But this year it has been a different ball game. If you're not in a conference, you have probably zero chance of getting into a bowl, unless you're Notre Dame. South Florida officially joins C-USA in 2003, but the Bulls already have two league teams on the schedule next season and three in 2002. The Bulls also enter Division I this season. The league announced last month it had entered into a deal with ESPN and ABC for more nationally televised C-USA games.
More TV means more exposure, another recruiting tool.
We're in the hunt with Florida, Florida State and Miami now. We weren't in as much of a hunt before. The only thing we're missing is tradition. While the tradition may be lacking, South Florida has success. Then there's that matter of its home stadium.