The Look

Back when USF unveiled their new Adidas uniforms this summer, there was one look that caught my eye. A look so wrong, yet so right. The Bulls wore it in game for the first time this past weekend at Homecoming.

Most of my uniform nerd sensibilities should lead me to hate this combo. It's black for black's sake. It contains shades of our colors that aren't actually ours. Some would be inclined to call it gawdy, and frankly they wouldn't be wrong.

Yet somehow, I love it.

It's flashy, and uses its bright colors in a way that look downright sharp. It was probably designed to go over well with "the kids," and while I'm decidedly not them, it's got me hooked. So while I prefer seeing us in the proper green an gold most of the time, this one can stay.

Here's what can't.

Apparently, it's rebrand season. My employer, UNC Greensboro, just underwent a rebrand - excuse me, "brand refresh" of both the athletic and institutional logos prior to the start of this school year. UMBC sent out a survey to alumni and stakeholders back in late August asking us to weigh in on a few options for an update to the institutional logo. And just recently, USF released - and quickly began pushing something fierce - a new institutional logo. It has been pretty unilaterally rejected by those of us with ties to the university - myself included.

Upon seeing just the logo,  a few things struck me. First, as many have noted, it immediately evokes the Merrill Lynch logo. I've been inclined to point out Johnson C. Smith as well. The bull used departs from our history as Brahmans (though admittedly, that ship sailed long ago). And while I just praised the mismatch for an alternate uniform above, it strays from our school colors, opting instead for green and "USF Horizon" - a shade of yellow that hearkens back to a previous colorway. I've admittedly been loud wrong being curmudgeonly and protesting a brand change before, but I remain unconvinced there was a need to stray from the previous institutional logo. Moreover, there's no need to incorporate the athletic mascot into the imagery of the institutional logo. If there was a change to be made, this ain't it, fam.

But if we whiffed on the logo, we doubled down on the messaging.

The website for our "new era" offers a hamfisted justification for the change. Our old brand "lacked awareness," citing meager numbers of parents and students who recognized the institutional brand. The one that literally  says "USF" and "University of South Florida" on it. A strawman argument that our brand lacked a consistent look presents a mosaic of identities including secondary and tertiary athletic marks (which will remain unchanged), division, unit, and student organization logos. In fact, that particular visual piece actually does a better job of showing how effectively the previous institutional logo shines through when used  for system campuses and academic units. It speaks of the story that's gone untold - again, unchanged by the institutional logo, but part of the brand packaging - and offers the backronym United we Shape the Future. Perhaps most egregiously, it positions as our primary belief "Ambition over Tradition." I wasn't alone in seeing that as a slap in the face to the many traditions myself and thousands of other proud alumni had the opportunity to help shape. It's not that I don't understand what they're going for: USF was founded more than a century after the state institutions we strive to emulate. The attempt is akin to that which Iota Phi Theta articulates far better with "Building a tradition, not just resting upon one". But to position ambition over tradition, rather than highlight our tradition of ambition, is a huge misstep in the eyes of many.

After the reveal of a logo they undoubtedly paid a marketing firm a whole lot of money to develop, they've been trying to make fetch happen in every venue, despite immense negative feedback from alumni and other stakeholders.

I am among them.

My Mind's Playing Tricks On Me

Or perhaps our record is.

If the title brought the Geto Boys' top single to mind, it's by design. This weekend, USF travels' to their hometown of Houston to take on the Coogs. I know I'm not the only USF fan who fears this is where we get exposed as fraudulent on the scoreboard.

I'd say USF has enjoyed an undefeated season to this point, but the degree to which that's been "enjoyed" varies from Bull to Bull. At 7-0, our record defies our acumen, where the good guys needed every last second to eke out a win against Tulsa and not much less against UConn, neither of which has an FBS win against anyone other than each other since this time last year. USF playing the role of cardiac cattle doesn't leave me with high hopes against a hard charging Houston team.

A loss to Houston in the final weekend of October (that game a hurricane reschedule) is what dropped the Bulls from the ranks of the unbeaten last year. Here's hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

Want far better reporting on all things USF and the Undefeated Blues? Check out The Daily Stampede.

Let the Band Play

In a post that's gotten significant attention from bandheads, Tennessee State Assistant Director of Bands James Sexton shared the game script from their game vs. Austin Peay. Of note: The schedule is filled to the hilt with announcements and commercials. Conspicuously absent: Opportunities for the band to play.



My immediate thought is curiosity about how often road bands face this, and if the Aristocrat of Bands finds itself at a particular disadvantage playing in the Ohio Valley Conference. Prior to Hampton's conference move this year, Tennessee State was the only Division I HBCU not playing in either the MEAC or the SWAC. As such, they share a conference with schools that simply don't care as much about the band as they do. As the SEC says about their football: It Just Means More.

