USF football's season ticket sales are holding up relatively well in a difficult economy, with the current total for season tickets at 92 percent of where the Bulls were one year ago, USF executive associate athletic directo Bill McGillis said Thursday night.
USF has sold 19,483 season tickets, with another 3,214 reserved for miscellaneous things like trade, staff, operations and spirit squads for a total of 22,697 tickets, according to McGillis. The Bulls have what should still be the Big East's largest student section at 12,501 reserved seats as well.
USF set a record last season with more than 27,000 season tickets, so the Bulls will need a busy next two months to come close to that total -- season tickets will be sold until USF's second home game, on Sept. 19 against Charleston Southern. The Bulls have two I-AA opponents as their opening home games, but also have a much anticipated game with Miami in November and West Virginia also coming to Tampa.
On July 15 last summer, we wrote that USF was at nearly 24,000, and the current number of 22,697 would put them within 1,300 or so of that pace. And it's ahead of what we wrote in July 2007 -- before the first run to No. 2 in the national rankings, etc. -- when USF said it had sold 17,800 in late July.
USF will roll out its mainstream advertising campaign over the next few weeks, capitalizing on the "fan experience" at Raymond James Stadium and a price plan that was found to be the least expensive in BCS football in a survey by the Oregonian newspaper.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
They may have dropped the brahman from the name but that is still the bull that identifies USF. When they were trying to get a real bull for a mascot a couple of years ago, it was a BRAHMA BULL! Doesn't matter. Brahma bulls HAD horns all along. GO BULLS!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 13, 2009 at 07:25 AM
I may be wrong, but I think we're just the Bulls now, not the Brahmans or Golden Brahmans or years past.
Posted by: Ken | July 12, 2009 at 03:33 PM
So, Tom last I checked we were the Bulls and we dropped the Brahman from our name years ago. So the "sign" can be used, funny how so many people are "freaking out" over this...
MANY, MANY teams copy each other. In the SEC alone I hear 5 different songs that every team in the SEC has their own rendition...
WHO CARES...
Posted by: Bulliever | July 11, 2009 at 02:14 PM
Tom, you are an idiot!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 11, 2009 at 01:45 PM
A true Brahman Bull does not have horns. The only Brahmans that have Horns are the one's that are cross bread with Steer. A typical Brahman Bull is known to be a docile animal that has a fatty deposit on their shoulder and necks, they are not known for their horns.
Posted by: Tom | July 11, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Bonus points for the John Williams shoutout. He's the best ...
Posted by: G.A. | July 10, 2009 at 08:29 PM
Of course ESPN took the other paper's story in their Big East blog...
GA you are correct in the industry standard by using that percentage. That would be like the Rays saying their ticket sales are down from last year's total for the season after 42 home games this year...
Posted by: Jonny | July 10, 2009 at 05:38 PM
Gator Fan,
While we are at it, why does UF use the theme from "Jaws" as one of the cheers? I thought John Williams used that as the score from the movie "Jaws"? Why would an Aligator have that same theme as the shark?? Can UF even tell the difference between a croc or gator??
Posted by: Bull Daly | July 10, 2009 at 04:37 PM
Class of 97 ... I don't think you count those as paid season tickets, but they're distributed as season tickets, so USF counts them toward the total. My understanding is that it's the standard in the industry ..
Posted by: G.A. | July 10, 2009 at 04:34 PM
Thanks Greg, that answers my question about the newspaper headlines. I noticed that the Trib likes to put those negative head lines out there for USF while the Times selects better headlines. It seems the Trib cant really stand USF at times.
Posted by: Bull Daly | July 10, 2009 at 04:31 PM
Gator fan,
Why does Mich St fans do the same thing as the Gator chomp or whatever you call it?? It is an honest question. Why do the Mich St Spartans use the same chomp???
Posted by: Bull Daly | July 10, 2009 at 04:28 PM
The tough question about the horns? I already answered that. Texas steers are NOT the only ones with horns! Take a look around and you just might notice that the Brahman Bull has.....HORNS! I'm a little surprised that with ALL that harvard(HAHAHAHAHAHAHA) of the south education that you would have known that yourself. GO BULLS! U
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 10, 2009 at 04:07 PM
USFBullsBabe, I noticed you CAN NOT answer my questions, can you?
