(12-18-2017 03:38 PM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I think I am probably one of the only people to ever say this... but I think Birmingham is a cool city. Nowhere near as bad as its reputation. The Avondale area is really cool, and there are a few good breweries in town.

I take it you haven't traveled much? Birmingham is awful.

(12-19-2017 09:53 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 09:34 AM)Huskypride Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 09:32 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  USF had better attendance in 2007 than UConn as well.

But who won the game

Competing against UConn in football has always been fun, and historic for us. In 2000, you were the first FBS team we ever beat as an FBS team.

And in the Big East, you got the best of us, 5-3, frustrating, because so many of the games were close. IIRC, you beat us three in a row from 2009-2011, and each game was frustratingly close from a USF point of view. Tough, hard-fought football games, and even in the AAC it was the same until the last two years.

I agree our battles were fun. I feel like everyone looked at us as the little kid in the group that grew up quickly and became a respectable football member of the big east. That 2007 game still brings a tear to my eye from time to time. I saw it on person. Ah memories.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1,200 tickets sold and 300 are for the band.

I think the reason people bash USF for attendance is that it is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being Power 5. The reason people bash UCONN for basketball is that is is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being considered one of the top basketball leagues. UCONN and USF are not unique with these issues. SMU has big attendance problems in football and like all our AAC brethren can draw well when we face TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech and most of the former SWC members. We all need to create a large enough fanbase that cares to watch our teams play regardless of the opponent. There is no doubt attendance suffers at LSU when they face an FCS school but it is still worlds better than the attendance at any of our schools for even league games. I wouldn't take it personally when UCONN, USF, or any other school gets called out. I think we are all frustrated with attendance, not winning enough, and the lack of respect this conference gets given that most of our membership constitutes teams that were once at the top of the totem pole in conference affiliation.

(12-19-2017 08:30 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  USF fans... what do you think would be the best way to engage the current students (aka, not "spoiled alumni")? How does USF currently distribute/handle student tickets for games?

Bump?

(12-19-2017 10:44 AM)mustangxc Wrote:  I think the reason people bash USF for attendance is that it is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being Power 5. The reason people bash UCONN for basketball is that is is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being considered one of the top basketball leagues. UCONN and USF are not unique with these issues.

I get that there is somewhat of a compliment buried in the bashing of our attendance. It does imply that USF is expected to be one of the "flagship" football programs of the AAC, so what we do just matters more, similar to how UConn or Cincy fare in hoops matters more than how USF and Tulane do. So there is a smidge of flattery there.

Nevertheless, it does get tiresome, especially when the objective facts indicate that our attendance isn't unduly awful compared to the rest of the conference.

Do we need to boost our attendance and fan base more generally? Absolutely. But we're far from alone in that so shouldn't be singled out so much.

(12-19-2017 11:19 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 08:30 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  USF fans... what do you think would be the best way to engage the current students (aka, not "spoiled alumni")? How does USF currently distribute/handle student tickets for games?

Bump?

OK, I'll bite:

I'm not sure there's a ready-made solution. Our potential fan base is just a tough nut to crack, for a number of reasons:

1) In its pure form, Tampa is an NFL town. Unlike many AAC schools, we've had an NFL team for 40 years, and before that, there was (and still is) a significant Miami Dolphins fan contingent as well. There are a lot of transplants in the Tampa area who come from up north, where the NFL is everything, and they are not really tied to college football culture.

2) Concerning those who are linked to college football, our area has long been saturated with Florida, FSU, and Miami fans. And this applies to many USF alumni as well, because we've only had a team for 20 years. E.g., when I lived in the USF dorms, from 1985 - 1989, you would see lots of rooms with Miami or FSU or Florida pennants and banners and the like in those rooms, virtually nothing related to USF. So even many USF alums from the pre-2000s era probably have older loyalties to other Florida schools.

What this adds up to is this: Football fans in the greater Tampa Bay area, USF students and alums included, are interested in BIG TIME football. Historically, they have followed the NFL, and college teams like Florida, FSU, and Miami, power schools that compete at the very top of college football. They just don't have a lot of interest in any level of football much below that.