Band on the Road Game of the Week - 2018 Week 8

Sometimes, dreams do come true.

This weekend, College Game Day will be at Washington State University. For the past fifteen years, a cadre of Washington State alumni and fans have ensured that ol' Crimson flies over each College Game Day set - 216 shows and counting. Now it's coming home in the show's first trip to Pullman, where the Pac-12 North's two best records will square off as Oregon comes to town.

With all of that excitement, it's almost an undercard that the Oregon Marching Band will also make the trip, a nearly eight hour trek out to the Palouse that's been on the schedule since Band on the Road was compiled this summer. Their presence will only add to the electricity of gameday at Washington State.

High Notes - 2018 Week 7

It's that weekend.

Homecoming has a high notes slot pretty much every year. How could it not? By function of my role, it's always going to dominate one college football Saturday. But just as importantly, it's always going to be a a high note.

My love for my two alma maters is well documented. But this year, I came to a realization: Homecoming at UNC Greensboro (which, full disclosure, I help plan) may hold a bigger place in my heart than either one of them. Plotting my hierarchy in allegiance is easy for me: Undergrad > Grad > Employer. But my longevity here gives me a much wider base of returning alumni than either alma mater would. After all, I've interacted with 13 years of students here, vs. four at UMBC and two at USF. I'm certain to see a few of my contemporaries when I return for homecoming (and I've not been to either since 2006  and 2007, respectively) but every homecoming at UNCG brings back scores of former students who I am genuinely excited to see. This year was no different.

Amazing Happens Every Saturday

But here's the thing: Amazing happens every Saturday on football fields throughout the country, and a lot of it happens when the game clock isn't running. Amazing happens in a variety of marching styles, with a variety of musical offerings, and it happens largely out of the view of television cameras, and sadly, also out of the view of live spectators who take the opportunity to grab a beer instead of watching what's going on on the field. October 11, 2011

It's been a long time since a viral rundown, but this past weekend of college football was made for it. A number of halftime shows jumped off their usual bandhead circuits and into the mainstream.

First was Ohio State's Dance, Dance, Dance show which once again made art of stick figure art

I'll be honest, as father to a seven year old, I didn't know quite how mainstream this dance was for anyone over the age of, say, 15, but clearly a stadium full of Buckeyes knew what was up. See the full show here.

More took place in Ames this weekend than just an upset of previously undefeated West Virginia. You might not expect a herd of T-Rexes to take an unsuspecting football field in Iowa, but I'm told life finds a way.

SBNation wrote up the feat and its origin here.

You may know that North Carolina A&T State University has been at the forefront of activism and social issues since their founding, and the Blue and Gold Marching Machine is no exception. This past week's show, This Is America, highlighted various vignettes of America as we know it (or perhaps try not to know it) culminating in an arrangement of the eponymous This Is America with the Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, and God Bless America.

Stay woke.

The Paradox of Rivalry

The greatest trick the College Football Playoff ever pulled was forcing me to cape for C.Florida. -December 2017

As Memphis was driving in an attempt to snap UCF's tenuous lead - and with it, the nation's longest winning streak - an interesting thing was afoot. I, as a USF alumnus, didn't know what I wanted to happen.

This is the paradox of rivalry:Wanting your biggest rival to come into their game with your team undefeated so that you and you alone may break their spirit, while at once wanting them to lose every game.

This Saturday's mood was a bit more nuanced. USF - ourselves 6-0 - won on Friday night against Tulsa, a last second field goal to lead for the only two seconds of the game that mattered against a team with one win. Had Memphis, an actual formidable foe for UCF, won in similar fashion after leading for much of the game, there may have been a poetic irony in the symmetry. Still, the Knights prevailed, and I didn't hate it.

These days, UCF takes on a different mantle. Should they go undefeated again - and to be clear, I don't want this, both for Black Friday and C.Florida crowing - they will increase the intensity on the spotlight they've shone on a system that will not - indeed, cannot - reward a team from outside of college football's power structure. Those who defend it will note that the playoff rewards this year only. this is correct on its face, but does nothing to acknowledge that somehow, the equity of name recognition, conference affiliation, and budget, all years if not decades in the making, all get to play a role. Likely undefeated ACC champion Clemson will waltz in unquestioned, despite their conference tying in out of conference action against the American (with Hurricane Florence mercifully sparing UNC from the ACC's fourth loss) Sure enough, the Knights will once again be on the outside looking in, a clear reminder that there is no access to a championship of any sort for a sizable portion of FBS teams. This illumination won't change a thing, of course, and the system will keep plugging along - after all, it's not broken if it does exactly what it was intended to - consolidate power in the hands of the haves.

But hey, if C Dot can cruise through again, maybe the can claim a national title defense.

