NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. The USF Grad Cap Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by the University of South Florida (“USF”). Contest is offered only in Florida (the “Contest Area”). Void outside the Contest Area and where prohibited.
Contest is subject to all federal, state and/or local laws. USF shall be entitled
to interpret these official rules (“Official Rules”) as needed — including but not limited to rules regarding eligibility, entries,
deadlines, winner selection and prize restrictions. By participating, you irrevocably,
fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions
of USF, which are final and binding in all respects, and waive any right to claim
ambiguity in these Official Rules or any other Contest-related advertising or materials.
For more information about the Contest, visit the "Contest Page".
Contest starts on Nov. 12, 2024 at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (″ET″). Entry deadline is
11:59 PM ET on Dec. 8, 2024. Judging to determine potential winners will be completed
by Dec. 9, 2024. USF‘s computer is the official time-keeping device for this Contest.
Eligibility
You must be eighteen (18) years old or older and a legal resident of the Contest Area (above) for at least three (3) months during the year to be eligible to participate in this
Contest. In addition, you are only eligible to participate if you are a registered
USF undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, or professional school student, a member
of the graduating class of 2024, and a participant in a USF-organized commencement
ceremony held on Dec. 13 or Dec. 14, 2024 at the Yuengling Center on USF’s Tampa Campus.
Employees, associates, officers, directors, volunteers and agents of USF, Yuengling
Center (“Yuengling”), or any other entity directly involved in the development, administration or execution
of the Contest, and the members of their immediate families (defined as spouse, parents,
siblings and children) and households (whether or not related), are not eligible to
enter or win.
Prizes
First Prize (1): Use of one (1) reserved suite for up to eight (8) graduate friends/family
at one (1) Fall Commencement on Dec. 13 or Dec. 14, 2024 (each, a “Fall Commencement”) at the Yuengling Center, 12499 USF Bull Run Drive, Tampa, FL 33617. See important suite prize restrictions below. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $0.00.
Second Prizes (2): Four (4) reserved seats in Section 103 at one (1) Fall Commencement.
See important ticket prize restrictions below. ARV: $0.00.
Bull Pride (1): Use of one (1) reserved suite for up to eight (8) graduate friends/family
at one (1) Fall Commencement. See suite prize restrictions below. ARV: $0.00. Limit one (1) prize per person.
Prize Restrictions
Prize tickets and suite use have no cash value and cannot be used on any other date
or during any other event. There are no tickets required for guests to attend any
Fall Commencement and there is no limit on how many guests each graduate may bring.
All prize details shall be at USF‘s sole discretion. Each winner assumes sole responsibility
for all expenses and incidental costs associated with the prizes not expressly included
in the prize description above, including without limitation, all federal, state and/or
local taxes (if any).
Prizes are not redeemable for cash and may not be sold, bartered or auctioned. The
right to receive any prize is personal to winner and is not transferable. Any prize
or portion thereof not accepted by any winner is forfeited and no cash or substitute
will be offered or permitted. Prizes will not be substituted except that USF in its
discretion may substitute a prize, or portion thereof, with a prize or portion of
equal or greater value if it deems necessary. Any such changes will be announced.
Each prize offered is provided “as is” with no warranty or guarantee either express
or implied by Released Parties (below). Released Parties have neither made nor are responsible or liable for any warranty,
representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any
prize. Other restrictions apply.
To Enter
Entries will be accepted starting on Nov. 12, 2024 at 12:01 AM ET and ending on Dec.
8, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET (the “Contest Period”). To enter, decorate your Bulls graduation cap and take a Photo of your decorated
cap (your “Photo”). Then, visit the Contest Page and follow the instructions to submit your Photo and all required information, which
may include your name, age or date of birth, graduation date and USF email address
(the “Required Information”). Note that the “Bulls Pride” prize will be awarded to the highest scoring Submission
that depicts a cap decorated with a USF theme.
Your Photo and any Required Information are referred to collectively as your “Submission.” Your Submission must comply with the Content Restrictions (below). This is the only method of entry. Entries will not be accepted via any other method.