That said, we have shown we can draw fans. Ten years ago, when USF was playing schools that had college football pedigrees or at least athletic brand names, like Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Louisville and Syracuse, we had attendance that reached 50,000 a year. That's pretty damn good, certainly P5 level. But we don't have that anymore, and so our fan base has shrunk considerably. I used to think that this was just part of the story, and the other part was a lack of winning. But truth is, our attendance hasn't gotten anywhere close to that level the last two years, even as we have been winning. So it seems like the competition is the larger part of the story, not winning/losing, though that matters somewhat too.

I'm really not sure it will ever be possible to get our potential fan base excited about AAC competition. No, that's *not* the USF program having a superiority complex about the rest of the league. We've certainly taken many losses over the past four years, in no way have we established any kind of on-the-field superiority. As many never tire of pointing out, we've never even won an AAC division much less a conference title. But it is a property of those who are our potential fan base. There just isn't a lot of interest in USF vs Temple, USF vs Tulsa, etc. etc. They want to see us playing FSU, or at least West Virginia, again.

And i really don't know how we change that.

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

(12-19-2017 12:12 PM)No Bull Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

Read the post i made just before you posted this.

(12-19-2017 11:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 10:44 AM)mustangxc Wrote:  I think the reason people bash USF for attendance is that it is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being Power 5. The reason people bash UCONN for basketball is that is is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being considered one of the top basketball leagues. UCONN and USF are not unique with these issues.

I get that there is somewhat of a compliment buried in the bashing of our attendance. It does imply that USF is expected to be one of the "flagship" football programs of the AAC, so what we do just matters more, similar to how UConn or Cincy fare in hoops matters more than how USF and Tulane do. So there is a smidge of flattery there.

Nevertheless, it does get tiresome, especially when the objective facts indicate that our attendance isn't unduly awful compared to the rest of the conference.

Do we need to boost our attendance and fan base more generally? Absolutely. But we're far from alone in that so shouldn't be singled out so much.

no offense you are alone, (okay maybe include tulsa).. whos attendance would be this bad on consecutive years of top 25 success

every rebuttal point ive seen are "first year" of success attendance...or uconn whos success was a surprise to everyone..literally zero people till the second to last game of the regular season thought uconn would get the bcs bowl...everyone thought wvu would get it..uconn was 8-5 with losses to mac temple and 1-9 Rutgers

ive said this a million times, spontaneous success doesn't equate to immediate attendance difference

in similar circumstances as the one usf is in now, every team but tulsa would produce dramatically better attendance... finished top 25, preseason top 25, undefeated for most of the season...best qb in school history on his senior season, a star coach (no one knew about any struggles till after season ticket sales)

objective facts indicate that your attendance is unduly awful compared to the rest of the conference.

also stop posting usf's unrealistically inflated numers as some kind of justification ..
"#usf reported 35,976 for the season opener but only had 22,626 in the stadium." last season

this season
"Joey Knight‏ @TBTimes_Bulls
Actual attendance for yesterday's @USFFootball season opener (per Tampa Sports Authority): 18,302"

your beat writer says their is a attendance problem that is bad at usf..your sbnation blog says there is an attendance problem at usf
https://www.thedailystampede.com/2017/9/...-to-fix-it

the biggest sec blog in the nation (saturday down south) even noted as much, they have no ties to the AAC, have no reason to pick on usf but here is an article they posted this season
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...s-kickoff/

tulane can have sucky attendance they havent been good in decades, so can smu, so can any bottom feeder like cincy the last 2 years ..using that as justification is weak

(12-19-2017 12:12 PM)No Bull Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

I appreciate reasonable dialog... Honestly, yes we have a problem. I think the problem is somewhat overblown on chat forums... We went from a BCS conference and competing, to a demoted conference and being a doormat for 3 years. That KILLED the embryonic fanbase that was just really beginning to form, and did get spoiled to some degree. Holtz and Woolard stuck the knife in with his contract and on the field performance... Lets be honest, when everyone is losing, no one shows up...

But in the end, I agree... there are no excuses for a school as large as USF, winning and ranked for two straight seasons, to at least put 25-35K in the stadium NOW.

The bowl is a bit of an oddball... repeat bowl in a not-so-special destination against a 6-6 Texas Tech. I don't expect legions of USF fans there, when they won't drive across town for home games. But we did draw pretty well to Bham last season (don't believe what you read here, I was there...), when there was excitement for the bowl and the SEC opponent.

I do believe it will mature and get better... OCS will help, but it's not a magic wand. It's up to USF to get creative.

(12-19-2017 12:17 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 11:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 10:44 AM)mustangxc Wrote:  I think the reason people bash USF for attendance is that it is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being Power 5. The reason people bash UCONN for basketball is that is is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being considered one of the top basketball leagues. UCONN and USF are not unique with these issues.

I get that there is somewhat of a compliment buried in the bashing of our attendance. It does imply that USF is expected to be one of the "flagship" football programs of the AAC, so what we do just matters more, similar to how UConn or Cincy fare in hoops matters more than how USF and Tulane do. So there is a smidge of flattery there.

Nevertheless, it does get tiresome, especially when the objective facts indicate that our attendance isn't unduly awful compared to the rest of the conference.

Do we need to boost our attendance and fan base more generally? Absolutely. But we're far from alone in that so shouldn't be singled out so much.

no offense you are alone, (okay maybe include tulsa).. whos attendance would be this bad on consecutive years of top 25 success

every rebuttal point ive seen are "first year" of success attendance...or uconn whos success was a surprise to everyone..literally zero people till the second to last game of the regular season thought uconn would get the bcs bowl...everyone thought wvu would get it..uconn was 8-5 with losses to mac temple and 1-9 Rutgers

ive said this a million times, spontaneous success doesn't equate to immediate attendance difference

Two things here don't add up:

First, the "rebuttals" don't make sense, because in 2010, UConn was not coming off a bad year. In fact, 2010 was their fourth straight winning year, and the previous two years, in 2008 and 2009, they won bowl games. So in no way shape or form was 2010 some kind of "surprise" year where fans didn't show because they expected another losing year. And yet our attendance was better, and by a lot, anyway.

And if there is a one-year lag between results and attendance, it should work both ways, and in 2011, the year after UConn made the Fiesta Bowl, USF had better attendance as well.

Second, the only valid, apples to apples comparison to make is the official NCAA attendance or actual attendance, for BOTH schools. So stop making bogus comparisons that compare what a USF beat writer reports as the 'actual' attendance with UConn or anyone else's official attendance. The only valid way you can invoke our 'actual' attendance is if you are comparing that to another school's 'actual' attendance as well. This is so elementary it shouldn't need to be explained, but dummies and trolls around here keep insisting that it's reasonable to compare our 'actual' attendance with other school's official attendance. They say stupid things like "You know we can't make actual to actual comparison because (fill in name of school) doesn't report it's actual attendance !!!"

As if that makes it OK to just go ahead and compare their official attendance with USF actual attendance (hint: it doesn't).

A comparison has to be either official to official, or actual to actual. Cross-comparisons are obviously invalid, so stop making them.

Sheesh!

(12-19-2017 12:22 PM)Bull Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 12:12 PM)No Bull Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

I appreciate reasonable dialog... Honestly, yes we have a problem. I think the problem is somewhat overblown on chat forums... We went from a BCS conference and competing, to a demoted conference and being a doormat for 3 years. That KILLED the embryonic fanbase that was just really beginning to form, and did get spoiled to some degree. Holtz and Woolard stuck the knife in with his contract and on the field performance... Lets be honest, when everyone is losing, no one shows up...

But in the end, I agree... there are no excuses for a school as large as USF, winning and ranked for two straight seasons, to at least put 25-35K in the stadium NOW.

The bowl is a bit of an oddball... repeat bowl in a not-so-special destination against a 6-6 Texas Tech. I don't expect legions of USF fans there, when they won't drive across town for home games. But we did draw pretty well to Bham last season (don't believe what you read here, I was there...), when there was excitement for the bowl and the SEC opponent.

I do believe it will mature and get better... OCS will help, but it's not a magic wand. It's up to USF to get creative.

Just keep winning and the fans will come back. Honestly it is also a bit of a marketing thing... Programs like Navy, Houston, UCF among others are equal to the Syracuse, Rutgers, and Pitts in a lot of ways.... and the conference has Old Big East teams like Cincy, UConn and Temple... it just seems like USF's Athletic Dept needs to get the word out.. The American needs a a strong USF...with full fan support.

Anyhow. Best Of Luck... beat the Red Raiders into the dirt.

(12-19-2017 12:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 12:17 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 11:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 10:44 AM)mustangxc Wrote:  I think the reason people bash USF for attendance is that it is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being Power 5. The reason people bash UCONN for basketball is that is is one of the biggest factors keeping this league from being considered one of the top basketball leagues. UCONN and USF are not unique with these issues.

