The University Of South Florida
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The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the
State University System of Florida The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...
. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
. USF is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities. Founded in 1956, USF is the fourth largest university in Florida by enrollment, with 49,766 students from over 145 countries, all 50 states, all five U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia as of the 2022–2023 academic year. In 2022, the university reported an annual budget of $2.31 billion and an annual economic impact of over $6 billion. According to the National Science Foundation, USF spent $568 million on research and development in 2019, ranking it 43rd in the nation and 25th among public universities. USF's $889 million endowment is the third-largest among Florida public universities and the largest of any American public university founded post-World War II. In its 2018 ranking, the Intellectual Property Owners Association placed USF 1st in Florida, 7th in the United States, and 16th worldwide in the number of US patents granted. USF faculty, staff, students, and alumni collectively hold over 2,400 patents. USF is home to the National Academy of Inventors and the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, both located in the USF Research Park in the southwest side of campus. USF's sports teams are known as the South Florida Bulls and primarily compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. USF's 19 varsity teams have won a combined 6 national championships and 159 conference championships. Athletes representing the Bulls have won an additional 21 individual and relay national championships and 206 individual and relay conference championships.


History


1950s

USF was the first state university in Florida built during the 20th century. Former U.S. representative Samuel Gibbons was instrumental in the school's creation when he was a state representative and is considered by many to be the "Father of USF". Although founded in 1956, the university was not officially named until the following year, and classes did not begin until 1960. The university was built off Fowler Avenue on the former site of Henderson Air Field, a World War II airstrip. Before Henderson Field, the area was part of a 5,000-acre
temple orange The tangor (''C. reticulata'' × ''C. sinensis'') is a citrus fruit hybrid of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata'') and the sweet orange (''Citrus sinensis''). The name "tangor" is a formation from the "tang" of tangerine and the "or" of " ...
grove, the largest citrus grove in the world at the time, which gave the nearby city of Temple Terrace its name. In 1957, the Florida Cabinet approved the name "University of South Florida". At the time, USF was the southernmost university in the state university system.


1960s

The first five buildings on campus when the student opened were the old library (now the student services building), the science building (now the chemistry building), the teaching auditorium (no longer standing, on the site of what is now the music building), the universtiy center (no longer standing, on the site of what is now the Marshall Student Center), and the administration building (now called the John and Grace Allen Administration building). The university was founded as a school for whites only but peacefully integrated and admitted its first African-American student, Ernest Boger, in 1961, the school's second year after opening. Boger graduated in 1964 with a B.A. in psychology. In 1962, students voted to make the "Golden Brahman" the university's mascot, named after the state's cattle raising industry. In the early 1980s, the mascot evolved into the "Bulls". In 1963, USF held its first graduation ceremony. 325 degrees were conferred. The university grew rapidly under the leadership of
John S. Allen John Stuart Allen (May 13, 1907 – December 27, 1982) was an American astronomer, university professor and university president. He was a native of Indiana, and pursued a career as a professor of astronomy after receiving his bachelor's, ma ...
, who served as its first president from 1956 until his retirement in 1971. During this time, the university expanded rapidly, due in part to the first master's degree programs commencing in 1964. Allen was infamously known for his opposition to college sports in favor of placing an "Accent on Learning", USF's original motto. He received national attention after declaring in 1959 that the school would have no sports teams, though he later had a change of heart and USF's first varsity teams would begin in 1965. Allen's ultimate legacy was to be the first person to build a modern state university from scratch, famously stating: "As a completely new and separate institution, the University of South Florida became the first new institution of its kind to be conceived, planned and built in the United States in the 20th century". Today the John and Grace Allen Administration Building, named after the university's founding president and his wife, houses vital Tampa campus departments including Student Affairs, the Admissions Welcome Center, and the Controller's Office. USF's St. Petersburg campus opened in 1965 as a satellite campus. The site was known as the "Bay Campus" at the time and sat on the former site of the U.S. Navy Maritime Training Center. USF's campus was damaged by an
F4 tornado The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...
during the tornado outbreak of April 4–5, 1966, with the cooling towers at the university's power plant partially collapsing and the roof being ripped off of one of the dormitories.


1970s

In 1970,
M. Cecil Mackey Maurice Cecil Mackey Jr. ("Cecil") (January 23, 1929 – February 8, 2018) was president of University of South Florida from 1971 to 1976, president of Texas Tech University from 1976 to 1979, and president of Michigan State University from 1979 t ...
became the university's second president. During his time at USF, Mackey opened the university's medical school, School of Nursing, and first-ever PhD program. Additionally, Mackey worked to strengthen the St. Petersburg campus, while opening new satellite campuses in Sarasota and Fort Myers. While serving as university president, Mackey continued to teach economics courses in a conference room across from his office. Mackey first coined a new descriptor for USF: a "metropolitan university". The term is still used to describe USF and other colleges in large cities today. USF Sarasota–Manatee was founded in 1975 and shared a campus with
New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...
, which later became part of the USF system as well before becoming an independent university again.


1980s

USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1980s under the leadership of the university's third president John Lott Brown. During his tenure, the USF Graduate School was established in 1980. In 1986, Brown oversaw the opening of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute on the USF Tampa campus. USF became the first university in the nation to offer a PhD in applied anthropology and the first in the State University System of Florida to offer a degree program in women's studies. In January 1988, USF Lakeland opened. On February 15, 1988, Francis T. Borkowski was inaugurated as the university's fourth president. He served as president for five years, laying the groundwork for the university's football program, establishing on-campus housing for the USF president at the Lifsey House, and merging several colleges into the College of Arts and Sciences.


1990s

Betty Castor became the university's fifth president and first female president when she was inaugurated in January 1994. She served as USF president for six years until 1999. During this time, USF grew to be one of the largest universities in the nation in terms of enrollment. In 1997, the university began its inaugural season of NCAA football. The Florida Board of Regents named USF a "Research 1" University in 1998. In 2006, Castor returned to USF to lead the
Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions is a research center based at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The Patel Center's main goals are to identify challenges in the developing world and find viable solutions to tho ...
. Castor stepped down from her position as director in 2009.


2000s

Judy Genshaft Judy Lynn Genshaft (; born January 7, 1948) was President of University of South Florida from 2000 to 2019. She stepped down from the position in July 2019 after a 19-year tenure. Early life and education Genshaft was born and raised in Canton, O ...
was selected as the new president in 2000. Under Genshaft's leadership, the university emerged as a top research university (achieving preeminence in June 2018) and major economic engine with an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion in the 2018–2019 fiscal year, her last year as president. The university has expanded its global reach, with the opening of the first Confucius Institute in Florida in 2008 and the creation of the Genshaft/Greenbaum Passport Scholarship Fund in 2011, which provides financial support to USF students who want to study abroad. Under Genshaft, USF has continuously been ranked among the top veteran-friendly universities in the country. In 2009, USF became the first university in the nation to partner with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to offer specialized services for veterans taking advantage of the new G.I. Bill. USF continues to improve academically, being ranked among the best colleges in the nation by '' U.S. News & World Report''.


