Contract Details of the Three-Game Series Between USF and Louisville Football

USF athletic director Mark Harlan announced yesterday that the Bulls have agreed to a three-game series with the University of Louisville, with the games scheduled for 2022, 2024, and 2026.

The Daily Stampede obtained the contract through an open records request that shows the details of the three-game series.

First thing of note: The two schools signed the contract on January 2 and they were able to keep things under wraps for over two weeks. So good job by them for not having any leaks.

The three games are set to happen as follows:

• September 24, 2022 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, KY
• September 21, 2024 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
• September 19, 2026 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, KY

The Bulls will be paid $400,000 for the initial visit to the Bluegrass State and will have the luxury of using American Athletic Conference refs in that game.

The Cardinals will get $200,000 for the trip to Tampa and the contract stipulates that ACC refs will be used in this game.

For the third and final game of the series in Louisville, USF will get paid a cool $800,000 and ACC refs will also be used for this game, regardless if the Bulls are in the Big 12 or another conference in eight years.

Buyout Clause:

Here’s the interesting part: The buyout is $1 million per game that is cancelled. So, if the Cardinals buyout the last game of the series they’re really only paying $200,000 more than they would if they played the game.

And in this scenario, the Bulls would likely be forced to pay a FCS team to come to Tampa for a game, eating into any profits they would make on this series.

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen and we get three great games between two schools with so much history.

We’re still awaiting the updated contracts with BYU and San Jose State after all the movement. We’ve been told that no money has been given to the two schools to switch the dates.