HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — The Southern Miss plan is simple.

Do things differently. Go all out. Attack.

And we’re not talking about football.

Well, yes we are, in a way. The University of Southern Mississippi has begun its promotional campaign for the 2008 football season, and the school’s strategy for selling tickets is mighty similar to the philosophy of new Golden Eagles’ head coach Larry Fedora.

Living on the edge, you might call it. Fedora promises a wide-open offense and attacking defense. Television and radio commercials feature the new coach practically getting in your face and telling you to come to Southern Miss’ six home games this season.

“I heard the radio commercial, and (Fedora) was kind of a loud, boisterous guy, all pumped up,” said Lissa Strazi, 36, of Hattiesburg. “It caught my attention. It really caught my attention. He was saying, ‘Get your tickets and come on out to the game.’ It really stuck in my mind.

“I usually don’t go to the games,” Strazi said. “This year, after hearing that on the radio, I might possibly go.”

That is exactly what Fedora wants to hear.

“I hope there’s a lot more like her,” he said.

Greg Herring, USM’s assistant director of Athletics/Marketing and Sales, said the buzz about Southern Miss football is making this year’s promotion efforts promising.

“So far, we’ve capitalized on the excitement of Coach Fedora with TV commercials, featuring his attack, a little more of the Under Armour-type feel to the commercial,” Herring said. “It gives you a different sense from past commercials where it has been a little more humorous.”

Past preseason ticket advertising campaigns and commercials have focused on such things as former coach Jeff Bower pulling a fan through a television set to come to a game, or former quarterback Brett Favre throwing a football around the world or through someone.

There is no humor this year.

“We thought, this year, the new attack style and aggressive commercials would go hand in hand,” Herring said. “We conceptualized those commercials and came out to one of the Saturday spring scrimmages. Coach was very willing to let us shoot, stage a few shots. He held back about 10 players in the locker room to shoot the inside footage. From that, we took the audio for radio spots.”

Fedora said that starring in the commercials, done by the GodwinGroup out of Jackson, wasn’t too difficult for him.

“It was pretty easy for me, just me being me,” he said. “They said to be the way you would be in the locker room.”

But the locker room scene wasn’t exactly a one-take-and-done proposition.

“We were probably in there a good two hours,” Fedora said. “They shot it from so many different angles — from up above, between a player’s legs, with smoke. They said, ‘put more intensity into it,’ ‘too much intensity.’ It was a very professional deal. We did it over and over and over.”

The idea for the ads grew out of the December press conference when Fedora was named head coach and explained his football philosophy. And it turned into attention-grabbing publicity.

“It’s been a different year for us from a marketing standpoint,” said Scott Carr, deputy director of Athletics/External Affairs at USM. “It started in December when we hired coach Fedora and carried over into February with the great recruiting class. We had a signing day social with 1,200 people. We had never had a crowd like that. It carried over to the spring game, when we had 11,000 there. We’ve never even had close to 10,000.

“To have that kind of excitement, those kinds of numbers, it’s been a real positive experience where that buzz is just out there. In marketing, you want to create that buzz. And that buzz has been created and been going on for seven months.”

Radio and TV commercials are just a couple of the promotions that have been going on at USM.

In January, fans had an online renewal opportunity to purchase season tickets at last year’s rate. About 2,500 did.

During the winter months, the Eagle Club — the school’s athletic scholarship fundraising organization — mailed out information promoting Fedora, the season and the Eagle Club.

In early April, USM mailed out 25,000 Fan Guides, a 20-page brochure that includes general ticket information and forms to buy tickets or join the Eagle Club.

At the spring game, USM unveiled the 2008 Golden Eagle poster design and schedule cards.

On the Sunday following the spring game, Southern Miss launched its first TV and radio commercials and print pieces in newspapers. Herring said that ads have been placed in six or seven newspapers within an hour and a half of Hattiesburg, nearly 30 radio stations and seven to 10 TV stations and cable systems.

On Aug. 1, USM will pick back up with TV, radio and print advertising and an online component of some sort. Blast e-mails and telephone voice mails, maybe even text messages, will be included in the effort.

“It’s been unique for us but it’s been great, and we know we’re going to see the results on Aug. 30 with the attendance we have at our first game against Louisiana-Lafayette,” Carr said.

Fedora wants sellout crowds to see his first team, and he’s doing everything in his power to fill The Rock.

In addition to making the commercials, he’s crisscrossed the state speaking to groups about Southern Miss football.

“You name an organization and he spoke to it,” said Carr.

“I don’t know if it comes natural, but it’s not something that comes difficult for me,” Fedora said.

“It is the same as in recruiting, talking to the player and his parents, selling your university.”

Southern Miss officials are hoping for at least three sellouts this season, for the Aug. 30 season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, for the Oct. 11 game against Boise State and for the Nov. 1 homecoming game against UAB.

That is not good enough for Fedora, who even wanted a sellout for the spring game, and he’s willing to go the extra mile to fill The Rock.

“There’s a lot more to be done,” he said.