2010s

In 2012, USF was recognized as one of the nation's largest producers of Fulbright Program scholars. In 2018, Genshaft announced her retirement from position as president of USF. The university's seventh president, Dr. Steven C. Currall, took office on July 1, 2019. Under his leadership, the university broke into the top 50 best public colleges in the nation by ''U.S. News & World Report'', achieving a 44th-place ranking in 2019


2020s

Currall also led the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, which included many budgetary hardships brought along due to the loss in state funding (this included a controversial proposal to phase out the College of Education - which was later dropped due to fierce opposition). On July 19, 2021, Currall announced that he will retire as president, citing "health and family reasons". He will remain on the faculty with the
Muma College of Business The Muma College of Business is the University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one o ...
as a professor. After Curall's resignation, Rhea Law, a USF alumna and former USF Board of Trustees chair, was appointed as interim president. The Board of Trustees selected Law for the permanent job as president on March 22, 2022, and she is the first USF graduate to serve in the role. Law stated her top priorities were for USF to reach a top-25 public university ranking, to gain admission into the Association of American Universities, and to build an on-campus football stadium.


Seal and colors

In 1958, President John Allen commissioned a seal for the new university, wanting a symbol that would represent education on a global scale. Each element of the seal has a special meaning: * The Sun represents life to all living things * The lamp symbolizes learning * The globe signifies the broadened perspective and opportunities provided by higher education. *Truth and Wisdom, USF's motto and President Allen's cornerstone for the university USF's original colors were green, gold, and purple. These are also the colors of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, of which President Allen was a member. Purple was later dropped and the official colors became just green and gold, but purple accents are visible on some of the older buildings on campus including the administration building which now bears the name of John Allen and his wife, Grace. Purple has since returned as a tertiary color for the university, though it has very limited use aside from some of the women's sports teams having purple accents featured on their alternate jerseys. As mentioned, the current primary colors of the university are green and gold, though the shades of these colors changed from the original kelly green and yellow to a darker green and vegas gold in the late 1990s. Green represents all life on Earth and gold symbolizes the life giving heat and light of the Sun.


Preeminence

In 2018, USF was classified as the third Preeminent university in Florida by the state university system. For a public institution to achieve a status of preeminence, they must meet or surpass benchmarks in at least 11 of 12 metrics set forth by Florida lawmakers.


Leadership

USF is a member institution of the
State University System of Florida The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...
(SUSF), which is overseen by the Florida Board of Governors. Like all SUSF institutions, USF has a 13-member decision-making body called the Board of Trustees (BOT), consisting of the Faculty Senate President, Student Body President, six members appointed by the Governor of Florida, and five members appointed by the Florida Board of Governors. The members appointed by the Governor and Board of Governors must be confirmed by the Florida Senate and each serve five-year terms. The BOT has many responsibilities, including setting the school's budget, strategic goals and objectives, and establishing policies related to academic programs. The USF BOT also appoints the USF president, who also serves as the chancellor of the Tampa campus and in turn appoints the chancellors of the St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses. USF is currently led by Rhea Law, who was appointed as interim president following the retirement of Steven C. Currall in August 2021, then selected for the permanent role in March 2022. The chancellor of the St. Petersburg campus is Martin Tadlock and the chancellor of the Sarasota-Manatee campus is Karen Holbrook.


Campuses


University of South Florida System (1965–2020)

USF was previously identified as a
university system A university system is a set of multiple affiliated universities and colleges that are usually geographically distributed. Typically, all member universities in a university system share a common component among all of their various names. Usually, ...
from 1965 until 2020, but is now chartered as one university geographically distributed across three campus locations: Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee. Before being consolidated into one university geographically distributed, the University of South Florida System included three member institutions: USF Tampa (which was the flagship campus), USF St. Petersburg, and USF Sarasota-Manatee. Each institution was separately accredited, had a distinct mission, and its own strategic plans. The USF System once included three other member institutions: one in Fort Myers, one in Sarasota, and one in Lakeland. USF Fort Myers opened in 1982 and closed in 1997 with the opening of Florida Gulf Coast University. The Sarasota institution was originally a private college called New College which sold itself to USF in 1975 to pay off debt, and became New College of the University of South Florida. As part of the deal, New College was allowed to keep its unique grading system. It shared a campus with USF Sarasota-Manatee, which opened in 1975, but was accredited differently as USFSM was considered a branch campus rather than a member institution at the time. New College became the independent
New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...
in 2001, but continued to share a campus with USFSM until a new one was built for USFSM in 2006. USF Lakeland opened in 1988 and split off from the USF System in 2012 to become the independent Florida Polytechnic University. In summer 2020, the system was consolidated into "one university geographically distributed"


Tampa campus

Established in 1956, the USF Tampa campus serves more than 41,000 students. The institution houses 14 colleges and is the doctoral granting campus of USF. The University of South Florida Office of Graduate Studies is based on the Tampa campus and serves as the center of leadership for graduate education at the University of South Florida. The Tampa campus is located in
North Tampa North Tampa is a region that comprises the city of Tampa communities of Forest Hills, Harvey Heights, North Tampa (neighborhood), Tampa Overlook, Temple Crest, Terrace Park and University Square, and the areas in New Tampa. The region repres ...
east of the
University neighborhood The University Neighborhood is one of Syracuse, New York's 26 officially recognized neighborhoods. It borders the neighborhoods of Westcott to the north, University Hill to the west, Outer Comstock to the southwest, Skytop (South Campus) to ...
, about seven miles north of
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
. It is by far the largest of the three campuses, spanning 1,562 acres. The campus is divided into different districts, with most housing located in the northeast, athletics and recreation in the east and southeast, research in the south and southwest, USF Health in the west, northwest and north, and undergraduate classes and student services in central campus. Each college is divided into its own section within the district, for example with
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
and
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
in the north and northwest parts of the district, social sciences in the east,
natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s and engineering in the south, and education and
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
in the southeast. The campus is known for having over 19,000 trees, and has been named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation every year since 2011. In honor of this, nearly all streets on campus are named after trees, as are six of the 14 dorms. The tree motif is also seen on USF's
ceremonial mace A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the or ...
, which has a gold pinecone on the top to symbolize both growth and the fact that the first trees to be planted on the campus were pine. These pine trees are still around today, in the field next to the main south entrance to the campus on LeRoy Collins Boulevard between Fowler Avenue and Alumni Drive.


St. Petersburg campus

USF first occupied the site of the USF St. Petersburg campus in 1965, taking over the former U.S. Maritime Training Center along Bayboro Harbor in downtown St. Petersburg. It is located next to
Albert Whitted Airport Albert Whitted Airport is a public airport in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is on the west edge of Tampa Bay, just southeast of downtown St. Petersburg and east of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Hi ...
and less than a mile from the Salvador Dalí Museum and Al Lang Stadium. USFSP was a satellite campus from 1965 until 2006, when it was accredited as a separate entity from the USF Tampa campus within the University of South Florida System by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
. USFSP serves approximately 4,500 students per year and offers 33 undergraduate and graduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and education.


