Building Tradition at USF Links Fans to the Athletics Department

Any real USF fan knows that the Bulls' athletics program is rather unestablished. Yes, they've competed in soccer and baseball for decades, and they're in one of the major conferences in the NCAA, but what the USF athletics department lacks is tradition. It's likely due to the fact that football is what people care about most in college athletics, and South Florida only started playing football less than 15 years ago. In recent years, many fans such as myself have implored the fans to support the Bulls any way they can to build a stronger fanbase and increase awareness of the teams. A bit of national exposure didn't hurt either, with USF jumping up in the football polls in various years and the soccer team succeeding nearly every season, but seats at USF games still remained empty.

Volleyball Wins Conference Thriller at Home

At a time where the USF Volleyball team could really use a quality conference victory, the Bulls took five sets and a little extra to put away Connecticut and move to 3-2 in Big East play. The whole night was ridden with close sets all the way through. In the first set, it took until both teams were tied at 23 before UConn finally was the team to score two in a row, giving them the close 25-23 win. In set 2, the Bulls battles UConn close until about the 15-point mark, when USF pulled away for a 25-19 win.

All tied up at 1 set each, USF came back out strong, with an unrelenting force out of the gate leading them to a 25-18 win, one set away from a match victory. The Bulls trailed for pretty much the entire fourth set before ultimately dropping that one, 25-20.

The fifth set went back and forth between both teams, exchanging one point after another. No one held more than a one-point lead for the first half of the set. USF finally came out of the first half ahead 8-7. The two teams continued to exchange point for point for the rest of the match, until USF came within one point of a victory. They led 14-13, with a chance to put away UConn in regulation. The Huskies won the point, tying it at 14 and ensuring some extra volleyball. Each point went back and forth; the Bulls went up a point, then it was tied. Then they went up again, then it was tied. It appeared that USF was unable to get that final point until the score reached 20-19, and a series of great blocks and perfectly-played saves allowed the ball to trickle over the top of the net and fall at the feet of three Connecticut ladies. USF had won the final set, 21-19.

Some stats from the match: Valerie El-Houssine was the kills leader for the match, with 21. Shelbie Dailey and Andrea Rodriguez-Gomez led both teams as well with 51 assists and 8 blocks respectively. Janice Rivera had a team-high 18 digs. USF will try and keep their momentum rolling on Sunday afternoon when they host Seton Hall (12-7, 3-1), who is directly ahead of the Bulls in the Big East standings. The match will begin at 2:00 p.m. in the USF Campus Recreation Center West Gymnasium.

Now Would be a Good Time to Start Panicking

Through all this chaos with conference expansion, USF has been left pretty unsure about their future for the past month or two. Over this last week, fans all over the country have been waiting to see what happens with Missouri, who has been indicating that they intend on making a jump out of the conference, although reports have not confirmed that the SEC is pursuing the Tigers. Now, the Big East has a whole new issue to worry about, as it became official today that the Big XII conference has invited TCU. Now, as the rest of the Big East awaits decisions from Missouri and BYU, we can only speculate on what the future holds for USF.

The addition of TCU brings the Big XII to 10 teams, officially (hinging on Missouri's decision). If Missouri leaves, the conference's number would be back down to 9. Louisville and BYU appear to be the most likely additions in the next step, and it would be a toss-up between Cincinnati and West Virginia to grab that 12th spot. USF would then have to sit on the end of their chairs and hope that the Big XII follows in the steps of the ACC and SEC and expands to 14 teams. As of right now, nothing is certain, and all USF can do is sit around and wait. At least it's football season.

Big East Will Live on, Just Not as We Know It

The guys at Big East Coast Bias can rest easy now, just as long as the Big East follows everything exactly as I say it. The Big East is going to lose its nine FBS members; we're beginning to make peace with that. But perhaps the conference was well prepared to be plucked after all, seeing as how they've got eight separate teams that don't play football at the FBS level. It's not going to be pretty, but there's still a fighting chance that the Big East can survive.

Miami Investigation May Ripple Up to Tampa

As many of you may have already seen, the University of Miami is under some serious heat from the NCAA after news surfaced from Yahoo! that a UM booster and convicted felon had given many impermissible benefits to Hurricane players over the years. This can only mean that Miami will be suffering greatly in the very near future (unless the NCAA decides to go all Ohio State on them and do nothing).

So what exactly does this mean for USF? Maybe nothing. But it will at least result in some recruits shunning UM's uncertain future and going to another state school, meaning USF possibly winning some big recruiting battles in the south part of the state. Players like Anthony Chickillo chose to play for the Canes instead of the Bulls this past season, but news of these allegations and their repercussions are likely to cause players to shy away from the prestigious "Big 3" school and spread out the recruits.

Last year before the USF-Miami game on Thanksgiving weekend, UM made it clear that after their current contract expires they would not be pursuing an extension of the series. Maybe they were afraid of being beaten by a "non-big 3" school. Maybe they just didn't see any benefit in keeping the Bulls around. Whatever the reason, it appears now things may be a bit different. In order to save their name, they may reconsider allowing the contract to expire and continue this potential rivalry.

In the wake of the recent conference realignment scare, many people have suggested that this could perhaps mean that USF will get an invitation to the ACC in an attempt to preserve their reputation. I don't personally see this happening, but there is always a possibility. So USF fans, don't get your hopes too high. This Miami stuff may mean some big recruits will be coming to Tampa in the near future, and maybe renewing the rivalry contract, but that's probably about it.

Women's Soccer Release 2011 Schedule

While you sit around waiting for football season to begin, why not be productive with your life and go support another excellent, rising USF program? That's right,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the start of the Fall semester not only means that football is here, it also means that it's time for that other kind of football...you know, the one where they use their feet.

There will be a pair of road exhibitions to begin the ladies' year, starting next Tuesday at Florida Gulf Coast, followed by a Friday match at Clemson. The Bulls take a week off before traveling to Orlando to open the regular season at Central Florida. Their first home stand in their brand new stadium will be the following weekend when they host Indiana on Friday and Alabama A&M on Sunday. On September 15th the Bulls begin their quest to improve on their success in Big East play with a rematch of the 2010 Big East championship game vs. West Virginia.

You can see the full schedule here.