Dec. 29 at 4:41 p.m. - Update #2

Photo Gallery: Bulls Practice at University of Toronto

TORONTO - The University of Toronto were fantastic hosts for the first ever USF football practice on international turf.  USF went for approximately two hours on the field at U of T Varsity Stadium.

Thankfully the field was covered and temperature controlled by a temporary bubble (check photo gallery) that takes three days to put up. The bubble provided a first class practice environment on the UT field turf.  It takes a crew of 80 people and two full days to put up the protective bubble, but it provides protection from the elements outside.

When the Bulls began practice today it was felt like it was 11 degrees outside according to Weather.com.

USF Director of Athletics Doug Woolard was intrigued by the practice structure, which could provide shield from the afternoon rains that have delayed and canceled countless football practices over the years on campus back in Tampa.

USF was in full pads on Tuesday and worked ones-on-ones (first team offense vs. first team defense) for a large portion of the practice.

The team was set free for lunch after practice and will have a team activity tonight.

The staff and administration will be visiting the Casa Loma Castle, along with a group for Northern Illinois, for an official welcome dinner tonight.

Tomorrow, the Bulls will practice from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Rogers Centre (formerly the Sky Dome), which is also the venue for the game on Saturday.


More on our Hosts
U of T teams have won every major Canadian university sporting championship over the past century, from football's Vanier Cup to women's ice hockey. Varsity Blues swimmers have the longest running championship record of any swim team in Canada and several hundred members of Varsity Blues teams have qualified for Olympic Games and FISU (international university) Games, as well as Commonwealth and Pan Am Games. 

U of T sponsors 46 varsity teams. 

Varsity Blues teams participate in two leagues: OUA (Ontario University Athletics) which oversees provincial university sports and CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport), the body that oversees national university sporting competition

• - The Varsity Stadium field also is also the U of T track and field complex, which hosted world record holder Usain Bolt this past summer. Here is YouTube coverage of Bolt running the 100 meters on June 11.
• - Directly adjacent to the football and track field was the U of T Arena, home to the Varsity Blues Hockey teams. Here are a few TwitPics from inside the venue.

Different Brand of Football
Toronto, like the professional Canadian Football League, competes on a wider and longer football field than their American counterparts.  The Canadian field of play is 110 yards long by 65 yards wide - (101 m by 59 m), rather than 100 yards long by 53⅓ yards wide - (91 m by 49 m) as in American football. 

Here is a link to more information on the differences between American and Canadian football

The USF equipment staff had to cone off the outer boundaries of the field, to simulate the standard NCAA field size. 

And just so everyone understands, the football field for the International Bowl will be the American version. 

But wouldn't it be fun if they played on the larger, Canadian sized field?  It would provide a unique twist on the game.


Landi Familiar with Toronto
Backup quarterback and wide receiver Evan Landi has been to Toronto, "five or six times," previously.   He is probably the only player on the team that has been to Toronto and is part of a small group that has ever been to Canada.

The Cape Coral native grew up playing hockey, in addition to football, and came to Canada for junior tournaments.

Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times is working on a feature story about Landi and his hockey roots, so stay tuned to his blog for the full story during bowl week.

Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. - Update #1

Welcome to the first update from the International Bowl (iBowl as we'll call it regularly this week).

It's 11 a.m. Eastern time as we update and the team is in position meetings before the first ever USF practice on international turf.

USF will use the facilities at the University of Toronto from 1 to 3 p.m. today.  The UT Varsity Blues football team struggled during the 2009 campaign going just 1-7 with their lone win coming by a score of 45-27 over York. You can check out UT's schedule and stats here.

Here is a link to the official athletics home of UT, VarsityBlus.ca.

We be back after practice with some photos, interviews and recaps this afternoon...

Cheers!