Important OCS Update

[SilverBull]

3 minutes ago, 00Bull said:

Where the student angle falls a bit flat for me is if you could make it to every game as a student, why can’t today’s students.

Just alternate home games in Ybor, SoHo and Channelside.

[belgianbull]

1 minute ago, 00Bull said:

Where the student angle falls a bit flat for me is if you could make it to every game as a student, why can’t today’s students. I’d feel more support for their cause if they were actually showing up in numbers over the past 5 years. Don’t forget, they moved the band into the student section years back to help fill it in. 

In thinking about the (missing) student body, I do wonder how much of the focus on academics has brought in the type of students who do not have much interest in football.  

When we start winning again student interest will grow. Open a new OCS student interest will grow. After we get into a better conference and we keep winning student interest will grow even more until we sell out our OCS regularly.

I was a student at USF in the early 2000"s, and in the beginning student interest was low, but then we started winning big games and getting ranked and student interest grew slowly until we were playing in front of a sold out stadium against WVU. It seems since we left the BE we haven't been consistently good long enough to rebuilt that momentum.

[Rocky Style]

5 minutes ago, belgianbull said:

was a student at USF in the early 2000"s, and in the beginning student interest was low, but then we started winning big games and getting ranked and student interest grew slowly until we were playing in front of a sold out stadium against WVU.

Same here it went from not seeing USF gear on campus to seeing it all over Tampa Bay.

[SilverBull]

43 minutes ago, 00Bull said:

4 hours ago, JAFFX2 said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/09/06/usf-football-stadium-interest-rates.html

The university of south florida has submitted revised financial projections regarding its planned on-campus football stadium ahead of a significant vote later this week.

If approved by the Florida Board of Governors on Friday, usf will build an approximately $340 million stadium and take out a $200 million loan to help pay for it. Truist Bank has quoted usf an interest rate of 7% on the loan, an increase of 1.5% from the originally projected rate.

Revenue projections from the stadium are now "fully dependent" on realizing consultants' estimates, which banked on over 30,000 fans attending each game, according to a Sept. 5 memo.

If usf's projected revenues can't be met, either the usf foundation would have to pick up the tab, or there would have to be cuts within the athletics department. Watkins wrote on Aug. 8 that usf's projections for increases in ticket revenue at the new stadium and in athletics revenue — including game guarantees, royalties and conference and NCAA distributions — are "arguably ambitious."

"The revisions to the projections for the project highlight the uncertainty of future financial performance," Ben Watkins, director of Florida's division of bond finance, wrote in the Sept. 5 memo to the board of governors.

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Interesting. Article foreshadowing something?

USF's OCS proponents just need to borrow the quote from the SMU benefactor from the article in the Conference Realignment thread:

 'It's a couple hundred million dollars. I'm not losing sleep over it.'

[BDYZR]

1 hour ago, Jim Johnson said:

And they told you they aren't showing up.  Did they at least say why?

Simply do not want go to RayJay. Kinda like Rays “fans” that won’t drive to the Trop.

[michibull]

1 hour ago, belgianbull said:

interest grew slowly

I think it grew slower because it was an off campus stadium. I truly believe that had we had a OCS, interest would have grown quicker because of the connivence of just walking across campus to get there; on the same point, we would’ve had better attendance during QF’s years because the students would see us at 4-2 and the attitude would be “hey, let’s check them out, I’ve got nothing going on for a bit.”  

[Bull Matrix]

2 minutes ago, michibull said:

I think it grew slower because it was an off campus stadium. I truly believe that had we had a OCS, interest would have grown quicker because of the connivence of just walking across campus to get there; on the same point, we would’ve had better attendance during QF’s years because the students would see us at 4-2 and the attitude would be “hey, let’s check them out, I’ve got nothing going on for a bit.”  

And to be fair USF attendance was among the best in 1AA during our early years before jumping up. I think USF attendance has not been that bad throughout our history compared to many other schools. If USF gets to move up again then we should see more interest imo

[Cat941]

1 hour ago, SilverBull said:

USF's OCS proponents just need to borrow the quote from the SMU benefactor from the article in the Conference Realignment thread:

 'It's a couple hundred million dollars. I'm not losing sleep over it.'

That's an amazing article on SMU and the ACC.   

[Cat941]

Inside SMU's pursuit of the Power Five — 'It's a couple hundred million dollars. I'm not losing sleep over it.'

SPORTS.YAHOO.COM

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SMU is headed for greener pastures in the ACC. How it all happened is a Texas-sized story filled with billionaires and big decisions.

 

[gibbsak]