Jersey Controversy Gets People Talking About USF Bulls
Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times
On Monday, the University of South Florida Bulls football coach Willie Taggart stated he wanted to put “THE TEAM” on his player’s jerseys instead of their names.
Fast forward 24 hours and that hope has been squashed as the NCAA won’t allow the Bulls to do so as it violates Rule 1-4-5.
According to the rule, “ A player’s number; a player’s name; the school name; an NCAA logo; sleeve stripes; a logo for a school, conference, mascot, postseason-game, memorial or military affiliation; an American flag; and a state flag,” can be allowed on the jersey.
Taggart not disappointed by THE TEAM jersey idea being nixed. 'We're still gonna have the team mindset by not having any names on the back'
— Joey Knight (@TBTimes_Bulls) August 19, 2014
Instead, the Bulls will play with no names on the back and just leave the space blank.
The initiative was met with a lot of negativity but it helped the Bulls because it got people talking about the team.
The story made the national media with all the major outlets covering the story.
It meant that people who follow college football were reading the name, “University of South Florida,” and that’s something the school needs.
USF hasn’t had a winning season since 2010 and last season they went 2-10 in Taggart’s first season.
They recently named Mike White their starter for the season opener but it’s a team that doesn’t have a marketable star and aren’t expected to compete for the AAC title.
USF haven’t really been talked about at the national level since they were ranked No.2 in the BCS Standings back in 2007.
Any kind of publicity for the Bulls right now is an asset and even though it had nothing to do with their on-field performance, it still got people talking about USF football.