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Ty-Bull Offline
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Jan 12, 2005

Bulls Planning To Upgrade Sports Facilities
By GARY HABER and BRETT McMURPHY
The Tampa Tribune


TAMPA - When South Florida athletic director Doug Woolard was hired last summer, upgrading and expanding the school's athletic facilities were his top priorities.
That plan cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when USF's campus development committee endorsed devoting 20 acres on the southeast edge of USF's Tampa campus for use by the athletic department for long-sought sports facilities.

The facilities would include new stadiums for softball and soccer, a new men's and women's tennis complex, new men's and women's basketball practice facilities, new football practice fields, major renovations to the Sun Dome and a new or renovated Red McEwen baseball field.

It also would add a multipurpose artificial-turf surface to be utilized by the football and soccer teams preparing for road games on artificial turf.

USF officials would not speculate on the cost, but similar facility upgrades around the country range between $35 million to $50 million.

``This draft plan is our first response to the expectation of the Big East that USF will make an enthusiastic push for facilities that will put us on par with other schools in the Big East,`` USF President Judy Genshaft said.

All of USF's new facilities would be within close proximity to the school's eight-month- old $15 million athletic facility.

Woolard said the improvements are needed for USF to recruit top athletes and increase attendance when the school joins the Big East this summer. Bolstering his case with slides showing state-of- the-art sports facilities at other Big East schools, Woolard told committee members that Big East athletic directors expect USF to improve its facilities.

``Quite frankly, there are some high school facilities that are better than our soccer field,'' he said.

USF's baseball and softball complexes also are among the nation's worst in Division I.

``Obviously, being the last of the state's big universities to venture into the facility upgrading program, we can get on par with the best facilities out there,'' USF softball coach Ken Eriksen said. ``If we're going to do it, let's do it right.''

The completion of a new softball complex and a new or renovated baseball stadium would allow USF the opportunity to host NCAA regional tournaments.

``When you're in that position,'' Eriksen said. ``You're running with the big dogs.''

USF baseball coach Eddie Cardieri, who has guided the Bulls to nine NCAA Tournaments despite having to recruit players to dilapidated Red McEwen Stadium, was excited about the news.

``We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,'' Cardieri said. ``So many times recruiting comes down to facilities and it will give us a more legitimate shot with every [recruit] we get involved in.

``This is a very serious run. I'm pretty psyched. It's a long process, but at least you can see it taking shape.''

The most frustrating aspect, Cardieri said, is when the Bulls play away games.

``Our kids go on the road and play in these great places and we have what we have,'' he said. ``I'm most excited for the players to have the chance to play in a beautiful place and not just when they go on the road.''

Woolard and Lee Roy Selmon, president of the USF Foundation's Partnership for Athletics and the school's chief athletic fundraiser, said they will embark on a fundraising campaign to pay for the improvements.

USF officials declined to set a timetable or identify the order in which the facilities would be built. That will depend largely on which projects donors are most interested in funding, Selmon said.

``We see them all as priorities,'' said Selmon, USF's former athletic director. ``It's tough to rank them.''

USF's board of trustees must approve the plan next month before the land can be used by the athletic department.

The land, near Fowler Avenue, was originally set aside for fraternity and sorority housing, but the school instead built a Greek Village closer to the Fletcher Avenue side of campus. More recently, school officials had reserved the land for additional student housing. Athletic department officials said that would be impractical since the site is distant from other campus dormitories.

Big East Improvements

With South Florida's move to the Big East next season, the school has begun the process of adding several new athletic facilities and upgrades to current facilities:

PROJECTED COST: $35 million to $50 million

TIMETABLE: It still must get approved by the school's board of trustees next month. Then several factors, including feasibility studies and analysis, fundraising, etc., would determine when construction could begin, USF officials said.

IMPROVEMENTS: New stadiums for softball and soccer, a new tennis complex, new men's and women's basketball practice facilities, three new football practice fields, major renovations to the Sun Dome, a new or renovated Red McEwen baseball stadium, a multipurpose artificial turf surface shared by athletics and campus recreation surrounded by a 400-meter track and improved campus recreation facilities.

