The Rise and Fall… and Maybe Rise Again of the South Florida Bulls
Time to sober up
Most of us know this story. Some know better than me. Many of you watched from the stands when Ben Moffitt took it the other way. Some of you were there when Jim Leavitt took em out for the first game ever. I was still in high school when Grothe hit Hester in the corner, but I have loved college football for as long as I can remember. When I applied to USF it was just after this:
An image now that is haunting to most Bulls fans. UCF twitter seems to memorialize this now on our behalf, a ritual they think means something it does not when they shove it in our faces. Most of us have disdain for this image, as we had no idea it was a cliff we would fall off of. A ghost that would haunt us. But I was a young college football fan and USF was the underdog with a big right hook. It could drop anyone with a clean shot. The definition of a punchers chance. That’s why I applied, not the ranking. And I did get some great memories of that fighter. I was there when we marched an army of green shirted maniacs into Doak Campbell Stadium in 2009 and gave FSU an absolute beating. They had some talent that kept them close but our defense beat that ass. But more shockingly a block of green behind the end zone drowned out their entire stadium. It was the college football version of 300.
We gave them nothing. And took from them everything.
But as BJ Daniels Daniels era ended and the sun set on our BCS Conference the Big East, the wheels came off and the fans checked out. The dangerous boxer that USF once was, was now gone. But why?
Well everyone knows how former President Judy Genshaft saw football. A shiny accessory attached to her academic rising star. And its success was something she enjoyed, but not something she was interested in ensuring. Throw in an incompetent AD, followed by another one who had his eyes on the door his entire tenure. Football was left to simply exist. The only problem was this was a transformational time in the sport. A BCS conference collapsed. We were no longer in the “power” class of the sport. The arms race of facilities was being won by those ahead of the curve. Even UCF threw up a shed for an indoor facility. Because all you needed to do was show you cared. USF stuck with the Morsani football “complex” (grass fields) and even let the sign/gate get grimy. Another USF President came and went, who again paid nothing but lip service to football.
Each year fan engagement slipped and slipped. A four year class at USF saw nothing but failure from the team. A (4 year) generation of fans lost. They had no reason to drive to Raymond James. They never had the fun. They never really cared.
The team became listless. Saved for a heartbeat by a class of athletes we had never seen. Quinton Flowers, Marlon Mack, D’Ernest Johnson, Valdez-Scantling, Auggie Sanchez, Tyree McCants among many names. 2016 and 2017 became a blip of success, but wasn’t like the old USF. While it was an absolute thrill ride to watch those boys score at will… the stadium was still empty-ish. They couldn’t quite beat FSU nor did they win the ever elusive conference title. I loved it don’t get me wrong. It had the pizazz, but it lacked the punch. Mostly from the fans, student section, and the community (and a little bit the defense). 20+ odd weeks in the top 25 and we couldn’t force them to open the upper deck of Raymond James.
So the melting pot of failure includes presidents, ADs, but let’s not forget the coaches…
Skip Holtz the man brought in to replace a legend Jim Leavitt in what appeared to be a “we need to go to the next level” move, but in reality it nuked recruiting. Bringing in dawgs from the state richest in talent was no longer the mission. He rode BJ Daniels for a bit, but his coaching ability combined with USF’s inept leadership and lack of investment mired us in complete failure. Don’t worry we overpaid him 👍🏻.
Follow that with Willie Taggart. A man who left a winner but not a hero. The offense he started with was like watching football in 1960, except with more false start penalties. We’ve covered Quinton Flowers and company saving the day. But Taggart ghosted to Oregon before his last bowl. Leaving behind a roster that was absolutely stacked and ready to go all the way. (For the record I’m fine with people pursuing their career in full - if someone walks in my door to double the salary I’m not even turning in my work cell to IT I’m leaving it on my desk). Either way - he left and USF let it happen. Maybe there was nothing to be done - but we didn’t get a big check when he left which seems to happen other places (1.7 mil vs Heupel 3.5 mil) 👍🏻.
Bring in Charles “Chuck” Strong. This wound is too fresh to really dive into. I’ll say 3 things. Incompetent. Apathetic. And the worst post game interview in all of sports. Had a nice run with his predecessors players as did Holtz, but when his guys filled the locker room it got toxic and ugly quickly. Luckily, we paid him a lot to leave (3.1 mil) 👍🏻.