I get that there is somewhat of a compliment buried in the bashing of our attendance. It does imply that USF is expected to be one of the "flagship" football programs of the AAC, so what we do just matters more, similar to how UConn or Cincy fare in hoops matters more than how USF and Tulane do. So there is a smidge of flattery there.

Nevertheless, it does get tiresome, especially when the objective facts indicate that our attendance isn't unduly awful compared to the rest of the conference.

Do we need to boost our attendance and fan base more generally? Absolutely. But we're far from alone in that so shouldn't be singled out so much.

no offense you are alone, (okay maybe include tulsa).. whos attendance would be this bad on consecutive years of top 25 success

every rebuttal point ive seen are "first year" of success attendance...or uconn whos success was a surprise to everyone..literally zero people till the second to last game of the regular season thought uconn would get the bcs bowl...everyone thought wvu would get it..uconn was 8-5 with losses to mac temple and 1-9 Rutgers

ive said this a million times, spontaneous success doesn't equate to immediate attendance difference

Two things here don't add up:

First, the "rebuttals" don't make sense, because in 2010, UConn was not coming off a bad year. In fact, 2010 was their fourth straight winning year, and the previous two years, in 2008 and 2009, they won bowl games. So in no way shape or form was 2010 some kind of "surprise" year where fans didn't show because they expected another losing year. And yet our attendance was better, and by a lot, anyway.

And if there is a one-year lag between results and attendance, it should work both ways, and in 2011, the year after UConn made the Fiesta Bowl, USF had better attendance as well.

Second, the only valid, apples to apples comparison to make is the official NCAA attendance or actual attendance, for BOTH schools. So stop making bogus comparisons that compare what a USF beat writer reports as the 'actual' attendance with UConn or anyone else's official attendance. The only valid way you can invoke our 'actual' attendance is if you are comparing that to another school's 'actual' attendance as well. This is so elementary it shouldn't need to be explained, but dummies and trolls around here keep insisting that it's reasonable to compare our 'actual' attendance with other school's official attendance. They say stupid things like "You know we can't make actual to actual comparison because (fill in name of school) doesn't report it's actual attendance !!!"

As if that makes it OK to just go ahead and compare their official attendance with USF actual attendance (hint: it doesn't).

A comparison has to be either official to official, or actual to actual. Cross-comparisons are obviously invalid, so stop making them.

Sheesh!

are you comparing uconns 5th place finish in a 8 team league (3-4 conference record) in 2009 to usf top 25 finish last year? ...neither uconn year undefeated, neither year even cracked top 25 or close...uconn lost to the worst team in the league and a mac team the year they went to the bcs....if you dont consider it a surprise they made it to a bcs you are in denial...literally their last game of the year was an upset of usf and bj daniels, to barely get the bid...ZERO people till the season finale thought uconn would get it

you are normally objective but think that is comparable situation to 2 top 25 finish, longest winning streak in the nation, star qb with numerous videos on the internet with over 100k views, who was preseason POY, as unanimous favorite to win the league....

and i cant compare actual attendance, but i have eyes....when a stadium is packed to the brim and is 40k capacity, i know there are around 40k there, and you report an actual attendance of 18k , i know you are doing worse...you and navy post almost identical attendance numbers, i watch navy games at its packed to the brim. and usf is mostly empty

you announced 24k for the temple game, and eye test wise had less than 5k, (its in that Saturday down south link)..usf was still top 25, still in control of its destiny for a ny6 bowl game

why are you denial there is a problem happening at usf... let me be the first to say houston has an attendance problem..a bad one...but that is when we are mediocre to bad..in your circumstance our attendance is actually good

i dont think its a problem inherent to usf the school, but something in how your administration runs the program, mixed with not having a OCS. community involvement, marketing, pricing strategy, tailgating experience, outreach, something, student investment, something ..im not that versed in the usf administration to know what it is but they aren't doing something they should be

(12-19-2017 12:08 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 11:19 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 08:30 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  USF fans... what do you think would be the best way to engage the current students (aka, not "spoiled alumni")? How does USF currently distribute/handle student tickets for games?

Bump?