Band on the Road Game of the Week, 2018 Week 7

Since Notre Dame's situationship with the ACC began, several schools have taken the opportunity to make a band trip to South Bend. It's close enough to loop in a trip to Chicago, and the campus and stadium are living college football history.

Pittsburgh is hardly a stranger to playing Notre Dame - the two programs are in their 70th meeting, with games dating back more than a century. Still, the Pitt Band is making the trip this weekend as the Panthers take on the Irish.

High Notes - 2018 Week 6

I watched no football last weekend.

I spent the weekend on the road, heading up to the DC urrea or my cousin's wedding reception. With my kids in tow, I spent much of the time listening to top 40 radio, but I did sneak in a good chunk of the second half of the Florida-LSU game on the radio, the only football I got to consume that weekend. And while I'll always choose television if available, I was reminded how thorough a picture a good announce team can paint of the action on the field. With succinct, information-rich descriptions, a talented play-by-play announcer can give a clear visual of the action you're not seeing. For that reason, not simply because it was the only football I experienced, football on radio gets my high notes of the week.

Band on the Road Game of the Week 2018 Week 6

I'd say it's not fair, but it is, quite literally.

I'm out of town for what may very well be my very college football confluence.

There's usually one Wake Forest game each year - two, if they're lucky, which falls during the Dixie Classic Fair. The Dixie Classic is sort of State Fair lite - not as daunting as the main event in Raleigh, but still an all around good time. The Dixie Classic Fairgrounds sit adjacent to BB&T Field, so if you catch it on one of those games, the pairing is amazing. I've gotten to fairgate in previous years, and if I weren't headed out of town this weekend, I'd certainly be back.

This year ups the ante for my particular interests significantly. Wake is playing the highest ranked team that will visit this season (though it's notable that this year's home slate also included Notre Dame. Hope they're making bank at BB&T) in the #4 Clemson Tigers. What's more, the Band that Shakes the Southland is also making the trip. Add that two bands will be packed into the smallest stadium in the Power 5, and one could frankly enjoy the experience without spending the $51 that the game is up to now on the secondary market. Somebody get to Winston, getchua corn dog, and pour one out for the homies that ain't there - like me.

2018 Week 5

From a Band on the Road perspective, Week 5 came and went without incident. Band on the Road notched minimal traveling bands this week.

The game of the week from the perspective of many (including College Gameday and College Marching) was Ohio State at Penn State. While it would have been great to see the Ohio State University Marching Band travel, they were home hosting their own festival in Columbus. Lucky for us, the Blue Band is no one's warmup act. The folks at College Marching were there to capture so much of the goodness.

Very thankful to the @PSUBlueBand for letting us bring you this perspective of their pregame entrance last night in that insane atmosphere. There’s nothing else like it in the country... pic.twitter.com/gquG37CvDX

— CollegeMarching.com (@CollegeMarching) September 30, 2018

Redshirt

Remember that little thing I wrote about whether Nick Saban should keep playing Jalen Hurts or sit him after the 4th game, allowing him to retain his redshirt?

Uh, pretend I said Kelly Bryant.

While the situation at Bama was a non-story, there was more to be said at their perennial playoffmate Clemson, where head coach Dabo Swinney named freshman Trevor Lawrence the starter following the fourth game, putting the ball in Kelly Bryant's court. Bryant made the decision at that point to leave the team, preserving another year of eligibility upon his transfer after his graduation this year.

Many view the move to name Lawrence the starter at that time a coup de grace from the generally well-regarded Swinney. Playing in another game could have cost Bryant the opportunity ever to start a college game again, barring injury or otherwise to Lawrence.

...Which is precisely what happened.

No sooner had Bryant left the team than Lawrence left the Syracuse game with an injury. Third-turned-second string QB Chase Brice performed admirably, but the internet -and I'm sure the orange clad in the stadium - clamored for Bryant in that moment. But he was already gone, baby, gone.

While Swinney's decision to give Bryant dominion over his own future was lauded, it should be noted it was no different than what Saban had already done. Bryant wasn't cut from the team, nor was he handed a promise that he wouldn't be played. He was simply given a clear picture of the lay of the land and given the opportunity to make his own choice. Jalen Hurts had already been given a similarly prospectus as Tua Tagovailoa had taken every start to date for Bama. He could have made a decision similar to Bryant's if he saw fit.

But the fact is, the two men's futures are not identical. Hurts had at least a year of eligibility ahead of him regardless of this year's outcome; retaining a redshirt would have simply meant two. In contrast, Bryant remaining a Tiger would have meant playing out his days - or not, depending - in the South Carolina upstate.

This is the first year of the new redshirt rule, and it's led to some foreseeable and possibly less foreseeable outcomes. One thing is for sure: This won't be the last we hear of it.