Show The Big XII Conference What They’d Get With USF. #USFBigXII

We all know the importance of the upcoming days and weeks in determining the future of USF Athletics. Finding a way to the other side of the P5 wall is imperative for the Bulls to get where they want to go as a program.

And we also know that USF is doing absolutely nothing about this publicly. They’ve chosen quiet discretion over desperate pleading, and are conducting their campaign with a level of tact not shared by all other contenders.

So if USF isn’t going to use its voice (and I can confirm it is very determined to not do so publicly), let’s do the work for them.

Today begins our organic social media campaign to show the Big XII Conference what they’d be getting by inviting USF. And not just on the field, but away from it as well.

The bigwigs will know about the 11th largest media market, how expanding into Florida is a gamechanger for recruiting, the 40,000+ students that will be donating alumni someday, and all the other stuff you can tell by the numbers. But let’s show them the other reasons why coming here is a great idea. Because Tampa is awesome, and so is her university.

Using the hashtag #USFBigXII on Twitter and Instagram, tell our new friends everything about our city and school that can’t be reduced to data. Use pictures to apprise them of our story and what makes it special. The soul, the culture, the innovation, the weather... yeah, lots of the weather.

Pics of the chateaubriand at Bern’s? Tag ‘em. A concert at Rock The Park at Curtis Hixon? Those too. From MLK Plaza on campus as the sun sets on a flawless weather day? Yup. Selfies with the manatees at Lowry Park Zoo? You bet! From the tiki bar at the Post Card Inn with a beer? Oh wait I’ve got one of those already shoulda hashtagged it.

This doesn’t just apply to places to go and things to eat. USF is Top 10 in the country in patents acquired by a public university. Tag the tiny scar left from your non-invasive robotic surgery at CAMLS, or a pic of the solar technology we’re pioneering and how it makes the world greener. Or put on IG a copy of your military discharge and your diploma, as USF has been ranked as the second-best school in America in support of veterans pursuing a degree.

We’ll share the tag with all our fellow SB Nation blogs in the Big XII Conference. So let’s show this potential league all of the wonderful things about our beloved school as well as the city she calls home. Even without realignment as a reason, it’ll be nice to have a place to link to everything that makes Tampa and USF so special to so many.

This institution and her hometown has a unique culture and soul all its own. Our new friends need to know what it’s like to be in the 813 and a Bull, and why they should without question add USF to their ranks.