Brett McMurphy

Gary Haber can be reached at ghaber@tampatrib.com, and Brett McMurphy can be reached at bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com.

This story can be found at: <a href='http://www.tampatrib.com/Sports/MGBF676YU3E.html' target='_blank'>http://www.tampatrib.com/Sports/MGBF676YU3E.html</a>
01-12-2005 12:34 PM
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Ty-Bull Offline
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River City Pirate: YOU NEED YOUR OWN ON CAMPUS FOOTBALL FACILITY. PUT 20,000 SEATS IN IT. HECK THERE MAY EVEN BE A HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM WITH A BIG ENOUGH STADIUM TO HOUSE YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM. IT SURE WOULD BE LESS EMBARRASSING TO PLAY IN A FULL 15,000 SEAT HIGH SCHOOL STADIUM THAN 15,000 FANS IN RAYMOND JAMES!!!!

WELL, BETTER MAKE THAT A 10,000 SEAT HIGH SCHOOL STADIUM. EVEN MORE EMBARRASSING WOULD BE TO PLAY IN A HALF FULL HIGH SCHOOL FIELD.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Lets see the facts. USF & ECU have played 3 football games and ECU has won how many?

Man you are a sad guy. Enjoy C-DOA

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01-12-2005 12:53 PM
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Ty-Bull Offline
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GEEEEZZZZ,

I WAS at your stadium in 2002 & 2003. I was suprised at the small size of Greenville. Yeah, you have excellent tradition. What we are punished because we just started football in 1997. Well I think that you should be ashamed to lose three straight to an "up-start" program. And don't be concerned with our attendance, it will be fine. No Excuses.

P.S. I tailgated with some of your fans both years and found them knowledgeable and fun to hang with. They partied before and after the two USF losses. Excellent fans. I guess that is why I don't understand your venom towards USF.

P.S.S. Why are you hanging out trolling on a Big east board. EVNY of the Big East or EVNY of USF? 04-cheers

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01-12-2005 01:23 PM
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Cat's_Claw Offline
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RIVER CITY PIRATE Wrote:ECU was wining bowl games before U Somewhere in Flordia was even thought of on the football field.

Hell if you hadn't beat us the last two years then something would have been definately wrong. I know when we are down and I am not ashamed to admit it. We have history to back us up, you do not. And we have the resources and facilties to get us back.

I invite you to Greenville, NC next fall. I believe our first game will be against Duke at Dowdy Ficklen stadium. (That is our very own football stadium on campus).

If you can make it you will learn what a big time college football atmosphere is. And then you can carry what you have learned back to wherever in Florida you are and teach the 10,000 fans who go to USF games a thing or two about a real football program. While you are in town we can go over to Greenville Rose and see the local high school team in action. They too can teach you a thing or two about fan support.

It is exciting to see 45000 strong at Ficklen. Come join us this year and see for yourself.

Maybe I can make it down to a USF game. I'll be the one sitting on the thirty yard line about two seats up all by myself!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
On the flip side, you should be able to muster a win against a team a few years removed from Division I-AA. Seriously, you look foolish running into this thread and trashing South Florida because a Bulls fan is talking about how his program is upgrading their facilities. It shows dedication to the program, something I'm VERY pleased to see. I mean, when you have to trash a program in order to build up your program then it doesn't say much about your program, or at least how you view your program. No I'm not trashing or ripping East Carolina, just pointing that out.

Anyway, what excites me reading this is that South Florida is upgrading ALL of their facilities not just football or basketball. They're looking to also upgrade their non-revenue sports. I think that's unbelievable, to go from a new Division I-AA program with young facilities to being a Division I-A program, in a major conference making massive facilities upgrades. Very impressive! 04-cheers
01-12-2005 07:01 PM
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David Krysakowski Offline
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The main reason that South Florida attendence is bad because they don't have a good football team and a on-campus stadium. This is the same reason that Temple has attendance problems.
01-12-2005 09:42 PM
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