CSNbbs

August 01, 2007
USF-West Virginia surge opens upper deck
For only the fourth time in its short history, USF has opened the upper deck of Raymond James Stadium. A steady stream of calls on the first day of individual-ticket sales convinced Bulls officials to open the east side of the upper deck for USF's Sept. 28 game against Big East preseason favorite West Virginia.

The three previous times the upper deck has been opened -- all in 2005, against Florida A&M, Central Florida and West Virginia -- produced the three largest crowds since USF's very first game, all getting at least 43,000 fans. The lower level is not completely sold out, but sales have been enough that USF is freeing up more seats. The excitment isn't just on USF's end, either: opponents are typically allotted 3,000 tickets to sell to their fans, but West Virginia has already requested 4,000, with nearly two months until kickoff.

-- I've gotten a few e-mails from fans curious about USF's family plan (two adult and two children's season tickets for $300) and how the Bulls will ensure that kids are using the kids' tickets. Assistant athletic director Jim Louk tells me USF is having special tickets made for this promotion, so that the "child's ticket" will be marked as such, and ticket-takers will be asked to eyeball ticketholders accordingly. (I'm thinking you could sneak a 10-year-old in with an adult ticket, just not vice versa).

-- Expect news on Thursday on Alabama transfer running back Jamar Taylor, who is eagerly waiting to hear if he's been accepted into USF. I'm hearing a fair amount of optimism that'll work out, but pulling off a hardship waiver to allow him to play this season could be another challenge, if only from the logistics of the season starting in four weeks. USF went 3-for-3 on those last year, so don't rule anything out.

Posted by Greg Auman at 9:05:30 PM on August 1, 2007 | Permalink |

Upper deck already open for WVU
Posted By Brett McMurphy at Aug 01, 2007 at 07:04 PM
Updated Aug 01, 2007 at 07:11 PM


Bolstered by a record first-day run on Bulls tickets, University of South Florida officials already have decided to open the upper deck for USF’s home game with West Virginia on Sept. 28.

USF has had the upper deck at Raymond James Stadium opened only three times, all in 2005 against Florida A&M, UCF and West Virginia. And the decision to do so wasn’t made until the week of those games.

“This was far and away the best day ever,” USF assistant AD Jim Louk said Wednesday. “The phones started ringing at 7:30 [Wednesday morning]. It was kind of neat. The buzz is true. It’s nice to see we’re seeing some urgency.”

Wednesday was the first day USF individual home game tickets were available and about 2,000 were sold, Louk said.

West Virginia, the Big East’s preseason favorite and expected to be ranked among the nation’s top five, and Louisville (Nov. 17) easily out-sold USF’s other home games, Louk said.

The North Carolina contest (Sept. 22) sold the third-most first-day individual tickets followed by UCF (Oct. 13), Louk said. USF also hosts Elon (Sept. 1) and Cincinnati (Nov. 3).

I need six tix for the USF vs. WVU game. Man that is going to be expensive! I am going with my wife and 4 kids. And sorry Eer fans, we'll be cheering for the Bulls. Nothing against WVU, I like ya'll too, but my son, for whatever reason, has adopted USF as his second favorite team. He even has a couple USF t-shirts and a USF cap. Of course he's a die hard Cardinal though. How much will six tix cost?

mike

upperdecks tickets are going for $20 each

Hey that's pretty darn affordable! I wonder if they'd cut a deal for a soldier? Are any of you Bulls fans gonna host us at a tailgate prior to the game? I think we are planning on going to the water park in Tampa in the morning. We also need to find a nice, but affordable, campground that we will stay at.

Mike
They might try calling 1-800-go-Bulls. I know they are making the Louisville game an armed forces recognition date. As for the campground maybe others can help out since im not living in Tampa

army56mike Wrote:Hey that's pretty darn affordable! I wonder if they'd cut a deal for a soldier? Are any of you Bulls fans gonna host us at a tailgate prior to the game? I think we are planning on going to the water park in Tampa in the morning. We also need to find a nice, but affordable, campground that we will stay at.

Mike -- If you interested in a nice campground, look into Ft. DeSoto Park.

Link: http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm



Ft. Desoto is a great family friendly place to camp and anytime you can wake up and watch the sun rise over the water in Florida you shouldn't pass it up. My family has camped their countless times.

However, you need to reserve your campsite early as it tends to fill up quickly.

There probably will be more WVU fans coming to the line. We have a pretty large alumuni base in North Carolina and Fla.

Actually it will make all of us look good that there are that many fans for the game since it is one of those ghastly friday night deals

Jackson

West Virginians are all over the south. Everywhere I go, I have people from West Virginia come up and comment on my WV decal.

I wonder how populous the state would be if all transplanted West Virginians went home on the same weekend?

For me the best part about this announcement is the timing. Two years ago when USF opened the upper decks for WV,FAMU and UCF, those seats were not opened until the week before. Here we are almost two months before this game and those seats are open and being sold thats great news and says a lot even for the game beng on a friday and on ESPN. The excitement of Bulls football is starting to catch on in Tampa. If the Bulls beat Auburn there could be almost a sell out for that game.
Go Bulls!!!! Go Big East!!!!

It would be nice to see the Bulls sell out every weekend. That's what the conference needs. Strong programs with a following.

Jackson1011 Wrote:There probably will be more WVU fans coming to the line. We have a pretty large alumuni base in North Carolina and Fla.

Actually it will make all of us look good that there are that many fans for the game since it is one of those ghastly friday night deals

Jackson

So does Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers and UConn

This is why USF was a good choice for the league.

Yes, it is nice to have so many Big East fans around the Tampa Bay Area. That is why that BIG EAST bowl in St Pete has a good chance of becoming something good for the conference. I would think many Big East fans from up north would love to come down to enjoy St Pete just to escape the cold. I cant wait until the next bowl contracts are up, so that we can sell the BIG EAST to these better bowls.

Congratulations, USF, for the boost in your ticket sales. I'm confident UCF fans will do their part to get that upper deck opened once again.

I went to Auburn once when UCF played a game there. The campus is beautiful, and I liked Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's a tough place to play, though.

LSU has my favorite stadium in the SEC. But I must admit that I spent most of my time in the parking lot tailgating. LSU football weekends bring the best food in the world - in the largest variety. That's the reason I miss living in Baton Rouge once in a while.