I think a great many of you know this saga. I covered it to make your blood boil and in fill in readers who didn’t.
But here we are today. At a crossroads. One path leading to a wildly entertaining 30 for 30: The USF Bulls: the story of the team whose meteoric rise to #2 was only matched by its epic collapse into nothingness. The alternate path being the rebirth of a program to its former greatness. And it may never be a top tier program, but that’s not even what I’m after. All I want is to see that boxer step back into the ring. With Florida dawgs and some Bay Made riders on the roster. That infamous right hook locked and loaded.
That’s what USF was. That’s what I want back.
Things that need to happen:
Jeff Scott absolutely has to land. If you read the fall [space] camp stack I explained why. His culture absolutely must translate into dubs.
Rhea Law must keep football in the corner of her eye. She’s got a lot on her plate - but branding the university outside the classroom/laboratory matters. Football is powerful in this regard and I think she gets it.
King Kelly can’t miss on the swing. I can’t say a cross word about this man save some coaching decisions/timing. He’s on the grind for USF. But we can’t be sending out any documents with misspellings. That wasn’t him and that wasn’t why we weren’t called up, but it cannot happen again. All the little things matter. This time around it won’t be a submission package, but more an ongoing process. Let’s hope he nails it - I think he will. But also my guy you need to win that War on I4 all sports trophy and ya need to do it soon. They may have football momentum but get the rest of the house in order.
The fans have to step up. Season tickets are $99 and you get $100+ worth of gifts. If you don’t buy at least one you’re part of the problem. The atmosphere sucks when we don’t ride out. And the players know this. I don’t care if it’s hot and I don’t care if there is something else to do and I don’t care if the team is only 3-3 and I don’t care if you have Bucs tickets the next day. Get your ass to the stadium.
The university has to step up in a huge way. Drag the “sports” writers you have at The Oracle off of campus and expel them from the university. We as alumni are sick of piss poor articles being pumped into the student body. Advertise the games. A stadium is going to revolutionize student engagement with football, but for now we’re fixing the little things. Also make sure football imagery is on all your outgoing products to future/potential students.
Social media is dragging. On both sides. Athletics needs to pump out practice clips to excite us, not dudes walking around back to the locker room. Graphics team is good, but why do I see other programs social media and think it’s just a bit better. Hire someone to fix this. Fans we need to be swarming. Likes, comments, follows, retweets. Every clip. Every post. Every team. Every recruit. Everything USF. Even poorly written blogs #LordsWork.
Conference - nothing we can do but buy tickets, donate, and pray. This is pivotal. I cannot blame fans who aren’t coming out to watch Rice in 2025.
USF Athletics - Make game day special. The spring game is the model. Great atmosphere. New light show is nice after scores. Turn up the entertainment and bring back some of the classic music from when we were knocking people out. If students can’t get a free parking pass in a carpool of 4, that would be counterproductive no? This may be in place I don’t know, but it’s better than the busses. Get into the schools. Elementary and middle school. Athlete drop ins on youth sports. Free tickets. Promo swag (think free pencils/folders). You want to be in the minds of the future fans of Tampa Bay sports - well go get em. Is anything happening at other programs/departments that isn’t happening here? How much are you looking?
Lock Down the Bay - I think we’re trying to do this. Coaching staff is working the circuit. Hopefully relationships can overcome our stench of losing. Is NIL part of the answer? I don’t know. If we were to get into a better conference - no three stars we want should be getting on I4 or 75. And 4 stars better have a damned good reason.
Coverage - Tampa Bay Times needs to step it up. Matt Baker can write - but doesn’t understand the fan base. He thinks it’s hard hitting and factual but it comes off as disinterested and a burden for him when he covers USF. Joey is great but get us some bigger chunks of the printed edition. Color shots. And let’s get some player spotlights, especially if they are from the Bay. It’s print media, don’t tell me there’s no room. If you’re from Tampa and you are starting for the Bulls - TBT needs to spotlight this. Full interview. I’m seeing more and more outside sources creeping in on Bulls coverage - maybe they will do it.
If we want our fighter back in the ring for real - we have to do the behind the scenes work. The little things. We need Tampa Bay back in its corner. But I think if we can get back to who we were it will be worth it. You’ll know USF is truly “back” when the progrums’ vibe on game day looks like this:
