I heard years ago that the dude that donated the land to usf did so with the stipulation that a football stadium would never be constructed on campus.
usf has had poor leadership (sports wise) at the top since 1960. Univ presidents tolerate football and basketball etc. They had the shot some years back when University mall, across from the school, was basically empty and on the market. Buy it, demo most of it, build a stadium with first class sports facilities, ground lease all the out parcels for retail, medical, etc. which creates NOI. They sat on their thumbs. The golf course is a goat farm The driving range limits you to a 5 iron or less. They considered selling it. Who would sell land across from a university in the state of FL? Idiots would think of such foolishness. They have little support from the community, students, etc. They lose money in football every single year and are now using the State of FL legislature to fund most of the cost of the on campus football stadium. They will be in for a surprise as to the cost. The cost over runs will be in mega millions. They have a few major donors but not enough. They also do little to connect w/ alums and keep them engaged.
What I don’t get is they built a training facility for the golfers a while back. Then all of a sudden things went downhill with the course. If they actually took care of the course it had a challenging layout. Haven’t been their in years because they were double booking tee times and the maintenance was lacking. I heard they condemned the club house and working out of a trailer ?
They dont have money. They dont make money. They dont know how to raise money and "Keep" the donors long term. Football loses money, about $2-2.5 M per year. So they dont have say some $10 or $25 M to invest in golf or other sports. Without serious money from football, they are unable to hire football assistants, maintain golf courses, pay for quality coaches in minor sports, or even "host" the boosters properly. A booster invited me a few years ago to a basketball game. It was a major top 25 type opponent. First, the pregame buffet dinner for the boosters was more like a Duffs or 99er buffet. It was in a room in the arena that was "cave like". The crowd was less than 2,500 (announced). It was rather depressing. The game was good but everything else was small time. 20- 25 years ago, in an effort to boost basketball in the community, they invited a large group of guys, about 50-75 of us, (95% men) who would be potential season ticket buyers or at least supporters. I was one. I went with some buddies. It was vs Cinn who had some All Amer big guy. They had a pre game dinner of cuban sandwiches which were soggy and awful (not really cubans) and beer in a small cup (more useable for a urine sample). Afterward, the consensus was they have no money.
I got thrown off that course in the 70s for being a wild ass. I just remember if you hit it out of bounds from the skinny fairways, it was into a swamp...you weren’t going to find it. Good idea to put the land to better use.
If UCF can be a pretend football power then so can USF, give them a few years and they can also claim some made up national titles.
Im sure Scott is walking away with a nice chunk of change, so he can chill at the beach for awhile and decide in the off season which of his buds he wants to go work for. As for USF, I think they eventually get an off campus stadium. Just need a few more bucks and that would help get a good coach. I agree Frost would be a great hire if he is even interested. Ive been to concerts in the Yuengling center, seemed like a good venue to me. Same with their baseball facility which is next door.
Reading this thread reminded me of college football in Tampa pre-USF when a small university played some dang good football in the old sombrero. Names like Leon McQuay, Noah Jackson, Freddie Solomon, John Matuzak, Orndoff.
I was ball boy for the UT Spartans 1970. McQuay was the greatest RB I ever saw. Like Barry Sanders, he could go all the way at any moment. Tough as nails too Freddie was the whole team when he was there. A genuinely down to earth, good person. The good ol days at Tampa Stafium no doubt.
USF should reach out to Sanders. He is not ready for an SEC HC job. USF would make more sense. He can put his stamp on the program with them wanting to build an on campus stadium. The house that PrimeTime built. It would prepare him for his eventual jump to FSU.
Recruiting for him would be a breeze, he wouldn't have to leave the state. He would lure most of the high 3 star guys that go to strong G5/low P5 schools and land a few 4/5 stars off of his reputation. The boosters would throw money at him.
He could but is he ready for it? His long term success depends on measured steps. Jump to an Auburn and fail and he is done on the P5 level, maybe even as a HC.
My dad was an All American at the University of Tampa waaaay back in 1960. He played guard and nose tackle back when a solid lineman weighed 225 lbs. He was crushed when the “egghead administration did away with the football program in the dead of night with no input from the alumni and boosters”. That was long before my time but I remember vividly my father telling stories about the glory days and the program’s sudden end. When I was a little kid going to Bucs games at the Big Sombrero there was a wall with Sword and Shield Club boosters on it and dad’s name was prominently displayed.
