original believers

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http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/rood-helped-usf-football-way-back-when/

Rood Helped USF Football Way Back When

Posted By Tom McEwen at Oct 17, 2007 at 06:19 PM

Updated Oct 17, 2007 at 06:25 PM

Lunched the other day at the Palma Ceia Grill with two big shots.  One was Judge John Germany; the other was Burke Kibler, premier attorney and former chairman of the Florida Board of Regents (1969-71).  We did not discuss our days at the University of Florida when we were roommates with Jim Vidal and Bob Weadock.  What we discussed was being talked about at all other tables, which was the University of South Florida, and its No. 2 national ranking, the 6-0 start, the mention on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and how unlikely those developments seem to be.

I mean, jeez!

“We needed some good news around here and we got it,’’ said Kibler, was a member of the Board of Regents from 1967 to 1976 who has been a supporter of USF for all of the college’s life.

“Wow!’’ strong language for the former judge.

One of the promises of the for-football majority in the state was good, widespread publicity. The Bulls are certainly getting it now.

If they can only beat Rutgers up there Thursday night.

Tall task. But, no taller than the Bulls being No. 2 in polls behind only Ohio State, and the best story in sports today. They are a feel-good story, an upset story, well, a sports heroics story, the best kind.

Rutgers is old as football. USF is a today story, one begun not too long ago.

About a decade ago, former USF President Jack Brown, a good one, told former Athletic Director **** Bowers, now an executive at the Museum for Science and Industry, to look into starting football with $100,000 seed money. Bowers clicked his heels, saluted, about-faced and went straight to the elegant offices of longtime attorney Ed Rood.

“I told Ed,’’ Bowers said. “He wanted football, to support and what he thought it would do for the city and USF. And he wrote out a promissory note to me for $100,000 and said he could raise more, which he would do. I called you, told you, and you met us back at USF and we were on our way.’’

They hired Jim Leavitt from Kansas State, still here and happy to be here. Turned down an offer from Alabama  and had another courtship later  and is still here and has put USF football where it is today. It was a wonderful decision for us, USF and Leavitt.

All newspapers and TVs and other media have been charmed by USF and its attitude, charm and success  classy success. Most of the football world, including the media, is hungry for those traits in a man of good will and deeds, and Leavitt and the athletic staff exhibit just that.

This certainly justifies all of the ambitions of all involved all along the way, including those of the foresight of congressman Sam Gibbons, all of the USF leaders including current President Judy Genshaft, and of course Jack Brown and the late Ed Rood. Gibbons was the powerful congressman who saw to it that the vast campus is where it is today. Now the Bulls have a great and profitable home at Raymond James Stadium, but a stadium site set aside on campus at the northeast corner of Fowler and 30th Street remains there if USF ever chooses to move its home field to campus  not now in the plans.

Rood saw some of his success realized but not all. He died in April 2000. But you and I have, Bowers has, Leavitt has and former presidents Brown and Francis Borkowski, and the energetic Betty Castor and current go-getter president Genshaft have and all of the others have. It’s been a great run, leading to today when we await the game at Rutgers.

I’m not allowed to say Go Bulls (!), but Germany and Kibler can and they did, and somewhere Ed Rood is saying it, loudly.

He got it going when he put his “100,000 where his promise was,’’ Bowers said. “I thought about Ed and the day he kept his promise when we had a sellout at the game at the Ray Jay the other night. Can you imagine?’’ asked Bowers.

Sure we could, Judge Germany and Kibler, original believers, nodded.