Sarasota-Manatee campus

When USF Sarasota-Manatee was established as a branch campus in 1975, it originally shared a campus with what is now the independent
New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...
, but was at the time a USF system member called New College of the University of South Florida. New College became independent of the USF system in 2001 and USFSM took its place as a member institution in the USF system, but USFSM and New College continued to share a campus until a new campus was completed for USFSM across the street in 2006. Nearly 2,000 students take classes at USFSM each year. The campus offers 43 academic programs and certificates in arts and sciences, business, education, and hospitality and technology leadership.


Academics

USF offers 91 bachelor's degree programs, 103 master's degree programs, 48 doctoral degree programs, two specialist degree programs, and several certificate programs under 14 colleges. Based on a semester system, the USF academic calendar is composed of three academic semesters each year. The academic year begins in the fall, running from August to December. The spring semester generally begins in January and ends in late April or early May. The summer semester is broken down into three overlapping sessions – A, B, and C – that generally span either six or ten weeks.


Tuition

As of the 2022–23 academic year, tuition costs are: ; Undergraduate : $213.65 per credit hour for in-state students, and $577.47 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Total (assuming 30 credit hours): $6,409.50 for in-state students and $17,324.10 for out-of-state students. ; Graduate :$434.51 per credit hour for in-state students, and $880.25 per credit hour for out-of-state students. Total (assuming 24 credit hours): $10,428.24 for in-state students and $21,126.00 for out-of-state students. Tuition has been frozen at all Florida public universities since 2014.


Demographics

Nearly 50,000 students are enrolled at USF as of the 2022–23 academic year, including over 36,900 undergraduate students, 9,500 graduate students, 1,500 doctor of medicine students, and 1,700 non-degree seeking students. USF is one of the 40 most diverse universities in the nation, with students representing every state, U.S. territory, and more than 140 countries. International students represent approximately 12% of the total USF student population. As of the Fall 2022 semester, the student diversity profile of the university was approximately: 50% White, 9% African American, 23% Hispanic of any race, 9% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 4% two or more races, and 5% students who did not report their race. Roughly 60% of USF students are female and 40% are male. The Fall 2022 Freshman class of approximately 4,000 students earned admission to the university with an average SAT score of 1309 out of 1600, ACT score of 29 out of 36, and high school GPA of 4.21. 41% of the members of the incoming class graduated in the top 10% of their high school class. Among the incoming class were 79
National Merit Scholars The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
.


Rankings

For 2022–2023, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked USF as tied for #97 overall on its list of Tier I National Universities and #42 among public universities. This made USF the fastest rising university in America, jumping 84 spots on the overall list and 58 spots on the public university list in 10 years. This ranking also put USF as #4 in Florida overall and #3 in Florida among public universities. Compared to institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), the group of the top 66 universities in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, USF ranks higher than Iowa State University, the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri and is tied with the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Oregon. In other rankings released by U.S. News, USF was the only Florida university in the Top 10 Best Value Colleges, at #8 among public universities. USF also ranked #17 in the nation overall, #12 in the nation among public institutions, and #1 in Florida on the U.S. News ranking of top National Universities for Social Mobility. Niche ranked USF #29 for top public universities in America and #97 for best colleges in America 2023. According to Niche, USF was home to the #9 Criminal Justice Program, #17 Information Technology Program, and #24 Public Health Program in the United States.


Colleges

The 14 colleges of the university are: * College of Arts and Sciences * College of Behavioral and Community Sciences *
Muma College of Business The Muma College of Business is the University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one o ...
* College of Education * College of Engineering * Patel College of Global Sustainability * College of Graduate Studies * Judy Genshaft Honors College * College of Marine Science * Morsani College of Medicine *
College of Nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...
* Taneja College of Pharmacy * College of Public Health * College of The Arts


Faculty

As of Fall 2022, there were more than 15,000 instructional faculty and the student to faculty ratio for the campus was 22:1. Approximately 86 percent of full-time faculty members held the highest degree in their field of expertise. Additionally, the university had more than 1,500 adjunct professors, 300 post-doctoral scholars, 2,000 graduate assistants, and 3,000 student assistants. USF faculty include over 200 scholars receiving prominent scholarly awards, including
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, National Science Foundation,
AAAS AAAS may refer to: * American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a learned society and center for policy research; the publisher of the journal ''Dædalus'' * American Association for the Advancement of Science, an organization that supports scientifi ...
, Guggenheim, and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships. In 2012, USF mechanical engineering professor
Autar Kaw Autar Kaw is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida. In 2012, he won the U.S Professor of the Year award from the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Edu ...
, was one of four in the nation to receive the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most nota ...
and Council for Advancement and Support of Education 2012 U.S. Professor of the Year award.


Graduation

The first USF Commencement ceremony was held in 1963 where 325 degrees were conferred. Now, the school awards over 13,000 degrees each year. Commencement ceremonies are held three times a year at the end of the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Spring ceremonies are generally the largest, with five separate ceremonies held each semester. Commencement ceremonies are held in the
USF Sun Dome Yuengling Center (formerly the USF Sun Dome) is an indoor arena on the main campus of the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. Construction began in November 1977, and it opened on November 29, 1980. It is located in USF's Athl ...
. Since 2013, graduate's names have been announced by Associate Athletic Director Jim Louk, who is known for being the "Voice of the Bulls" as the radio announcer for USF football and basketball games.


Libraries

The USF Tampa Library is the largest and most comprehensive library in the USF System. In addition to providing students access to more than 2 million academic journals, databases, and books, the seven-story USF Tampa library offers tutoring and writing services, laptops, a career resource center, and Course Reserves and reservable group study rooms. The USF Tampa Library also houses several Special and Digital Collections, including literature, oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and the university archives. In 2012, the USF Tampa Library opened the Science, Math and Research Technology (SMART) Lab, a hands-on learning space which includes more than 300 computer work stations. In 2013, USF students successfully protested to keep the library open 24 hours a day/5 days a week during the Fall and Spring semesters for current students, faculty and staff who possess a valid USF ID card. In 2017, renovations were completed on the 5th floor to bring 400 individual study spaces with personal lamps, electrical outlets, and USB ports for device charging, and provided new group study rooms with white boards. In addition to the Tampa library, the USF Libraries system includes two regional library spaces and USF Health Libraries. The regional library spaces are the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, located on the USF St. Petersburg campus, and the Information Commons Hub located on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. USF Health Libraries serve the USF Health community, with two locations, the Hinks and Elaine Shimberg Health Sciences Library, located on the USF Tampa campus and the Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange, located at the USF Health campus in downtown Tampa. Beyond providing support to USF students, staff, and faculty, the libraries welcome members of the public who are doing health and medical-related research of their own.


