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Bulls Beat: USF Lags Behind On Charter Flights

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 13, 2007

Updated: 12/13/2007 12:17 am

TAMPA - When Stan Heath was the men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas, the Razorbacks used chartered planes instead of commercial flights for every road game.

Well, he's not in Arkansas anymore.

His University of South Florida team will only utilize charter flights for four of the Bulls' 12 road trips this season. USF's women's team will charter on only two of nine road trips.

All six of USF's men's and women's charter flights are for the return legs only.

USF is one of only a few of the 16 Big East men's programs that don't charter for the majority of its road games.

The benefits between chartering and flying commercial are obvious, Heath said.

"Between late flights, canceled flights, all the dangers that happen in normal life, they happen to our team," Heath said. "If we don't get back on time, we miss an extra day of classes; an extra day of working out.

"Also I don't know how much our players mentally get out of a long day with delayed flights in a non-rested situation."

Heath said he is appreciative of the number of charter flights USF athletic director Doug Woolard approved this year. Woolard said he hopes to increase the number of charter flights in future seasons and acknowledges the academic benefits.

The only detriment is the cost. Heath estimated it costs about $7,000 more per road trip compared to flying commercial, when hotel and meal costs are factored in for staying an extra night.

Heath felt strongly enough about the importance of chartering after playing Richmond Dec. 5 that he said that was "one of the factors" for Saturday's victory against UAB.

"It was huge," he said. "Our kids were able to get ready for exams, they had papers due, tutoring appointments set up.

"You get a chance to attend our classes, get our work turned in, you know what's going on. Also when the team gets back you have a better chance to recover for the next game."

TOP PICK: Senior CB Mike Jenkins is projected by Scout Inc.'s Todd McShay to be the 14th pick by the Chicago Bears of the NFL draft's first round.

"Jenkins plays mostly corner at South Florida, but he may be a better fit at free safety in the NFL," McShay reports on ESPN.com. "Regardless, Jenkins has excellent speed and ball skills for his size. He has shown much better discipline and technique as a senior, which is why he is shooting up many NFL draft boards."

If selected in the first round, Jenkins would become USF's initial first-rounder in the program's 11-year history.

ODDS AND ENDS: Sophomore P Shawn Sanford has been selected to the Preseason Watch List for the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award, presented to the nation's top collegiate baseball player. ... Former USF RB Chad Simpson, now at Morgan State, was named a Division I-AA All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. Simpson led the MEAC with a school-record 1,402 yards.

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