OK, I'll bite:

I'm not sure there's a ready-made solution. Our potential fan base is just a tough nut to crack, for a number of reasons:

1) In its pure form, Tampa is an NFL town. Unlike many AAC schools, we've had an NFL team for 40 years, and before that, there was (and still is) a significant Miami Dolphins fan contingent as well. There are a lot of transplants in the Tampa area who come from up north, where the NFL is everything, and they are not really tied to college football culture.

2) Concerning those who are linked to college football, our area has long been saturated with Florida, FSU, and Miami fans. And this applies to many USF alumni as well, because we've only had a team for 20 years. E.g., when I lived in the USF dorms, from 1985 - 1989, you would see lots of rooms with Miami or FSU or Florida pennants and banners and the like in those rooms, virtually nothing related to USF. So even many USF alums from the pre-2000s era probably have older loyalties to other Florida schools.

What this adds up to is this: Football fans in the greater Tampa Bay area, USF students and alums included, are interested in BIG TIME football. Historically, they have followed the NFL, and college teams like Florida, FSU, and Miami, power schools that compete at the very top of college football. They just don't have a lot of interest in any level of football much below that.

That said, we have shown we can draw fans. Ten years ago, when USF was playing schools that had college football pedigrees or at least athletic brand names, like Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Louisville and Syracuse, we had attendance that reached 50,000 a year. That's pretty damn good, certainly P5 level. But we don't have that anymore, and so our fan base has shrunk considerably. I used to think that this was just part of the story, and the other part was a lack of winning. But truth is, our attendance hasn't gotten anywhere close to that level the last two years, even as we have been winning. So it seems like the competition is the larger part of the story, not winning/losing, though that matters somewhat too.

I'm really not sure it will ever be possible to get our potential fan base excited about AAC competition. No, that's *not* the USF program having a superiority complex about the rest of the league. We've certainly taken many losses over the past four years, in no way have we established any kind of on-the-field superiority. As many never tire of pointing out, we've never even won an AAC division much less a conference title. But it is a property of those who are our potential fan base. There just isn't a lot of interest in USF vs Temple, USF vs Tulsa, etc. etc. They want to see us playing FSU, or at least West Virginia, again.

And i really don't know how we change that.

Sadly the only way to change that really is to get into a Power Conference once more. The Big 12 hopefully will get their heads out of their asses and come around again looking at the value of programs in the AAC and see that we can help their conference become stable and generate revenue.

Does Aresco place teams in bowls or something?

USF getting 65,000 for a few games was a fad. It's no different than the pet rock fad of the 70's.

(12-19-2017 12:08 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 11:19 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 08:30 AM)KnightNasty Wrote:  USF fans... what do you think would be the best way to engage the current students (aka, not "spoiled alumni")? How does USF currently distribute/handle student tickets for games?

Bump?

OK, I'll bite:

I'm not sure there's a ready-made solution. Our potential fan base is just a tough nut to crack, for a number of reasons:

1) In its pure form, Tampa is an NFL town. Unlike many AAC schools, we've had an NFL team for 40 years, and before that, there was (and still is) a significant Miami Dolphins fan contingent as well. There are a lot of transplants in the Tampa area who come from up north, where the NFL is everything, and they are not really tied to college football culture.

2) Concerning those who are linked to college football, our area has long been saturated with Florida, FSU, and Miami fans. And this applies to many USF alumni as well, because we've only had a team for 20 years. E.g., when I lived in the USF dorms, from 1985 - 1989, you would see lots of rooms with Miami or FSU or Florida pennants and banners and the like in those rooms, virtually nothing related to USF. So even many USF alums from the pre-2000s era probably have older loyalties to other Florida schools.

What this adds up to is this: Football fans in the greater Tampa Bay area, USF students and alums included, are interested in BIG TIME football. Historically, they have followed the NFL, and college teams like Florida, FSU, and Miami, power schools that compete at the very top of college football. They just don't have a lot of interest in any level of football much below that.

That said, we have shown we can draw fans. Ten years ago, when USF was playing schools that had college football pedigrees or at least athletic brand names, like Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Louisville and Syracuse, we had attendance that reached 50,000 a year. That's pretty damn good, certainly P5 level. But we don't have that anymore, and so our fan base has shrunk considerably. I used to think that this was just part of the story, and the other part was a lack of winning. But truth is, our attendance hasn't gotten anywhere close to that level the last two years, even as we have been winning. So it seems like the competition is the larger part of the story, not winning/losing, though that matters somewhat too.