Entries must contain all Required Information and must be received by Dec. 8, 2024
at 11:59 PM ET to be eligible. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt by USF and
USF will not accept screen shots as proof of entry.
IMPORTANT: MESSAGE AND/OR DATA RATES MAY APPLY TO THE USE OF MOBILE PHONES/DEVICES
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST. WIRELESS SERVICE MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ALL AREAS.
Limit one (1) entry per person and per USF email address. Additional entries received
from such person or USF email address will be subject to disqualification. Suspected
attempts to enter more than the stated number above, including by using false contact
information or multiple accounts, may result in your disqualification, in USF‘s sole
discretion.
Each entry must be associated with a valid USF email address. Released Parties are
not responsible for communications that are undeliverable because of any form of filtering,
blocking or incorrect information of any kind. In the event of a dispute as to the
identity or eligibility of a winner based on a USF email address, the entry will be
deemed made by the “Authorized Account Holder” of the USF email address used for entry. The Authorized Account Holder is the natural
person who is assigned to the USF email address by USF. In the event of a dispute
as to the identity of any entrant, the potential winner agrees to furnish requested
documentation confirming his/her/their status as the Authorized Account Holder. If
such a dispute cannot be resolved to USF‘s satisfaction, the affected entry will be
deemed ineligible.
Entrants who fail to include any Required Information may be disqualified without further notification by USF. Entrants agree that Released
Parties are not responsible for entries that are lost, misdirected, undelivered, garbled,
distorted, truncated, incomplete, illegible, incorrect or late for any reason, and
all such entries are void. USF reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify
any entry at any time that in its opinion does not comply with these Official Rules.
The information that you provide in connection with the Contest may be used by USF in accordance with its Privacy Policy, which may be updated from time to time.
Content Restrictions
Each Submission must comply with all requirements of these Official Rules as well
as those set out below. USF may reject any Submission that it determines has violated
the Official Rules (including the Content Restrictions), or is otherwise unsuitable,
offensive, or in poor taste, and disqualify the corresponding entrant, at any time
during the Contest. You agree that USF has the sole discretion to decide whether any
Submission has violated these Official Rules and that its decisions are final. If
any claim of unauthorized use of any content contained within the Submission is made
by any third party, USF reserves the right to immediately terminate access to the
Submission (including on the Contest Page), if applicable, and disqualify both the
Submission and the corresponding entrant.
As noted above, your Submission must satisfy the following “Content Restrictions” to be eligible:
Your Submission must be original to you and must not contain any watermarks, signatures,
or copyright notices.
Your Submission must clearly and conspicuously disclose the fact that it is part of
a Contest entry by using the required hashtags.
Your Submission must not refer to or depict any identifiable trademark, trade name,
logo, or brand names other than those belonging to USF.
No individuals other than you may be identifiable in any Submission and your Submission
must not contain any other personally identifiable information regarding any third
parties.
Your Submission must be appropriate for publication in a commercially distributed
magazine or other generally available medium.
Your Submission must not depict any content, language or images that would make the
Submission inappropriate for publication to a general audience as determined by USF
in its absolute and sole discretion. Without limiting the foregoing, any Submission
that includes foul language, nudity or other states of undress, graphic or excessively
violent content, lewd, pornographic, obscene, indecent, hateful, tortious, illegal,
defamatory, slanderous, libelous, false, or disparaging content, or content that invades
any person’s privacy or other rights, or that promotes or advocates drug use, bigotry,
racism, hatred, or harm against any group or individual, or that promotes discrimination
based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age,
or that appears to violate any third-party intellectual property rights, as determined
by USF in its absolute and sole discretion, will be disqualified.
Your Submission must comply with the Terms of Use at the Contest Page.
