Leavitt likely to keep ballot public

Posted Aug 31, 2009 by Brett McMurphy

Updated Aug 31, 2009 at 11:05 PM

USF coach Jim Leavitt, whose preseason ballot in the USA Today/coaches poll went public last week, said Monday he’s likely to keep making his ballot public – at least for another week.

Leavitt initially said he hadn’t decided whether he would.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t, but don’t hold me to that,” Leavitt joked. “It probably depends on what type of mood I’m in. If we win (Saturday against Wofford), I’ll probably make it public; if we lose, I probably won’t because I probably won’t be in as good a mood.

“I probably will keep it public. I don’t see any reason not too.”

Last week, USF was the first school of 51 public universities to respond to an open records request by SI.com’s Andy Staples. However, as of Monday night, Air Force, which already provides Coach Troy Calhoun’s ballot to a Colorado newspaper, was the only other school that complied with SI.com’s request.

Even though the American Football Coaches Association only makes the final ballot after the bowl games public, Leavitt laughed that he was hoping for more of a reaction from his public ballot.

“Nobody has really said one word about it, other than you all (media) here,” Leavitt said. “I haven’t gotten one call. I wish people were more interested, they have no interest.”

I asked Leavitt if perhaps he could become a trendsetter among the 59 coaches that vote in volunteering to make their ballots public. He thinks there will be a few more that disclose their ballots.

“There will be some other people (go public), I imagine,” Leavitt said. “There won’t be a lot, I understand. Even when (Florida State) coach (Bobby) Bowden said he’d rather have it private – it’s just like anything: why wouldn’t you make your vote public for presidency?

“Confidentially is really important in our society. People have freedom. If you go and vote for team captains, I don’t have everyone on our team stand up and say who they’re going to vote for. They want to keep that to their own. I understand why people want to keep things private – they feel like they can maybe be more truthful. For me, it won’t bother me too much (having my ballot public).”

Lucky 21? USF may not have ranked in the Top 25 in the AP writers poll or the USA Today/coaches poll, but the Bulls are tied with West Virginia with odds of 55-to-1 to win the national title, tied as the 21st lowest odds. USF and WVU have the lowest odds among the Big East teams.

USF, WVU and Pittsburgh are listed as the favorites to win the Big East, with each team at 2-to-1 odds, according to the website. Also, Bodog.com lists USF’s “over-under” regular season win total at 8 – meaning individuals must decide whether they think USF will win at least nine games or win seven or fewer games. More individuals are wagering that the Bulls will win seven or fewer games, according to the website.