I'm really not sure it will ever be possible to get our potential fan base excited about AAC competition. No, that's *not* the USF program having a superiority complex about the rest of the league. We've certainly taken many losses over the past four years, in no way have we established any kind of on-the-field superiority. As many never tire of pointing out, we've never even won an AAC division much less a conference title. But it is a property of those who are our potential fan base. There just isn't a lot of interest in USF vs Temple, USF vs Tulsa, etc. etc. They want to see us playing FSU, or at least West Virginia, again.

And i really don't know how we change that.

You said "you'll bite"... but didnt talk about what I was asking, lol. And for the record... I'm not trying to get anyone to "bite".

What I asked was not about alumni or people that live in the Tampa area. I'm specifically asking about current enrolled students. The current students are not transplants for the most part and were not around for the Big East era when you were playing more of a P5 schedule.

So... I think those are the prime target for increased attendance. Not to mention theres a large number of them to go after. So... what are ways the school can get the STUDENTS more involved and attending games?

And how does USF currently distribute student tickets? Do they charge? Is there a lottery? etc?

(12-19-2017 12:22 PM)Bull Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 12:12 PM)No Bull Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

I appreciate reasonable dialog... Honestly, yes we have a problem. I think the problem is somewhat overblown on chat forums... We went from a BCS conference and competing, to a demoted conference and being a doormat for 3 years. That KILLED the embryonic fanbase that was just really beginning to form, and did get spoiled to some degree. Holtz and Woolard stuck the knife in with his contract and on the field performance... Lets be honest, when everyone is losing, no one shows up...

But in the end, I agree... there are no excuses for a school as large as USF, winning and ranked for two straight seasons, to at least put 25-35K in the stadium NOW.

The bowl is a bit of an oddball... repeat bowl in a not-so-special destination against a 6-6 Texas Tech. I don't expect legions of USF fans there, when they won't drive across town for home games. But we did draw pretty well to Bham last season (don't believe what you read here, I was there...), when there was excitement for the bowl and the SEC opponent.

I do believe it will mature and get better... OCS will help, but it's not a magic wand. It's up to USF to get creative.

What would be some of the creative things you think they could do?

(12-19-2017 02:15 PM)KnightNasty Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 12:22 PM)Bull Wrote:  

(12-19-2017 12:12 PM)No Bull Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:34 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-18-2017 03:21 PM)TigerSeth Wrote:  https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-fo...l-tickets/

I'm glad. Maybe this will teach Aresco that USF has had its fill of the Birmingham Bowl.

No team should ever have to go to that bowl more than once a decade, yet we get stuck with it in back to back years.

Good example of an informal boycott.

I don't mean this as a flame... but I have never seen a fan base disappear as fast as USF's has. It is bizarre. USF is playing great football in a decent conference and no one in Tampa gives a Shiite anymore. Big time football coach. I just don't understand.

What's wrong with this bowl game? Good P5 opponent. Birmingham is drivable from Tampa. Hell Alabama is a beautiful state... so the drive is not miserable and Birmingham the city is nice... plenty of good Bar B Que, and the stadium may not be great... but the sightlines are not bad. I used to enjoy going to UCF- UAB games in Birmingham. I just do not understand the problem with the USF fanbase....

I appreciate reasonable dialog... Honestly, yes we have a problem. I think the problem is somewhat overblown on chat forums... We went from a BCS conference and competing, to a demoted conference and being a doormat for 3 years. That KILLED the embryonic fanbase that was just really beginning to form, and did get spoiled to some degree. Holtz and Woolard stuck the knife in with his contract and on the field performance... Lets be honest, when everyone is losing, no one shows up...

But in the end, I agree... there are no excuses for a school as large as USF, winning and ranked for two straight seasons, to at least put 25-35K in the stadium NOW.

The bowl is a bit of an oddball... repeat bowl in a not-so-special destination against a 6-6 Texas Tech. I don't expect legions of USF fans there, when they won't drive across town for home games. But we did draw pretty well to Bham last season (don't believe what you read here, I was there...), when there was excitement for the bowl and the SEC opponent.

I do believe it will mature and get better... OCS will help, but it's not a magic wand. It's up to USF to get creative.

What would be some of the creative things you think they could do?

Grab students by force from campus... then use armored cars from USF's campus to the RayJay