You agree that USF has the sole discretion to determine whether any Submission has
violated these Official Rules and that its decisions are final. WITHOUT LIMITING THE
FOREGOING, USF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT AND DISQUALIFY ANY SUBMISSION (INCLUDING
ANY PHOTO) THAT IT DEEMS, IN ITS SOLE, SUBJECTIVE DETERMINATION, TO BE INAPPROPRIATE
WITHOUT ANY OBLIGATION TO ENGAGE IN ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION, COMMENT OR DISCUSSION
ABOUT SUCH SUBMISSION. ALL DECISIONS BY USF ARE FINAL.
License, Warranty & Indemnity
You retain your rights to your Photo; however, by entering the Contest, you agree
to grant USF (and those authorized by USF) a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable,
world-wide royalty-free license (and waive all moral rights in and to your Photo to
display, reproduce, distribute, publish, perform, edit, otherwise use your Photo for
advertising and promotional purposes, including the display of the Photo on USF‘s
websites, social media platforms and other related sites in connection with this Contest.
For clarity, USF has the right (but not the obligation) to publish any Photo on USF‘s
websites and/or social media platforms and as USF otherwise so chooses. USF will not
be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in
connection with such uses.
By entering your Submission, you warrant that (a) you are legally entitled to enter
the Photo in the Contest, (b) the Photo does not infringe any third-party rights,
and (c) your Submission complies in all respects with the Official Rules.
In addition, by entering your Submission, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless
Released Parties (defined below), their parent companies and subsidiaries, and their respective officers, directors,
employees and affiliated organizations, from and against any and all claims, demands,
damages, costs, liabilities and causes of action of whatsoever nature that are based
upon or arise out of any breach by you of these Official Rules or the warranties and/or
representations made by you pursuant to these Official Rules.
Winner Selection, Verification & Publicity
On Dec. 9, 2024, or within a reasonable time thereafter, a panel of qualified judges
consisting of creative professionals, marketing employees, and other commencement
staff and assembled by USF (the “Judges”) will review and score all timely and properly entered USF-themed Submissions on the following equally weighted judging criteria: creativity, relevance to theme,
and overall excellence. Subject to verification of eligibility, person whose USF-themed
Submission receives the highest score from the Judges will be declared the Bulls Pride winner.
Next, the Judges will then review and score all remaining Submissions (including non-winning
USF-themed Submissions) using the above-described judging criteria. Subject to verification
of eligibility, the person whose Submission receives the highest score from the Judges
will be declared the First Prize winner and the two (2) persons whose Submissions
receive the next highest scores from the Judges will be declared the Second Prize
winners. Limit one (1) prize per person.
USF reserves the right to award fewer than the stated number of prizes if it does
not receive an adequate number of properly submitted and eligible entries. Ties (if
any) will be broken in favor of the Submission with the highest ”creativity” score,
followed by the “relevance to theme” score, and if necessary, the “overall excellence”
score.
USF will contact each potential winner using the information on file or provided at
the time of entry. Each potential winner must respond to such notification within
twenty-four (24) hours and provide requested contact information, verification information
and/or signed eligibility documents, liability waiver, publicity release (where legal)
and/or other items to USF within forty-eight (48) hours after initial notification
and as a condition of receiving any prize. Confirmed winners will receive instructions
from USF or its designee on how to claim or receive prizes.
If any potential winner (a) cannot be contacted directly by, or does not respond to,
USF or its designee within the time stated above, (b) fails to satisfy any eligibility
or verification requirement herein, (c) declines to accept the prize, or (d) is otherwise
determined to be ineligible, USF in its discretion may disqualify that individual
and an alternate winner will be selected in accordance with the above selection process
as soon as reasonably practicable after such disqualification. Alternate winners are
subject to all eligibility requirements and restrictions of these Official Rules and
must respond to initial notification within twenty-four (24) hours, or no later than
4:00 PM ET on Dec. 10, 2024, whichever is earlier, and provide any requested verification
materials within forty-eight (48) hours after initial notification, or no later than
4:00 PM ET on Dec. 11, 2024, whichever is earlier. If time permits, USF will make
up to two (2) attempts to verify an alternate winner for any prize. If USF is unable
to verify an alternate winner for any prize after two (2) attempts, or there is not
enough time remaining prior to the first Fall Commencement to verify an alternate
winner, no further attempts will be made for such prize and that prize will not be
awarded.
