Bianchi Tops the Locals

[Triple B]

10 hours ago, Brad said:

Yes.  I have gone back and grabbed some of those old archived articles but you have to have a membership to do so.  
 

https://tbo.newspapers.com/

Perfect ..... having a bit of time registering but will keep trying.

[CousinRicky]

13 hours ago, Brad said:

Yes.  I have gone back and grabbed some of those old archived articles but you have to have a membership to do so.  
 

https://tbo.newspapers.com/

 

 

Tried logging in with my TBT credentials but no go.

[Brad]

It's a pay service for the archive....

On a related note, I have sold the first one million TheBullsPen posts to a third party.  Beginning next week, any content from back when we were winning will cost you dearly.  All proceeds go to the Stadium.

[TallyBull]

On 6/18/2023 at 9:19 PM, Triple B said:

Ok, you piqued my interest enough to take a chance on it. Although I still think it's mostly self serving because us joining them would be in UCF's best interest, meaning Bianchi's best interest, he exemplified the worn out cliches about broken clocks and blind squirrels with this pearl of wisdom:

Let’s face it, the main reason UCF got into the Big 12 wasn’t because the Knights had an on-campus stadium; it was because they had back-to-back unbeaten seasons in 2017 and ’18 and built a national brand. If the roles were reversed and USF had been the “hot” program when the Big 12 was realigning, the Bulls would be in the big-time and UCF would be left behind.

Regarding this Bianchi quote, I'm not so sure it was the main reason that C. Florida was invited over USF, although I'm sure it helped (to say the very least).

When comparing the two, I think the clear financial investments C. Florida has made, which USF did not make, were probably decisive. Back in the day I distinctly remember arguing with lots of posters on this site that USF needed an OCS to compete with other schools, but the rejoinder was always "we can't afford it" (echoing today's criticisms in the St. Pete TImes and Oracle) and "RJS is an awesome stadium and a selling point to recruits." I'm not sure we can afford the OCS any more today than we could back then, but here we are. How might have things worked out differently if Genshaft and Co. been willing to make significant financial investments in athletics?  

Another factor that is often not mentioned or minimized is the local competition. Orlando in some ways is more like a typical college town in that there is very little competition in the sports market (the Magic being the only pro sports team). In Tampa, you've got lots of options (Bucs, Lightning, Rays, even Rowdies), making for a more crowded sports market. I can understand why the Big 12 might take a gamble on C. Florida over USF with these background facts. And the fact C. Florida was also playing good football at the time (while we were not) just made it an easier sell to the  rest of the Big 12. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by TallyBull

[Triple B]

36 minutes ago, TallyBull said:

Regarding this Bianchi quote, I'm not so sure it was the main reason that C. Florida was invited over USF, although I'm sure it helped (to say the very least).

When comparing the two, I think the clear financial investments C. Florida has made, which USF did not make, were probably decisive. Back in the day I distinctly remember arguing with lots of posters on this site that USF needed an OCS to compete with other schools, but the rejoinder was always "we can't afford it" (echoing today's criticisms in the St. Pete TImes and Oracle) and "RJS is an awesome stadium and a selling point to recruits." I'm not sure we can afford the OCS any more today than we could back then, but here we are. How might have things worked out differently if Genshaft and Co. been willing to make significant financial investments in athletics?

They took the 3 G5's with best football results over the last decade so I'm not sure if it even was an us vs them. It was those 3 against the rest of the G5, some with just as nice of facilities as UCF, and it sure looks like they were trying to replace football identities to replace what they lost.

 

Quote

Another factor that is often not mentioned or minimized is the local competition. Orlando in some ways is more like a typical college town in that there is very little competition in the sports market (the Magic being the only pro sports team). In Tampa, you've got lots of options (Bucs, Lightning, Rays, even Rowdies), making for a more crowded sports market. I can understand why the Big 12 might take a gamble on C. Florida over USF with these background facts. And the fact C. Florida was also playing good football at the time (while we were not) just made it an easier sell to the  rest of the Big 12.

I don't think it was a direct factor but it's what allowed them to build the fanbase the way they did and their financial profile could also have been a noted factor ....

[Dave_Glaser]

The fretting we’ve done over the lack of investment in athletics seems to ring a bit hollow these days. USF’s leadership clearly had its sights and its budgets focused on pre-eminent and AAU status and they’ve won the national championship there. It was the right call. If the new focus on funding athletics ultimately pays off with a stadium full of fans and an invitation from a major conference, we’ll find ourselves among the finest and most well-rounded universities in the nation.

[Triple B]

1 hour ago, Dave_Glaser said:

The fretting we’ve done over the lack of investment in athletics seems to ring a bit hollow these days. USF’s leadership clearly had its sights and its budgets focused on pre-eminent and AAU status and they’ve won the national championship there. It was the right call. If the new focus on funding athletics ultimately pays off with a stadium full of fans and an invitation from a major conference, we’ll find ourselves among the finest and most well-rounded universities in the nation.

What if there is no invite that comes ...... ?

[CousinRicky]

2 minutes ago, Triple B said:

What if there is no invite that comes ...... ?

We still have AAU ???  Edit: And $200 million in debt.

Edited June 28, 2023 by CousinRicky

[Outlaw]

3 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

We still have AAU ???  Edit: And $200 million in debt.

We have an OCS and hopefully are winning more football games to help pay off some debt.

[Triple B]

11 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

We still have AAU ???  Edit: And $200 million in debt.

We'll have both those, invite or no invite .....