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USF goes electronic with media guides

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By BRETT McMURPHY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2009

TAMPA - Hang on to those 2008-09 University of South Florida media guides because those are the last ones that will be printed by the school.

On Tuesday, the school announced it would no longer print media guides as part of a budget reduction initiative. In another cost-cutting move, the school announced the Bulls' football team would travel by bus for their Sept. 26 football game in Tallahassee at Florida State University instead of traveling by chartered airplane.

During the past two seasons, the school said it spent $185,000 on printed media guides.

USF is the latest school to discontinue printing media guides for financial reasons. Others include Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Iowa State and Texas A&M. The Pac-10 has proposed cost-cutting legislation to the NCAA to do away with printed media guides, which some schools have turned into more of a recruiting guide than a media guide.

USF will move all of the content into a web-based format on GoUSFBulls.com.

"We are embracing the changing needs of our coaches, the media and our fan base, while also being financially prudent," USF assistant Athletic Director Chris Freet said in a statement. "We want to be on the forefront of new media by finding cutting edge ways to connect with our constituents. The change also provides an exciting opportunity to present the history and sports specific information in a new and dynamic format."

USF will move the media content into a web-based format on the school's athletics website, GoUSFBulls.com. USF also will produce "online interactive guides" for each of its athletic programs. Additionally, PDF versions of the history and records sections of printed guides will be available on GoUSFBulls.com.

USF's cost-cutting measures may not be finished, USF AD Doug Woolard said.

"We will continue to look for opportunities to operate as efficiently as possible without affecting the student-athlete experience," Woolard said in a statement.

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928

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