USF may, in its sole discretion, post the verified winners' names on the Contest Page and/or any of its websites, including usf.eduand on or in any of its social media pages or channels and broadcast them on any of
USF‘s stations. Except as provided in these Official Rules or otherwise required by
law, USF is not responsible for entering any correspondence or discussion regarding
any Contest results.
By accepting a prize, each winner agrees to award USF the right to publicize his/her/their
name, photographs (including the use and appearance of his/her/their photograph and
winning Photo on its websites), likeness, biographical information, email address,
voice and details of winning for purposes of this and future promotions without further
compensation, except where prohibited.
Limitation of Liability
By participating in the Contest or accepting a prize, you agree that USF, Yuengling, the State of Florida, the Florida Board of Governors, the USF Board of Trustees,
Facebook, a product of Meta Products, Inc., any other company involved in the development
or administration of this Contest, their respective parent companies, affiliates,
subsidiaries, distributors, advertising and promotion agencies, prize suppliers, franchisees,
and all of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees and related persons
(collectively, the “Released Parties”) (a) are not responsible for mechanical, technical, electronic, communications,
telephone, computer, hardware or software errors, malfunctions or failures of any
kind, including but not limited to: failed, incomplete, misdirected, corrupted, garbled
or delayed transmissions, telephone connections, traffic congestion on telephone lines,
the Internet or at any website; or disconnected, interrupted, or unavailable network,
server, or other connections; or late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail;
or other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical, or electronic; or Submissions
that for any reason are not properly submitted or received by USF by any deadline
stated above; (b) are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information,
whether caused by entrants or other participants, printing, typographical or other
errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the
Contest or in the printing of this offer, administration of this Contest, or in the
selection or announcement of the winners or prizes, or otherwise in any Contest-related
materials; (c) are not responsible for any injury or damage to any computer, tablet,
smartphone, modem or other device as a result of participation in this Contest or
downloading of any software or materials; (d) are not responsible for unauthorized
human intervention in any part of the Contest; (e) are not responsible for any unauthorized
third-party use of any entry materials (including any Photo); (f) are not responsible
for the inability to select winners because of postal failure, equipment failure,
or data storage failure; (g) are not responsible for any printing, typographical,
technical, computer, network or human error that may occur in the administration of
the Contest, the acceptance of Submissions, the judging of Photos, the tabulation
of scores, the selection of the winners, the prizes or otherwise in any Contest-related
materials; and (h) are released from any and all alleged, existing, or future actions,
claims, and/or liabilities of whatever nature including, but not limited to, personal
injury, bodily injury (including, without limitation, wrongful death and disability),
property damage, and expense (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’
fees) and loss or damage of any other kind, arising in whole or in part directly or
indirectly, from participating in the Contest (in whole or in part), the use (including
modification, adaptation, and reproduction) of entry materials (including any Photo)
during or after the Contest, and the delivery, acceptance, possession, redemption,
use, misuse, loss, or misdirection of any prize.
RELEASED PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED,
STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE), INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. RELEASED PARTIES SHALL NOT
BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES MADE OR OFFERED BY ADVERTISERS,
PARTNERS, MANUFACTURERS OR SUPPLIERS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO ANY PRIZE. UNDER
NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL RELEASED PARTIES BE HELD RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR YOUR USE
OF THE INFORMATION AND/OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED AND/OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CONTEST OR FOR ERRORS OR ANOMALIES RESULTING IN THE UNINTENDED OR ERRONEOUS PARTICIPATION,
AWARD OF ANY PRIZE OR OTHER BENEFITS UNDER THESE OFFICIAL RULES. RELEASED PARTIES
OFFER NO ASSURANCES, GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES THAT THE CONTEST PAGE OR RELATED WEBSITES OR MOBILE PLATFORMS, OR ANY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE FEATURES OR FUNCTIONALITIES,
WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE AND DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY
OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE CONTEST.