Research

USF is one of the fastest growing research universities in the nation, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. In the 2021 fiscal year, the university was awarded more than $590 million in research awards. The Intellectual Property Owners Association ranked USF among the top ten universities in the world granted U.S. utility patents in 2011. USF is also a member of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and the National Sea Grant College Program.


USF Health

USF Health consists of the Morsani College of Medicine,
College of Nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...
, Taneja College of Pharmacy, College of Public Health, the School of Biomedical Sciences (within the College of Arts and Sciences), the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, and the USF Physician's Group. USF Health researchers work in the fields of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, prosthetics, heart health, genomics, and more. The College of Nursing ranks first in Florida for universities receiving research funding from the National Institutes of Health. More than 400 healthcare professionals at USF Health treat patients throughout the state of Florida. In 2012, the university opened the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in
downtown Tampa Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area. It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown ...
. The 90,000 square foot facility serves as an education and training center for health professionals around the world. In 2020, the Morsani College of Medicine and USF Health Heart Institute moved to a new 395,000 square foot, 13-story highrise tower in the Water Street district of downtown Tampa. The Taneja College of Pharmacy moved to the facility the following year.


Sustainability

USF was given a gold rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education for building an environmentally-conscious campus. In 2010, the USF School of Global Sustainability was created as part of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. In 2012, the new Patel College of Global Sustainability, consisting of the
Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions is a research center based at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The Patel Center's main goals are to identify challenges in the developing world and find viable solutions to tho ...
, the Master of the Arts in Global Sustainability Program, and the Office of Sustainability, was introduced. The college is housed in the first
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
GOLD certified building on the USF Tampa campus. USF signed the American College and University President's Climate Commitment in 2008 and submitted its Climate Action Plan in 2010 with a goal of a 10 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2015. Since then, the university has introduced several sustainability initiatives, including electric vehicle charging stations, water bottle filling stations, reusable plastic food containers in dining halls, recycling programs in residence halls, new, more efficient busses for the fare-free campus bus service, solar-powered golf carts, and more. In 2011, the university introduced the Student Green Energy Fund, which allows students to propose and vote on projects that aim to reduce campus energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainable technologies. The nearly 20,000 trees on the Tampa campus provide an estimated $1.8 million yearly benefit to the university through energy conserved, stormwater management, and carbon dioxide removal. The campus is renowned for its number of trees and has been named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation every year since 2011. Currently, the university has six LEED certified buildings, all of which are on the main Tampa campus or the downtown medical campus. They are the
Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center For Global Solutions The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions is a research center based at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The Patel Center's main goals are to identify challenges in the developing world and find viable solutions to tho ...
(Gold), Interdisciplinary Science Building (Gold), Yuengling Center (Silver), Center For Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (Silver), Chowdhari Golf Practice Facility (Certified), and Morsani Center for Advanced Health Care (Certified).


Center for Urban Transportation Research

Founded in 1988, The Center for Urban Transportation Research conducts over $13 million in research annually for a variety of public and private sector sponsors in Florida and the United States, including the Florida Legislature, the Florida Transportation Commission, and state and local governments, agencies, and organizations. CUTR houses the National Center for Transit Research, designated by the U.S. Congress in 1991, and reaffirmed in 1998, 2002, 2012 and 2013. Areas of research include public transportation, transportation planning, intelligent transportation systems, transportation demand management, transportation economics and finance, geographic information systems, access management, alternative fuels, and transportation safety, among others.


Materials Simulation Laboratory

The
Materials Simulation Laboratory The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...
of the Department of Physics was established in 2002. The MSL researches condensed matter and materials physics using computers as tools.


Student life

The USF Tampa campus provides multiple services and resources necessary for students to succeed both in the classroom and in their personal lives. Under the Division of Student Affairs, USF students have access to involvement opportunities, on-campus housing, dining facilities, recreational outlets, health and wellness services, and more.


Marshall Student Center

In 2011 the university opened a new student union called the Marshall Student Center. The name pays homage to Phyllis P. Marshall, the longtime director of the former student union, which was also named after her. The four-story building features a 1,200 seat ballroom, 800-seat auditorium, 100 workstation computer lab, study and meeting spaces, several student lounge areas, and outdoor courtyards. The facility offers several retail outlets including a pharmacy, computer store, credit union, commuter lounge, and identification card center. The MSC features ten dining options including Panera, Chick-fil-A, and Subway. As the home of the USF Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, Student Government, the Center for Student Involvement, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the center is considered to be the gathering place for all things student life at USF.


Centre Gallery

The Centre Gallery is a student-run
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
space within the Marshall Student Center for the University of South Florida's students, faculty, staff and alumni offering the university community and the Tampa Bay area stimulating visual art experiences by consistently exhibiting innovative, contemporary art work. Centre Gallery, established in 1984, is the only fully student run, non-profit, exhibition space in the state of Florida. Exhibitions run in two-week durations during the Fall and Spring and three-week durations during the summer. These exhibitions are attended by over 4,000 visitors each semester.


Former student union

The original USF student union was built in 1959 and opened in 1960. Originally called the University Center, it was one of the first five buildings that made up the USF Tampa campus when it opened. In its early years, the University Center held the first on-campus women's residence hall, a cafeteria, post office, bookstore, game room, television room, and information desk. Classes were held in the basement and first floor of the building until other academic buildings were completed. The center underwent major renovations from 1988 to 1990. It was renamed the Phyllis P. Marshall Center in 1993, in honor of the woman who served as director of the building from 1976 to 1994. In order to better serve the growing student population on the Tampa campus, the building was torn down and replaced with a new 230,000 square foot union in 2008.


Bull statues

The university has a total of 9 life size bronze bull statues across the three campuses, with one on the St. Petersburg campus, one on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, and seven on the Tampa campus (three in front of the south entrance of the Marshall Student Center, three in The Village housing complex, and one in front of the student entrance at the Yuengling Center, plus a 15-foot tall topiary bull at the north entrance of the Marshall Student Center). Each statue has its own distinct design with every bull standing in a different position. These statues are shrouded in USF tradition. The original three statues (the ones outside the MSC, dubbed the "Running of the Bulls") plus the topiary bull represent the four years a student spends in college, with the topiary bull representing a student's senior year as it symbolizes the student's growth over the past four years and faces one of the main entrances to campus (Palm Drive) as it will soon run off into the world.


Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza

One of the most popular gathering spots on the Tampa campus is
Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
Plaza, which is located between the John and Grace Allen Building and the Marshall Student Center, marked by a small bust of the civil rights activist. Beneath the bust of Dr. King are five granite lines pointing in the directions of five cities significant to his legacy: Atlanta, Boston, Memphis, Montgomery, and Washington D.C. The bust faces a reflecting pool with fountains which marks the geographical center of campus. On the other side of the pool are stone tablets engraved with Dr. King's "
I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...
" speech.


