Colleges

Bulls get three football games vs. FIU

By GREG AUMAN
Published May 11, 2005

Continuing a trend of promoting in-state rivalries, South Florida has finalized a deal to play three football games with Florida International, with the Bulls hosting games in 2006 and 2009 and traveling to Miami in 2008.

"It's a great series for us," FIU athletic director Rick Mello said Tuesday. "The home game gives us a date with local attraction, and it's great to have road games our fans can drive to. We really appreciate (USF athletic director Doug Woolard and associate AD Steve Horton) making this work for us."

USF has played one game against an in-state opponent in its eight-year history, but it will face three this fall, hosting Central Florida and Florida A&M and traveling to play Miami.

When the Bulls travel to FIU in 2008, it will be the Golden Panthers' second home game against a BCS conference opponent, following a 2007 game against Maryland. The game's location has been left open, and while it likely will be held at FIU's Golden Panther Stadium, Mello said the game could be played at the Orange Bowl.

USF's men's basketball team travels to FIU this season, the team's first trip there in 14 years.

WELCOME BACK: Ross Gload, the only Bulls alumnus in the majors, is back in the Tampa area this week as the White Sox play the Rays, though Gload is on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his left shoulder that has bothered him since spring training.

Gload, a first baseman who led all AL rookies with a .321 average last season, took his first practice swings in 10 days Tuesday and hopes to return to Chicago's active roster soon. After four springs with four franchises from 2000-03, he's glad to have some stability with Chicago in his second full season in the big leagues, though he still feels lucky to have his job.

"I'm always going to be that way. No matter where I've been, I've always been some kind of underdog," the 29-year-old said. "I was grateful I got one college scholarship offer, and that was USF, and it was the same thing when I got drafted. "We don't know if he can hit with a wood bat. ... We don't know if he can hit Double-A pitching.' Now I'm in the big leagues, and it's still, "How is he tricking us?' or whatever. I still enjoy every day."

Chicago (24-8) had baseball's best record entering Tuesday's game, and Gload left 10 tickets for family members, as his wife, Betsy, hails from Tampa. He still has the highest career average in Conference USA history with a .388 mark and is USF's career leader in home runs (54) and RBIs (241).

UP FOR BID: The Bulls hold one of their major annual fundraisers Saturday night at the Sun Dome with the USF Athletics Auction. Last year's event raised $130,000 for the program, and this year's goal is to surpass $200,000.

Among the donated items are packages to next year's Super Bowl and Final Four, a game-used skate signed by the Lightning's Martin St. Louis and seven pucks from last year's Stanley Cup final, and a trip to California for dinner with Days of Our Lives star and former USF baseball player Drake Hogestyn.

Admission for the dinner and auction is $100 per person, and fans interested can call (813) 974-7490 for information.

THIS AND THAT: After losing 12 of 19 games, USF's baseball team is tied for seventh in Conference USA with two weeks left in the regular season. Only eight teams make the C-USA tournament. The Bulls are 31/2 games up on ninth-place Charlotte, but they need a solid finish to avoid missing the tournament for the first time. USF hosts No. 10 Florida tonight. ... Saint Francis (Pa.), which signed St. Petersburg High point guard Marquis Ford last month, has talked with USF about scheduling a game in Tampa, likely in the 2006-07 season, to give Ford a homecoming game. ... Former Bulls softball stars Leigh Ann Ellis and Holly Groves were named to the C-USA All-Decade team unveiled on Tuesday.

Times staff writer Greg Auman covers USF athletics. Reach him at 813 226-3346 or auman@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 11, 2005, 00:46:18]