BY ENTERING THE CONTEST, ACCEPTING A PRIZE AND/OR OTHERWISE PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST,
you FURTHER AGREE THAT (A) ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT
OF OR CONNECTED WITH THE CONTEST, OR ANY PRIZE AWARDED, SHALL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY,
WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION; (B) ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS AND AWARDS SHALL
BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED, INCLUDING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH
ENTERING THE CONTEST, BUT IN NO EVENT ATTORNEYS' FEES; AND (C) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WILL YOU BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN ANY AWARD FOR, AND you HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO
CLAIM, ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND ANY RIGHTS TO HAVE DAMAGES MULTIPLIED OR OTHERWISE INCREASED
AND ANY DAMAGES OTHER THAN ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS DESCRIBED ABOVE.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND THEREFORE THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY
TO YOU IN WHOLE OR IN PART.
Miscellaneous, Disputes & Trademarks
USF reserves the right to cancel, suspend or terminate this Contest, or any part thereof, if USF determines, in its sole discretion, that the security,
administration, fairness and/or operation of the Contest has been corrupted or impaired
by any non-authorized intervention, network failure, information storage failure,
telecommunications failure, regularly scheduled maintenance, malfunction, or any other
cause beyond USF‘s control. In such an event, USF will post notice of same at the
Contest Page and select the winners from all non-suspect entries received prior to the suspension,
cancellation or termination of the Contest in accordance with the previously described
selection process or in such other manner as USF, in its sole discretion, deems fair
and appropriate under the circumstances.
USF reserves the right to disqualify any individual from further participation in
the Contest if USF concludes, in its sole discretion, that such person (a) has attempted
to tamper with any entry or selection process or other any operation of the Contest,
(b) has repeatedly disregarded or has attempted to circumvent these Official Rules, or (c) has acted towards USF, the Judges, or any other entrant or participant in an unfair, inequitable, deliberately annoying,
threatening, disrupting or harassing manner. Tampering includes attempting to enter
more than the number of times permitted herein, including by using any prohibited
device or method. Any failure by USF to enforce any of these Official Rules shall
not constitute a waiver of such Official Rules.
USF reserves the right to correct typographical, printing or clerical errors in any
Contest-related materials. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.
If production, technical, seeding, programming or any other reasons cause more than
the stated number of prizes as set forth in these Official Rules to be available and/or
claimed, USF reserves the right to award only the stated number of prizes from among
all legitimate, un-awarded, eligible prize claims in accordance with the previously
described selection process or in such other manner as USF, in its absolute discretion,
deems fair and appropriate under the circumstances.
All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and
enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrants
or other participants or Released Parties in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by Florida law, without giving
effect to any choice of law rules that would cause the application of the laws of
any jurisdiction other than Florida.
By entering, accepting a prize and/or otherwise participating in the Contest, you
expressly (a) agree that any legal proceedings arising out of or relating in any way
to this Contest or these Official Rules shall be brought only in the federal or state
courts located in Hillsborough County, Florida, and (b) consent to the mandatory and
exclusive jurisdiction in such courts with respect to any such legal proceedings.
In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between any terms or conditions of
these Official Rules and any disclosures or other statements contained in any other
Contest-related materials, including but not limited to the Contest entry forms, or
point of sale, television, print, mobile or online advertising, the terms and conditions
of these Official Rules shall prevail, govern and control. If any provision of these
Official Rules is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal,
these Official Rules shall otherwise remain in effect and be construed in accordance
with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.
Any third-party trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective trademark
owners and the use or mention of any such third-party trademarks in these Official Rules or in the Contest is solely for descriptive purposes and shall in no way imply an
endorsement or sponsorship of the Contest or of USF.
Winners' List/Official Rules
For a copy of the Official Rules or the final Winners' List, visit the Contest Page or usf.edu or mail a SASE to: USF Grad Cap Contest c/o USF, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, Florida
33620, specifying either “Winners' List” or “Official Rules.” Winners' List will be
available after Dec. 9, 2024.