Ever since the long-awaited USF-Florida game was first announced in 2002, the "guarantee" figure to be paid to the Bulls for making the trip up to Gainesville has been reported as $500,000. But with the game being rescheduled from its original date and the market changing for such games, Florida agreed to renegotiate the payout, and last month, the total was upgraded to $700,000.

That's the biggest check the Bulls have gotten for a football game -- next year, when they open the season at Notre Dame, USF will get $850,000 from the Fighting Irish and an additional $125,000 from the Big East. Since taking over as athletic director in 2004, Doug Woolard has taken the stance that as a member of a BCS conference, USF shouldn't take paychecks to play road games without home games in return. The Notre Dame has been the only exception he's agreed to sign; the Florida game predates his tenure as athletic director, as did a 2007 trip to Auburn.

By comparison, USF paid I-AA Stony Brook $350,000 to come to Tampa for Saturday's season opener. And interestingly, the Bulls and Gators have agreed to play in 2015 in Gainesville, but no date or compensation has been established yet.