Botanical Gardens

The 15 acre botanical garden on USF's Tampa campus was established in 1969 for use by the Biology Department. The garden contains over 3,000 taxa of plants including fruit trees, bonsai trees, grasses, begonias, orchids,
bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
s, palms, aroids, bamboo,
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
s,
carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...
s, cycads, cactus and succulent plants, an
herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
and scent garden, wetland forest, temperate forest, subtropical shade garden, and Florida upland scrub and sandhill habitats. The gardens also has a medicinal herb garden, which is used by the USF College of Pharmacy for research purposes. The garden is open to the public six days a week and admission is free for students.


Castor Beach

Castor Beach is an artificial beach on campus by the lake outside of Betty Castor Hall, one of the largest dorms on the Tampa campus. The beach is complete with white sand taken from the nearby Clearwater Beach, which is regularly voted as one of America's best beaches. The area has a beach volleyball net, hammocks, and chairs with umbrellas and is a popular spot for relaxing on campus. Swimming in the lake is not allowed due to alligators.


Housing

There are 39 residence halls on the USF Tampa campus in 14 complexes, offering traditional, suite, and apartment-style housing. In total, these residential halls provide housing to more than 5,600 students. The university also offers specialized housing options such as family housing, female-only housing, graduate student housing, and 14 houses for fraternity and sorority members in the Greek Village. Each bedroom on the Tampa campus is furnished with a twin extra-long bed, dresser, desk, chair, trash can, and closet space for every resident. Each residence hall has at least one resident assistant. In 2009, the university implemented a new policy requiring all first-year, full-time undergraduate students at the Tampa campus to live on campus. Students exempt from this new rule include those who remain living with their parents and/or legal guardians within
Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...
, Pasco and Pinellas counties, are above the age of 21 by the first day of fall classes, have a dependent child or family member, or are married. The university offers 12 Living Learning Communities (LLCs) in residence halls throughout the Tampa campus. The residential communities place special interest on academic majors or areas of interest, such as business, education, engineering, and sustainability. Residents are required to submit an application and meet certain eligibility criteria to be admitted into an LLC. The St. Petersburg campus opened its first residence hall in 2006, and has since opened two more. The campus has space for over 600 students.


Campus recreation


Gyms

The Campus Recreation Center on the USF Tampa campus is a 21,000 square foot, WiFi-enabled fitness facility featuring a two-basketball court gymnasium, six group fitness rooms, a 200-meter indoor three-lane running track, 120 pieces of cardio equipment, six racquetball courts, and a 25-meter indoor swimming pool. Inside the facility, members can work out, take group fitness classes, play intramural sports, rent equipment, receive personal training, undergo fitness assessments, and more. The Campus Recreation Center, known as the USF Gymnasium at the time, was also the first on campus home to USF's men's basketball team, who played three home games there in 1978–79 before the completion of the
Sun Dome Yuengling Center (formerly the USF Sun Dome) is an indoor arena on the main campus of the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. Construction began in November 1977, and it opened on November 29, 1980. It is located in USF's Athl ...
. It also hosted all of the
women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...
team's home games from their founding in 1972 until they moved to the Sun Dome in 1980, as well as in the 2011–12 season while the Sun Dome underwent renovations (the men's team primarily played at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa during that season). This area has space for roughly 1,500 spectators. In addition to the Campus Recreation Center, there are other, smaller fitness facilities on the USF Tampa campus: The Fit in the Village housing complex, the WELL in the USF Health area, and the Magnolia Fitness Center within the Magnolia Apartments complex; plus a 1.25-mile long fitness trail through the woods near the varsity tennis courts complete with exercise stations. The Fit and the Magnolia Fitness Center also feature swimming pools, though they are designed more for recreation than for swimming laps like the one in the Campus Recreation Center.


Other recreation

Through the Campus Recreation Department, USF offers more than 30 intramural sports throughout the academic year. USF Campus Recreation also maintains USF Riverfront Park, located 1.5 miles away from the Tampa campus. The recreational park is only open for use to USF students, faculty, and staff. Located on the Hillsborough River, the park boathouse offers canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding for a small fee. Groups can sign up to climb the 55-foot high ropes course located at the park, which features three levels of challenges. A less challenging version of the ropes course, called the low ropes workshop, allows teams to participate in trust-building exercises and group problem solving. The park also has an 18-hole disk golf course. The Outdoor Recreation department of USF Campus Recreation hosts several recreational trips throughout the year. USF students, faculty, and staff can sign up to participate in guided backpacking, tubing, white water rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips both in Florida and throughout the Southeast United States. Outdoor Rec regularly hosts "beach days" during which the department provides transportation to and from nearby beaches including
Fort De Soto Park South-southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida, Fort De Soto Park is a park operated by Pinellas County on five offshore keys, or islands: Madelaine Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key, Bonne Fortune Key and the main island, Mullet Key. The keys ...
, Clearwater Beach, and
Honeymoon Island State Park Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida State Parks, Florida State Park located on Honeymoon Island, a barrier island across St. Joseph's Sound from Palm Harbor, Florida, Palm Harbor, Ozona, Florida, Ozona, and Crystal Beach, Florida, Crystal Be ...
. Additionally, the department hosts moonlight canoeing trips at USF Riverfront Park four times a semester.


Club sports

The Campus Recreation Department also offers over 40 club sports teams to students, including rugby, lacrosse, and even ice hockey. These teams mainly compete against club teams from other nearby schools such as Florida, Tampa, and Central Florida as well as nationally in leagues like the
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
. Club teams have won 11 national championships for USF; two in flag football, two in karate, two in cricket, two in paintball, two in cheer, and one in wakeboarding,


Harborwalk

Harborwalk is an area on the St. Petersburg campus that connects the campus with other nearby attractions in the downtown area, including Poynter Park, the Salvador Dalí Museum, and Al Lang Stadium. It runs along Bayboro Harbor on the east border of campus and is home to things like the University Student Center and Sembler Fountain.


Student involvement

There are more than 600 registered student organizations at USF, including academic, professional, special interest, Greek, and multicultural groups. USF students are welcome to join existing organizations or apply to create their own. The USF Center for Student Involvement, located in the Marshall Student Center, provides multiple programs throughout the academic year, including the University Lecture Series, Homecoming Week, USF Week, and more. In addition to the Center for Student Involvement, the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement offers numerous opportunities for organization involvement, personal and organizational leadership development, and community service.


Fraternity and sorority life

There are 29 fraternities and 23 sororities recognized by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, all of which are located on the Tampa campus. Four councils govern these chapters: the
Interfraternity Council The North American Interfraternity Conference (or NIC; formerly known as the National Interfraternity Conference) is an association of college, intercollegiate men's List of social fraternities and sororities, social Fraternities and sororities, ...
, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Panhellenic Association, and the Unified Greek Council. Greek Village, a residential area on the USF Tampa campus offers housing for members of 12 fraternities and sororities.


