It is an especially good time to be a member of the proud and admired Big East Conference, of which the University of South Florida is a proud member with another football season approaching.

The Bulls Jim Leavitt head coaches with extraordinary and demonstrative vocal sideline enthusiasm once more are in the “thick of it,’’ as he says, in advance, for the championship, and pleased to be.

“Heck yes,’’ he said yesterday on his car phone while on an emergency search for a backup kicker. A situation he never saw coming.

“Never do, do you? I mean, I think we are fine and then the other day, you know about it, one of our two kickers, Maikon Bonani, falls 35 feet from a Busch Gardens skyride and is lost for the season. And, he was trying to be a good guy and lock a ride gondola door to protect riders aboard, and fell. He’s going to be fine, thank heaven, but not for this season.  Got to find a backup to Delbert Alvarado, who was an all-around kicker early last year and is back.”

But, the Bulls will be fine with their old kicker and remain one of five teams in the title talk these days, with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and West Virginia. Cincinnati won it last year at 6-1. Cincinnati comes to the Raymond James Stadium to play USF after the Bulls begin their East play the weekend before at Syracuse. However, this fine season of USF will have already played the Seminoles at Florida State Sept. 26.

A bit later in this saleable schedule, USF is home on November 28 at RJS to the University of Miami Hurricanes. That one should sell out, as did Kansas last season.

Leavitt expects to be improved this season ahead. The fans do too. And so does the Big East, whose champ is assured of a big bowl bid.

The Bulls have some horses, none more important than the effective forever starting quarterback Matt Grothe and two-time All-America defensive end George Selvie. These two kids are studs. These Bulls are all-timers. Grothe is about 6-0 and 200 while Selvie is 6-4 and 245. The crafty Grothe is a run-or-pass danger always, has been there and wants to go back there.  Selvie will be a fine professional. Aaron Harris (6-5, 255) is at the other end, with Nate Allen strong at safety. This is a fine, well balanced team Leavitt has assembled at USF.  Nobody mentions the Big East Conference possibilities that does not include South Florida. That may be a circumstance that is here to stay. Leavitt has had the program on the right track, overall, for sometime, only diverted occasionally by a firestorm to rush it all.

It is coming. Indeed,  maybe this is the season just ahead.

“I don’t know about that, but we’ll give it our best and aggressive shot.”

Yes, the Bulls are among all mentioned in the favorites circle.  Furthermore, they are in a recognized conference well covered by the media, and in big city markets, like Tampa, like Pittsburgh, like Cincinnati, like Rutgers, like Syracuse, like Louisville.

And, they have an inviting schedule, like the start of Wofford here, at Western Kentucky, at Charleston Southern, then the opportunistic trip to Florida State, then to Syracuse. The season play ends with play at RJS for Louisville and Miami before a final trip to nippy Connecticut. And who knows about that?

Thing is, said Leavitt, “we’ve got, in addition to the conference, the game at Florida State, then Miami coming to us.’’

Pretty satisfying for a guy from St. Petersburg, Leavitt, who truly is loving it. You will be able to tell from his sideline shows, notably the last two against Miami here, and at Connecticut.