WIMAUMA, Fla. — Randy Dotson is a USF football super fan.  

He was on board as soon as the first plans for the Bulls’ football program were created.

What You Need To Know

  • USF football is a younger program, but that hasn’t stopped one fan from creating a game day tradition

  • Randy Dotson is a USF football super fan and created Woody Bull as a tradition for the Bulls

  • For the past 13 years, Dotson has brought Woody Bull to every home game and many on the road

Dotson was USF’s second season-ticket holder.  

“We bought season tickets for a couple years before we even had a team. And then when we started playing the games, of course, we started going to all the games. We go to all the home games. We’ve missed two in all of our history,” Dotson said. “And we go to three away games per year.”

Since 1997, he and his wife, Vicki, have gone to nearly every single game.

“I don’t care if they’re winning or losing, Randy will not leave his seat until the game is over,” Vicki said.

Dotson is also the creator behind USF’s good luck charm.

“This is Woody Bull. We gave him that name — he’s carved out of a piece of log,” Dotson said. “We had a hurricane come through when we were living in Lakeland. A tree fell down and this log was there and I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something with it.’”

For the past 13 years, Dotson has brought Woody Bull to every home game and many on the road.

“We like to think of him as being tradition, not superstition. And that’s one of the things that we are proud of,” Dotson said. “I really just did it for it to be at our tailgate and at the stampede for the players to maybe rub his head. Be a little bit like Clemson’s rock that they rub when they come out.”

Over the years, Woody Bull’s reputation has grown, and for many, he’s become a game day tradition that cannot be missed.

“There’s people that come to every game, come by and see Woody. The kids love to get their pictures taken with him. He’s always at the head of the stampede for players to rub his head, coaches to rub his head for luck,” Dotson said.

Dotson hopes the tradition will continue to grow and become a staple for the green and gold.

“We just like to follow the team. I’m a big football fan, I’m a big collegiate football fan, and we just like the fact that we now have a team. We have 27 years now under our belt. And we’re a growing program. That’s why we’re trying to start the tradition of some sort,” he said.

Dotson says as long as he is able, he’ll continue to bring Woody to every home game.