After FIU fled, reason USF stuck with I-AA “not simple”

Posted Sep 18, 2009 by Brett McMurphy

Updated Sep 18, 2009 at 02:43 PM

For all intents and purposes Saturday night’s University of South Florida game is basically a doesn’t-count-toward-bowl-eligibility-exhibition against Charleston Southern.

Win or lose – and USF should win big, real big – it will not count toward USF’s number of victories needed to become bowl eligible.

That’s the harsh reality for the Bulls, who are playing their second game in three weeks against a member of the FCS. The NCAA allows FBS teams, such as USF, to count only one win a year against FCS teams, but the Bulls already defeated a FCS team (Wofford) in their opener.

So how did USF get in this predicament? Like most things related to college athletics these days, money played a key role.

In 2005, USF and Florida International signed a three-game deal with two games scheduled in Tampa. USF won the first two games in 2006 at USF and 2008 at FIU. But in January the Golden Panthers notified USF they would pay the $200,000 buy out to cancel this year’s game in Tampa.

FIU then turned around and signed a home-and-home series with Rutgers. The teams will play Saturday in Piscataway, N.J., with Rutgers visiting FIU next season.

Since the inception of USF’s program in 1997, USF has played at least one FCS (formerly called Division I-AA) school every season. And as long as Jim Leavitt is USF’s coach, the Bulls will continue to play one each year.

But how did USF get stuck with two FCS schools after FIU bought out of the game? Leavitt said there’s not a simple answer.

“There’s so many things that come into play,” Leavitt said. “It’s not just, ‘If this or that.’ It’s not that simple.

“There’s money – how much you’re going to pay people, who’s willing to come here and who’s wanting to? – the dates, the conference, there’s a lot of things that come into play with scheduling. There just is. There just isn’t one straight answer.”

With only 11 games and the season eight months away, the Bulls, who paid Wofford $300,000, were forced to up the ante to get Charleston Southern. USF is paying CSU $450,000, the same amount the school received for playing at the University of Florida two weeks ago. By comparison, USF will only receive $500,00 for playing at UF next season.

USF may have been able to find a Division I BCS or non-BCS school instead of Charleston Southern, but those games usually come with a price tag between $600,000 and $1 million – something USF can’t afford at this time.

That’s why last week USF played at Western Kentucky, in its first season as a FBS member, as part of a home-and-home series with the Hilltoppers, instead of paying WKU to come to Tampa for one game.

“It’s so hard to find people to play when you look at the money,” Leavitt said. “We got caught with two I-AA’s (FCS teams).

“It’s so hard to find teams to play you; to buy teams to come in to your place is an awful lot of money. We’re not in a position to do that. We’ve had to play some teams like (Western Kentucky) and travel.

“It’s something you’d rather not do, but that’s the way it is.”