engaged fan base, is far more impressive then visiting a 2/3 filled NFL venue with Bucs logos everywhere, and a bland gameday experience. Its just very hard to compete along those lines.

Miami can get away with this, they have tradition, National Championships, and the so called "Swagger"

I think a lot of the OCS and priority talk is gonna come down to how much we want to compete with UCF. For this reason I think their acceptance into the Big East will help the fans. In the end Consumers win with competition. If UCF gets a bump in attendance with a Big East schedule, and moves forward with their stadium expansion plans, I think it will be real hard for USF to sit back and watch.

Worst thing any of us can do right now is not attend games.

Well said!!!

[Triple B]

Once we got Big East acceptance and were competing with the big boys for recruits I feel RJS became a disadvantage. High Caliber recruits aren't impressed by the Novelty of an NFL venue. Recruits do not care about seat backs, good sight lines, and modern amenities such as clubs and suites. Taking a potential recruit to a packed out on campus stadium whose colors and university prescense are everywhere, as well as having an engaged fan base, is far more impressive then visiting a 2/3 filled NFL venue with Bucs logos everywhere, and a bland gameday experience. Its just very hard to compete along those lines.

What exactly are you basing that theory on?

[Brad]

I think it was stated that many on-campus stadiums, including one on TV last night, ARE NOT automatically packed full.

The Sun Dome is on campus. You can't push, pull or drag people to that green and gold adorned on campus facility.

If you attended the USF - West Virginia game in 2007, it was clear on-campus or not, NFL or not, it didn't matter.

And I am in favor of an OCS. I started whining about RJS a decade ago. But I don't want us fooling ourselves into believing an OCS is the golden goose. It won't cure what ails USF football.

[TherapyBull]

Once we got Big East acceptance and were competing with the big boys for recruits I feel RJS became a disadvantage. High Caliber recruits aren't impressed by the Novelty of an NFL venue. Recruits do not care about seat backs, good sight lines, and modern amenities such as clubs and suites. Taking a potential recruit to a packed out on campus stadium whose colors and university prescense are everywhere, as well as having an engaged fan base, is far more impressive then visiting a 2/3 filled NFL venue with Bucs logos everywhere, and a bland gameday experience. Its just very hard to compete along those lines.

What exactly are you basing that theory on?

I think this is a very fair question. I do not have a scientific survery of USF recruits who accepted and of those who went elsewhere. So I must base this on other data sources.

If we are thinking that RJS gives us a recruiting advantage, then we must look at recruiting classes and ultimately victories.

Overall we've never had a very highly rated recruiting class in the National picture. Also I think we are always middle of the road in the Big East when it comes to rating recruiting classes, we could go to Rivals or Scout and reference this. Now many people might say that recruiting class ranking mean nothing, as 5 star recruits can turn into flops, however you can only make this argument if you actually win something and USF has never finished better than 3rd in the Big East or finished the season ranked.

USF has produced more NFL picks than other Big East schools in the last couple of years but this still has not translated into victories in the Big East. Also most of these draft picks were not highly recruited and developed their skills in there 4-5 years of college. So a recruiting advantage had really nothing to do with landing them. This was scouting and development.

Again recruiting budget plays a large role, but if we think RJS is an advantage it should translate somewhere.

[IncrediBULL]

Recruits might like Ray Jay, but saying "their OCS is horrible" is subjective. Recruits go visit and see the atmospheres at on campus stadiums, and that alone can win them over, even if it's only like 40,000 people. RJS is novel and stuff, but it's not a deal maker like it used to be. Perhaps Leavitt sold it to kids better than Holtz does.

I still don't think it's a priority, but once we get the indoor facility, it will become the final piece of the puzzle and start taking shape. I'm really hoping we can figure out a way to get some big bucks out of Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia to divide among the 5 remaining BE teams, and flush us with a little cash. An indoor facility isn't too hard on the wallet, so we might be able to get that knocked out in the next few years and set our sights on that OCS down the road.

RJS will still be incredibly fun when Boise State, SMU, Houston, ECU, and UCF come to town. For some reason, I feel like the "rivalry" intensity might be higher with the new teams. WVU will be missed, but our series with Pitt and SU are kinda ehhhhh.

I'm calling bs on this logic. Any kid in high school, who wants to play in college, and is even thinking of the nfl, would love it. To tell a kid that they get to play where the superbowl has been held twice, and probably again in 2016, where the outback bowl is played, and to know that they get to play on Saturdays and then the Bucs use the same field the next day, is a huge advantage. To see the jumbo trons, hear the music roar, and all of the otehr aspects. I guarantee that will make a kid starry eyed.

[Triple B]

Recruits might like Ray Jay, but saying "their OCS is horrible" is subjective. Recruits go visit and see the atmospheres at on campus stadiums, and that alone can win them over, even if it's only like 40,000 people. RJS is novel and stuff, but it's not a deal maker like it used to be. Perhaps Leavitt sold it to kids better than Holtz does.

I still don't think it's a priority, but once we get the indoor facility, it will become the final piece of the puzzle and start taking shape. I'm really hoping we can figure out a way to get some big bucks out of Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia to divide among the 5 remaining BE teams, and flush us with a little cash. An indoor facility isn't too hard on the wallet, so we might be able to get that knocked out in the next few years and set our sights on that OCS down the road.

RJS will still be incredibly fun when Boise State, SMU, Houston, ECU, and UCF come to town. For some reason, I feel like the "rivalry" intensity might be higher with the new teams. WVU will be missed, but our series with Pitt and SU are kinda ehhhhh.

I'm calling bs on this logic. Any kid in high school, who wants to play in college, and is even thinking of the nfl, would love it. To tell a kid that they get to play where the superbowl has been held twice, and probably again in 2016, where the outback bowl is played, and to know that they get to play on Saturdays and then the Bucs use the same field the next day, is a huge advantage. To see the jumbo trons, hear the music roar, and all of the otehr aspects. I guarantee that will make a kid starry eyed.

I think there are all types of reasoning that go into the thought processes of recruits. That surely may be on some of them's minds ... Other may have the morbid fascination of getting 6 or 7 chances a year to possibly witness a soccer like stadium collapse ...

... and will choose a place where the odds of that happening are pretty good.

[BullAdrian]

I want us to join ACC first!

The new teams in BE suck!

Too much cost to build the OCS? We need to sell out very well for some years.. Pitt, new member in ACC, does not have one.

[Cow Pie]

I want us to join ACC first!

The new teams in BE suck!

Too much cost to build the OCS? We need to sell out very well for some years.. Pitt, new member in ACC, does not have one.

Yes they do... Heinz Field is 3 miles from the heart of campus... 1.5 miles from the border of campus... ours is 15 miles from campus

[namuh-bull]

no

but orlando school will get better fast

usf needs to bump up reruiting efforts

Not as long as they keep their head coach.

Go Bulls!

[namuh-bull]

I want us to join ACC first!

The new teams in BE suck!

...

If the ACC loses FSU and VT (or Clemson), I wouldn't want to move there.

Go Bulls!