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USF: For the fans

By BRUCE LOWITT

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 30, 2001

STADIUM: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa

CAPACITY: USF configuration seats 41,441.

TICKETS: Tickets for home games are $15 for the Sept 15, Oct. 27 and Nov. 10 games (vs. I-AA teams) and $18 for the Sept. 29, Oct. 13, Nov. 3 and Nov. 24 games (vs. I-A teams) and may be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets or the USF Sun Dome box office. Season tickets are $115 for seven home games. Call (813) 987-6816.

PARKING: Reserved parking for season-ticket holders is $70.

TV/RADIO: Fox Sports Net and WMOR-TV (Ch. 32); WQYK-AM 1010, WDCF-AM 1350, Dade City.

WHAT'S NEW

BACK TO THE FUTURE: The transition season from Division I-AA to I-A was last year, playing four games against the big boys. This year, make it eight. Two are against Memphis and Houston, teams the Bulls will join in Conference USA in 2003. They also play Liberty, a Division I-AA team they've pounded three times. , Liberty the Hopponent, providing a viUSF Nov. 3 was made.

THE LAST OF THE ORIGINALS: Five seniors -- running back Derrick Rackard, cornerback Bernard Brown, safety Joe Morgan, wide receiver Alvin Salter and linebacker Anthony Williams -- are the only players from the Class of '97, USF's debut season. Rackard played on special teams in all 11 games as a freshman and, in the opener vs. Kentucky Wesleyan, had eight carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. Brown became a starter five games into his freshman season. Williams injured a knee and was a medical redshirt in '97, and Morgan and Salter red-shirted that year.

DO YOU FEEL A DRAFT: Perhaps one of USF's greatest moments on the national scene came April 22, when NFL director of operations Gene Washington mused: "This must be some kind of record ... " He had just announced the first three draft choices in the fourth round: tackle Kenyatta Jones to New England, defensive back Anthony Henry to Cleveland and place kicker Bill Gramatica to Arizona -- all from I-AA South Florida. "Just think," former Bulls defensive end Shawn Hay said when he signed a free-agent contract with San Francisco, "Five years ago we were nervous to be playing against Kentucky Wesleyan. New we're at this point. It's mind-boggling." USF leaves I-AA with a 27-17 record.

CHANGING FACES, CHANGING PLACES: Former Sarasota High and Gaither coach Mike Hobbie is USF's offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, replacing Mike Canales, who went to North Carolina State. Hobbie was the Bulls tight ends coach and special-teams coordinator in 1997, their inaugural season, and has appeared in two movies, The Replacements and Remember the Titans. Rod Smith is the Bulls passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, filling the position left vacant when Scott Bruning left for South Dakota. Leroy Ryals Jr., coach and athletic director at Sarasota Booker High School, is USF's new running backs coach, replacing Calvin Magee, who went to West Virginia.

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