The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

I was looking at south Florida's program and was thinking how they have only been playing football since 1997, yet accomplished a lot. I think this should be a program we try to become over the next few years. In 19 seasons they have been and are going to their 8th bowl game. Also have reached a number 2 national ranking after only playing for 8 years, and this year they are playing for the American Conference Championship. They also play in an oversized stadium in a state where there are plenty of other teams that are more relevant and higher fan base. . Just a thought.

Those of us who have been around are well aware of USF. They were in our conference for quite a few years. They share some similarities with us, but at this point, I think our path to relevance is clear: take advantage of our "story" through recruiting and publicity. We are doing just that, so there's no need to model ourselves after anyone else. Now, we can always look at schools like them and steal some ideas, but we are our own animal now, like no other.

(11-28-2016 09:24 AM)4thDownBlazer Wrote:  I was looking at south Florida's program and was thinking how they have only been playing football since 1997, yet accomplished a lot. I think this should be a program we try to become over the next few years. In 19 seasons they have been and are going to their 8th bowl game. Also have reached a number 2 national ranking after only playing for 8 years, and this year they are playing for the American Conference Championship. They also play in an oversized stadium in a state where there are plenty of other teams that are more relevant and higher fan base. . Just a thought.

Rest assured that Blazer faithful know of lots of former conference mates that have moved onward and upward and achieved some degree of success.

Yes, and we're very bitter about it too, at least I am.

....there but for the stinking BOT go we.

"If we'd only done this and that when and then...."

I think its also motivation that we can do it, just as they have. Especially now we have resources. Bottom line though, we have to win.

ALL Florida university programs have certain advantages schools in Alabama lack.
#1-There is no fiefdom mentality engendered by each school's BOT since all Florida schools are run by a central Board of Regents. No school's local BOT can intentionally make life difficult for another Florida school. No one at UFL can appoint the President of either USF or UCF and give him orders on what programs either school may afford.
#2- Florida is a growing and increasingly wealthy state where funding for public education is not $500 million less than a decade ago. There is a financial reason Florida has or will soon have a half dozen P5 programs (they already have three). Did you notice that the new Alabama 8% state "sales tax" on online purchases goes to the state's General Fund, not the SETF?
#3- BOTH UCF and USF have student bodies around 50,000 and growing. UA and AU brag about reaching 30,000 recently. To get these numbers, UA & AU must recruit students from many other states since the bottom 60% of our own school districts can't produce enough of those who can afford what ours cost.
#4- The list of programs visible to C-USA only by their "tail lights" can be expected to increase when / if the Big 12 expands at the expense of the AAC which will then AGAIN raid C-USA and/or the Sunbelt for replacements with emphasis on financially stable programs - probably in strong urban TV markets.

Alabama's university system is set up to protect the status quo of the existing fiefdoms -- for K-12 it is mainly the suburban enclave districts and at the Post Secondary level it is AU and UA at the top of that stack.

(11-28-2016 09:24 AM)4thDownBlazer Wrote:  I was looking at south Florida's program and was thinking how they have only been playing football since 1997, yet accomplished a lot. I think this should be a program we try to become over the next few years. In 19 seasons they have been and are going to their 8th bowl game. Also have reached a number 2 national ranking after only playing for 8 years, and this year they are playing for the American Conference Championship. They also play in an oversized stadium in a state where there are plenty of other teams that are more relevant and higher fan base. . Just a thought.

The AAC championship game is between Navy and Temple. Temple beat USF head-to-head, winning the tie-breaker.

(11-28-2016 04:10 PM)BlazerFromMD Wrote:  

(11-28-2016 09:24 AM)4thDownBlazer Wrote:  I was looking at south Florida's program and was thinking how they have only been playing football since 1997, yet accomplished a lot. I think this should be a program we try to become over the next few years. In 19 seasons they have been and are going to their 8th bowl game. Also have reached a number 2 national ranking after only playing for 8 years, and this year they are playing for the American Conference Championship. They also play in an oversized stadium in a state where there are plenty of other teams that are more relevant and higher fan base. . Just a thought.

The AAC championship game is between Navy and Temple. Temple beat USF head-to-head, winning the tie-breaker.

Thanks.