ROTC

The USF Tampa campus offers three Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs: Air Force, Army, and Navy. USF is one of only 38 universities in the nation to offer all three service ROTC programs. The university was the first in the nation to create a Joint Military Leadership Center (JMLC) to house all three programs. Located in the C.W. Bill Young Hall, the JMLC is a 53,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility featuring a weapons simulation room, an outdoor rappelling wall, a joint cadet and midshipmen lounge, three lecture halls, and five classrooms. The building is equipped to handle web-casting, video conferencing, and distance learning. The university offers three military-related minors at the Tampa campus. The sixteen-credit hour Aerospace Studies Minor provides an understanding of military officer management and leadership concepts, as well as an analysis of the evolution of American defense policy and strategy. The eighteen-credit hour Military Science Minor provides students with an in-depth understanding of Army leadership doctrine and a framework for applying such concepts outside of the classroom. The eighteen-credit hour Naval Science and Leadership Minor places special emphasis on character development and effective communication skills, while providing an understanding of the Naval leadership doctrine and the fundamental principles used by leaders in the Navy and Marine Corps. Students enrolled in a USF ROTC program have the opportunity to live in the on-campus ROTC Living Learning Community (LLC). Located in the suite-style Maple Hall, the ROTC LLC allows students to be exposed to the customs of each military branch, while developing camaraderie with their fellow cadets and midshipmen.


Student Government

The USF Student Government, like all Florida student governments, is an agency of the state created under Florida Statute 1004.26. Student Government, made up of 250 student volunteers and employees, is responsible for advocating for students at the university, local, state and national levels. The Student Senate allocates and expends over $17 million in activity and service fees a year by Florida law. The Student Government is set up much like the federal government and is bound by the Student Body Constitution, student government statutes, university regulations, and applicable law. The executive administration oversees several departments and service agencies including SAFE Team, Student Government Computer Services, and
Bulls Radio Bulls Media is the University of South Florida Student Media Station. Previously Bulls radio was broadcast on 1620 kHz on the USF campus and was the first college station to be carried on an HD Radio sub-channel, when it occupied WMNF's HD-2 chan ...
. The Student Body President can also be voted in to sit on the University Board of Trustees and is a member of the Florida Student Association (FSA). The Student Senate, headed by the Senate President and Senate President Pro-Tempore, creates legislation and allocates and expends activity and service fee funds per Florida Statute 1009.24. The senate has 60 seats that are filled by the 14 colleges. Each college is allotted a certain number of seats depending on the size of the college. The Senate carries out its duties mostly through committees. The Student Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice, hears cases involving students and Student Government and also hear all final parking appeals for students at the USF Tampa campus.


Career Services

Housed in the Student Services building near the center of campus, the University of South Florida Career Services offers support to students and alumni in the process of dreaming, planning, and achieving their career goals. The on-site staff of Career Counselors teaches students how to use a strategic approach in planning for a career path and job search. Career Services helps undergraduates self-assess, learn how to conduct career research, seek out experiences that will give you transferable skills, and search for full-time employment or prepare for graduate school. The office also provides similar assistance to graduate students and alumni to break onto the scene in their field of study and assist them in creating a brand for themselves and gain the tools necessary to be a real competitor in the workforce. Career Services is responsible for a host of networking and professional development opportunities on campus, including career fairs, resume workshops, mock interviews with recruiters from local businesses, professional etiquette dinners, and virtual job searching through Employ-A-Bull. USF Career Services also collaborates with several student organizations such as Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, the
American Marketing Association The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a professional association for marketing professionals with 30,000 members as of 2012. It has 76 professional chapters and 250 collegiate chapters across the United States. The AMA was formed in from th ...
as well as the College of Business to hold on-campus events for the student body throughout the academic year.


University and student media

Beginning in 1961, a local afternoon newspaper, ''The Tampa Times'', covered university news in the one-page weekly "Campus Edition". Now defunct, the newspaper was succeeded by ''The Oracle''. First published in 1966, the weekly broadsheet was distributed every Wednesday. Housed today in the Student Services Building of the Tampa campus, the student-run newspaper is published four times a week during the Fall and Spring semesters and twice a week during the Summer semesters. The 12,000 circulation newspaper has been recognized by the
Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
and the
Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...
for excellence in journalism. Owned by USF, WUSF (FM) first began airing in 1963. A member station of National Public Radio, the broadcast studio is located on the USF Tampa campus. Currently, the FM station broadcasts NPR and local news during the day and jazz music in the overnight hours. The station is funded by local corporate and private contributors, as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and is affiliated with the
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
. In 2003, WUSF 89.7 became the first public radio station in the nation to broadcast a digital signal. Today, WUSF Public Media offers local and national news coverage, educational programming, and jazz and classical music through WUSF 89.7, WSMR 89.1, WEDQ, IntellisMedia, and WUSF New Media. The student-run radio station at USF, now known as
Bulls Radio Bulls Media is the University of South Florida Student Media Station. Previously Bulls radio was broadcast on 1620 kHz on the USF campus and was the first college station to be carried on an HD Radio sub-channel, when it occupied WMNF's HD-2 chan ...
, first went on the air in 1988. Formerly known as "WBUL" until 2009, the station broadcasts from the Marshall Student Center, where student reporters and DJs broadcast from a studio featuring a window that overlooks the Bullpen restaurant. Now one of the largest student-run radio stations in the state of Florida, Bulls Radio can be heard on 1620 AM, 88.5 HD2 or online.


Traditions

USF's hand sign is "Horns Up", similar to Texas's " Hook 'em Horns". The sign is used by fans at games for good luck during field goals, extra points, free throws, etc.; and as a general greeting or show of school spirit. Since 1995, the university has shined green lights (as opposed to the usual white lights) on its iconic water tower the night following a victory by any of the Bulls sports teams to let the campus and surrounding area know of the win. The school also lights the water tower green for special events like homecoming and commencement ceremonies. The Bull Market is an open air weekly market that hosts a combination of vendors, student organizations, and not-for-profit organizations showcasing their products and services. The Bull Market takes place every Wednesday outside the Marshall Student Center and is one of the oldest traditions at USF. The university has a motif of trees, with nearly 20,000 on the Tampa campus alone. The love of trees started with USF's first president John Allen, who wanted to cover the university with them since there were zero trees on the campus when it was founded. Still today, students plant dozens of trees every year on Arbor Day. In honor of this, much of the campus is or once was named after trees. Nearly every road at the Tampa campus is, besides Alumni Drive, LeRoy Collins Boulevard (named after the governor of Florida who signed the bill that created USF), and Genshaft Drive (known as Maple Drive until 2019 and named after former USF President
Judy Genshaft Judy Lynn Genshaft (; born January 7, 1948) was President of University of South Florida from 2000 to 2019. She stepped down from the position in July 2019 after a 19-year tenure. Early life and education Genshaft was born and raised in Canton, O ...
, who filled the position for nearly 20 years). Many dorms are also named after trees, and the football team's original meeting facilities were called "the Ponderosa". In addition, the university mace is crowned with a gold pinecone which signifies both growth and that the first tree planted on campus by President Allen was a pine tree. On the floor near the south entrance to the Marshall Student Center sits a large USF seal. Students are told at orientation that if they ever step on the seal from the time between their first ever class until their last final exam they will not graduate. However, they can reverse this "curse" if they run outside the building and rub the nose of the large bronze bull statue that sits at the bottom of the hill leading up to the south entrance within 30 seconds. There is a similar superstition with the smaller USF seal in the courtyard of the John and Grace Allen Building, but if a student steps on that seal they must jump into the reflecting pool in the nearby Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza. For men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball games, rubbing the back hoof of the bull statue outside the student entrance to the Yuengling Center is said to bring the team good luck. At the St. Petersburg campus and Sarasota-Manatee campuses, rubbing on the horns of their respective bull statues is said to bring good luck on exams.