Typical USF, can't deal with the tough stuff.
Posted by: GatorSphere | July 10, 2009 at 03:53 PM
3,214 reserved for miscellaneous things like trade, staff, operations and spirit squads
Can you really count those as paying season tickets?
Wait til FSU comes to play here, Season tickets will really spike that year.
Posted by: USFClassof97 | July 10, 2009 at 03:52 PM
You have to make another donation. That is why my wifes name is on the other account. Bulliever if you ever need any tickets let me know. They are on the east side, but are all on the 50 and club access. We don't always use them all. GO BULLS!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 10, 2009 at 03:51 PM
I'm buying my season tix sometime next week!
Posted by: Timmy | July 10, 2009 at 03:42 PM
I would buy more tickets if they let me...
Unfortunately the ticket office limits us to just 8 :(
Just 4 more would be great...
Posted by: Bulliever | July 10, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Wow, I never knew that only Texas steers had horns!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 10, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Gator, I clicked on your link to see what you're all about and every single post you have ever written is extremely negative. You should just end it all now if you're that unhappy with everything. Just sayin' - you'd be doing yourself a favor there, pal.
Posted by: USFBullsBabe | July 10, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Why is it that USF marketed its season tickets last summer with players and Coach Leavitt doing the "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign? Why did USF steal a longstanding Univ. of Texas tradition? Is USF football and the athletic dept. THAT lame? Seriously, I would like to know how USF and its fans can so blatantly rip off something like that.
Posted by: GatorSphere | July 10, 2009 at 12:03 PM
I got an extra few people to get tickets this year too, so hopefully that's me doing my part to keep us up there in the ticket sales.
Posted by: Jemal | July 10, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Bull Daly -- as a general rule, the writers have nothing to do with the headlines you read in the newspaper. This blog is pretty much self-produced, so if I'm writing the post, I'm the one writing the headline here. Hope that answers your question ...
Posted by: G.A. | July 10, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Steve, I made the same observation last night. There's two different reads on the same situation -- I just don't think it's fair to compare the ticket sales now to the final number in September, especially if you have a more direct comparison from a year ago today.
To me, it'd be like writing a story in Week 13 about how Earnest Graham had rushed for 1,000 yards last year, but had only rushed for 700 yards so far this season. He's not down 30 percent, because he's not done gaining yards yet.
I'm not saying the other read is wrong, it's just not the way I would work the math.
Posted by: G.A. | July 10, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Maybe Greg can help me on this, but do the writers have the authority to pick the title of an article?? I have heard that it was someone else that picks the titles for the articles. Not so sure, but I figure that you would know. Thanks!
Posted by: Bull Daly | July 10, 2009 at 10:47 AM
I hate "those we don't speak of as well." He has a disdain for the Bulls and should be reassigned to prep school news or something. I stopped reading his cr@p like 6 months ago. Greg, you are the best Bulls reporter around and we all know it!
I got my season tickets and I know my friends are looking into the free food deal - does anyone know if those vouchers can be used for beer also?
Posted by: USFBullsBabe | July 10, 2009 at 09:49 AM
Steve,
That's why I stopped even reading that other guy altogether. The only time I hear about one of his stories is on the Bullspen. If we all ignore him, he might just eventually go away.
Posted by: SailingBull | July 10, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Isn't USF really only down about 5.5% from last year's pace? If USF is 1300 off of 24,000 last year at this time, that's under 6%. Obviously it's too early to compare current sales vs total sales for the year.
Posted by: Joe P | July 10, 2009 at 08:50 AM
Funny how two local papers can run the same story and just reading the headlines you get two totally different views. I'm sure some will be calling you soft on USF, Greg. I believe that yours is the most accurate because it measures against the same time as last year, acknowledging that more tickets will be sold. The other headline makes it appear as USF is definitely going to be down 18% from last year. I appreciate your hard work and unbiased reporting. Thank you!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | July 10, 2009 at 07:36 AM