Florida International produced five posters, one for each home game. The Panthers improved in season No. 2 under Ron Turner, going 4-8 after he guided the squad to 1-11 season in 2013. The team's depth appears to be improving, but FIU will play only one home game before Oct. 10.
Posters designed by Old Hat Creative.
In a word, Ron Turner's first season at Florida International was a disaster. The Panthers were 1-11, the only victory coming against Southern Mississippi, which was in the midst of a 23-game losing streak. Turner has gone 5-30 in his last three seasons as a Division I-A coach and two of those seasons ended with 1-11 records. Yes, this is only his second season in Miami, but it could be the last season for Turner.
Florida International is regarded by many as the team to beat in the Sun Belt Conference, but the Panthers weren't sharp in a 46-26 loss at Duke. Up next is FIU's home opener against Akron.
Thanks to Joe.
Florida International had a breakthrough season in 2010. The Golden Panthers climbed to the top of the Sun Belt Conference and recorded the first winning season in team history after a thrilling 34-32 victory over Toledo in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Thanks to Paul. Click the image to enlarge.
The Wiz of Odds is conducting a comprehensive study of bowl game expense reports. All of the data collected — expense reports for 56 teams and bowl surveys for 40 teams — are being posted on the site. Here is the latest installment. For an overview of the project, click here.
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl has been played in the Detroit area since its inception in 1997. It was formerly the Motor City Bowl. The game is privately held by Dilip Dubey, chairman of the game, and operates as Motor City Sports Inc., a 501(c) nonprofit.
2010 participants: Florida International and Toledo.
Florida International expenses: FIU reported no absorbed ticket costs. This suggests the school negotiated a lower bowl payout (reported to be $750,000 per team) in exchange for bowl officials dropping the ticket commitment. FIU did report selling 392 tickets. The school also listed its travel party at 172, lowest among the 56 reports obtained by The Wiz of Odds. FIU listed its total expenses to be $396,601. Download Florida International Expenses
Survey: Although the game is played in the hub of the motor vehicle industry, athletic director Pete Garcia said there was a shortage of courtesy vehicles.
"We definitely could have used two more courtesy vehicles, three cars was not enough," Garcia wrote.
Garcia also gave a "neutral" rating to the availability of practice equipment.
"The only thing is that we had to bring our own practice equipment," he wrote. "We understand that this the norm for teams, but with our team traveling from Miami, it made it difficult to get our equipment trucked up to Detroit." Download Florida International Survey
Toledo expenses: The school reported selling all of its $60, $45, $23 and $15 tickets but got stuck with 902 tickets priced at $5. That left the bill for absorbed tickets at $4,510. Total expenses were reported to be $212,191, the second-lowest total of the 56 reports obtained by The Wiz of Odds. Download Toledo Expenses
Survey: Athletic director Michael O'Brien wrote no comments, but his responses to questions made it clear he wasn't overwhelmed by the Little Caesars Bowl experience.
He answered "adequate" when asked of his overall impression of the event. And he gave responses of "neutral" on the availability of practice equipment and cost of rooms.
In all, O'Brien answered, "satisfied" to 16 questions and "very satisfied" to seven. Download Toledo Survey
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