Homecoming

Beginning in 1964, homecoming festivities are one of the longest standing traditions at USF. Events include a comedy show, a homecoming ball, a concert, a parade, and a carnival (called Carni-BULL), all leading up to the football game that weekend. Before USF's football team was founded, homecoming took place in the spring semester and led up to a basketball game.


USF Week

In 2009, Tampa mayor and USF alum Pam Iorio declared April 9 as USF Day. The celebration has evolved to include the entire week of April 9, and features events including a pep rally, talent show, battle of the bands, a birthday celebration for
Rocky the Bull Rocky the Bull (officially Rocky D. Bull) is the mascot of the University of South Florida. He is an anthropomorphized bull who can typically be seen at athletic dressed in USF athletic gear--usually a football or basketball jersey, but occasion ...
, and Bullstock, a music festival which features multiple artists and is opened by the winner of the battle of the bands competition the day prior.


St. Pete Grand Prix

Residence Hall One on the St. Petersburg campus gives a great view of IndyCar's annual
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
, held in March or April. Students on the St. Petersburg campus traditionally attend watch parties with their friends in the hall to watch the race, which runs through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. Most of the course is visible from north and east-facing rooms, but the finish line can only be seen from east-facing rooms.


Alma Mater

The university alma mater was composed by USF professor of music Wayne Hugoboom in 1960. The song was the result of a campus competition, for which Hugoboom won the first-place $250 prize. The alma mater was first used in 1961 and can be heard at the opening of every USF Commencement Ceremony. It is also played by the USF
Herd of Thunder The Herd of Thunder (often called H.O.T. or the Pride of the Bay) is the name for the athletic bands of the University of South Florida, which includes the show band, "Rumble" pep band, and marching band ensembles, although it is often used to re ...
marching band and Rumble pep band after every football and basketball game, respectively. A recording of the song is also played over the loudspeakers at sports which do not feature either the Herd of Thunder or Rumble.


Golden Brahman March

USF's fight song, the Golden Brahman March, is named after the original USF mascot. In 1962, students voted to make USF's mascot the Golden Brahman, a breed of cattle, because of the state's history in cattle raising. Although the university mascot has since evolved into the Bulls, the fight song name preserves the history of this USF icon. In 2011, the university athletics department launched a campaign to encourage students, faculty, staff, and fans to memorize the song. Today, incoming students are taught the song, along with other USF cheers, during new student and transfer orientation sessions.


Other songs

"The Bull" (also known as Number 8) is a rallying cry played by the USF Herd of Thunder marching band that encourages fans to stand up and circle the "Go Bulls" hand symbol above their heads. USF is somewhat unique among colleges in that it has both a fight song and a victory song, March Victorious. March Victorious is played by the Herd of Thunder after every USF win in football and basketball, but unlike the Golden Brahman March or alma mater, is not played at games of sports that do not feature the band and is not played after losses, whereas the fight song and alma mater are played regardless. During the Golden Brahman March and other USF songs, fans will circle the "Horns up" hand symbol above their heads.


Athletics

USF competed in its first intercollegiate athletic event on September 25, 1965, when it defeated the Florida Southern College men's soccer team. The university was admitted into the NCAA in 1968, and currently competes at the NCAA Division I level. USF was a charter member of the
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...
, joined
Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
in 1995, was admitted into the Big East Conference in 2003, and is currently a member of the American Athletic Conference. There are nearly 500 student-athletes across 19 varsity sports competing for the university each academic year. Michael Kelly is the current athletic director. USF teams have won 159 conference championships and one NCAA national championship ( women's swimming in 1985) as of January 2022. They also have four NCAA national runner up finishes (men's swimming in 1971, men's golf in 1971 and 1972, and
rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
in 1989). Athletes have won 17 individual NCAA national championships (seven in women's swimming, six in men's swimming, two in rifle, and two in men's outdoor track and field) and four relay NCAA national championships (three in women's swimming and one in men's swimming). Despite the numerous individual, relay, and team national championships in rifle, men's swimming, and women's swimming, the university no longer sponsors any of these sports. In non-NCAA sanctioned varsity sports, the USF softball team won the American Softball Association National Championships in 1983 and 1984. This was the highest level of college softball at the time as the NCAA didn't start sponsoring the sport until 1985. The Bulls sailing team won the 2009 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association
Sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
National Championship and the 2016 and 2017 ICSA Offshore Large Boats National Championships. As of the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
, 17 USF alumni representing 11 countries have competed as athletes in the Olympic Games.
Évelyne Viens Evelyne Viens (born 6 February 1997) is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Damallsvenskan club Kristianstads DFF, Kristianstads, on loan from National Women's So ...
of Canada's women's soccer team became the first USF alum to win an Olympic medal as an athlete when Team Canada won gold in 2020; though other USF alumni such as
Ken Eriksen Ken Eriksen is an American softball coach who is the current head coach of the University of South Florida Bulls and former manager of the United States women's national softball team. Early life and education Eriksen graduated high school f ...
won medals as coaches before this. All home athletic events are free for students.


Teams

The university currently sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's sports: Additionally, USF will add a women's lacrosse team and a women's beach volleyball team in the 2024–25 school year. USF also offers many club teams, including men's and women's rugby, cricket, and men's ice hockey. USF's club teams have won 11 national championships in their various divisions.


Athletic facilities

Located along the eastern edge of the Tampa campus, the USF Athletic District is the home for 18 of the Bulls 19 varsity sports, with sailing being the only one not located there. The district includes the
Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the ...
, Corbett Stadium, the
Frank Morsani Football Practice Complex The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the ...
, the Pam & Les Muma Basketball Practice Center, the Yuengling Center, The Claw, the USF Baseball Stadium, the USF Softball Stadium, the USF Track and Field Stadium, the Corral, and the
USF Varsity Tennis Courts The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the ...
.


Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center

Opened in 2004, the Lee Roy Selmon Athletic Center is the main headquarters for USF Athletics. In 2012, the facility was dedicated to the late Lee Roy Selmon, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former Director of USF Athletics. Selmon is considered by many to be the "Father of USF Football". The 104,000 square foot facility houses all of USF's sports teams except for men's and women's basketball, sailing, and volleyball. The building features a large strength and conditioning center, a sports medicine clinic, the
USF Athletic Hall of Fame The University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2009 to recognize and perpetuate the memory of student athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have made demonstrably outstanding and significant contributions to the ...
, and an Academic Enrichment Center complete with a computer study lab, a library, study lounges, and academic counseling.


Yuengling Center

The Yuengling Center on the Tampa campus is the home facility of the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team. The first event held in the facility was a basketball game in 1980. Since the opening of the arena, it has been the site for USF Commencement Ceremonies, orientation sessions, and other major university events. The facility has also played host to a number of outside events including sports and entertainment events such as WWE ThunderDome, consumer shows, religious services, conventions, rodeos, youth sports camps, gymnastics and cheerleading competitions, lectures, and political rallies. The venue is also one of the top concert spots in the Tampa Bay region, having hosted musicians like
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, Heart,
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
, and more. The building became LEED Silver certified in 2014.


Raymond James Stadium

The USF football team plays at Raymond James Stadium, home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. USF is one of only five FBS teams to play in an NFL stadium (the others being Miami, Temple, Pitt, and UNLV). The stadium is located 13 miles away from the Tampa campus and has a capacity of more than 75,000 people, making it the largest in the American Athletic Conference, but seating for most games is limited to the lower bowl, cutting capacity to around 45,000. The student section at Raymond James is the largest in the conference with over 12,000 seats.


Corbett Stadium

The USF men's and women's soccer teams play at Corbett Stadium on the main campus in Tampa. The stadium has over 1,000 seats, plus standing room only space for over 2,000 more on the grassy berms that surround the field. Corbett Stadium opened in 2011 and replaced USF Track and Field Stadium as the home of the
Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...
men's and women's soccer teams. Corbett Stadium also hosts the USF football team's annual spring game. It will be home to the women's lacrosse team when they begin play in 2024.


Spirit squads

The USF Spirit Squads — consisting of the USF Sun Dolls, USF Cheerleading Squad,
Rocky the Bull Rocky the Bull (officially Rocky D. Bull) is the mascot of the University of South Florida. He is an anthropomorphized bull who can typically be seen at athletic dressed in USF athletic gear--usually a football or basketball jersey, but occasion ...
, and the
Herd of Thunder The Herd of Thunder (often called H.O.T. or the Pride of the Bay) is the name for the athletic bands of the University of South Florida, which includes the show band, "Rumble" pep band, and marching band ensembles, although it is often used to re ...
marching band — play an integral role in USF Athletics. In addition to supporting USF varsity athletic teams during sporting events, the spirit squads themselves compete at the national level. Both the all-girl and co-ed teams regularly rank among the best in the country, with the co-ed team winning the
UCA Division I-A national championship The Universal Cheerleaders Association Division I-A College Championships were first introduced in 1978 on CBS Sports. Top cheerleading teams from colleges across the U.S. and foreign countries perform routines consisting of gymnastics, partner stun ...
in 2021 and 2022. Rocky the Bull first began as a toy idea for the USF Bookstore in 1965. Today's version Rocky was unveiled in 2003. As the official mascot for USF, Rocky the Bull can be seen at USF Athletic events, as well as other major university and community events. The USF Herd of Thunder consists of several bands, including a 370-member marching band, pep band, show band, and winter guard. The marching band performs at all home and some away USF football games. The pep band, called the Herd of Thunder Rumble Pep Band, performs at all home men's and women's basketball games, plus conference and NCAA tournament games when applicable. The show band is a 30-piece group that performs at select events that are unable to accommodate the full marching band.


Notable alumni

Some notable USF graduates include:


Academics

*
Jamal Nassar Jamal R. Nassar is Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State University, San Bernardino. He was born in Jerusalem, received a B.A. from Jacksonville University in 1972, a M.A. from the University of South Florida in ...
, MA 1974, Dean of California State University, San Bernardino * Seth Kalichman, 1983, Professor of Social psychology, known for research into HIV/
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
treatment and HIV/AIDS denialism * Lee Kump, 1986, Dean of
Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
* Michael Rao, 1987, President of Virginia Commonwealth University *
Amine Bensaid Amine Bensaid (Fes, 1968) is a Moroccan computer scientist and academic, president of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. His areas of specialization have included pattern recognition, machine learning, image processing, fuzzy logic, neural networks ...
, 1990, MS 1992, PhD 1994, President of Al Akhawayn University, expert in machine learning,
neural network A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...
s, and
genetic algorithm In computer science and operations research, a genetic algorithm (GA) is a metaheuristic inspired by the process of natural selection that belongs to the larger class of evolutionary algorithms (EA). Genetic algorithms are commonly used to gene ...
s *
Tonjua Williams Tonjua Harris Williams is an American academic who became the President of St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017. Biography Williams was one of three children of her single mother, who encouraged them to study. Williams began ...
, MA 1996, president of St. Petersburg College *
Heather Judkins Heather may refer to: Plants *The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly: **Common heather or ling, '' Calluna'' **Various species of the genus '' Cassiope'' **Various species of the genus '' Erica'' Name * Heather (given name) * Heather ...
, Ph.D. 2009, associate professor and cephalopod researcher at USF-St. Petersburg


Athletes

* Tony La Russa, 1969, MLB infielder and manager, three time World Series champion as a manager, member of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
* Ed Baird, 1982, two-time
America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
champion (
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
,
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
), seven-time world champion, member of the National Sailing Hall of Fame * Roy Wegerle, 1983, member of the
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...
, third-most goals by an American in Premier League history, 1997 MLS Champion *
Ken Eriksen Ken Eriksen is an American softball coach who is the current head coach of the University of South Florida Bulls and former manager of the United States women's national softball team. Early life and education Eriksen graduated high school f ...
, 1984, USF softball head coach 1997–present, winningest head coach in USF history, Team USA softball manager 2011–present *
Tomer Steinhauer Tomer Moshe Steinhauer ( he, תומר משה שטיינהאור‏‎; born October 3, 1966) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and former professional player. He is currently the assistant coach for Maccabi Haifa of the Liga Leumit. Ste ...
, 1989, Israeli basketball player and coach * Radenko Dobraš, 1992, Serbian basketball player * Mark Chung, 1992, member of the
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...
* Derrick Sharp, 1993, EuroLeague basketball player and coach, 29 club titles including three EuroLeague championships as a player (
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
), 9 club titles as a coach * Chucky Atkins, 1996, NBA point guard, 14-year NBA career, 2004 NBA Champion *
Kemel Thompson Kemel Thompson (born September 25, 1974) is a former Jamaican athlete who competes in the 400 metres hurdles. His personal best time is 48.05 seconds, achieved in London in 2003. Kemel competed for the University of South Florida from 1992–19 ...
, 1996, two-time Olympic track & field athlete * Jeff Cunningham, 1997, member of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team, third most goals in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
history *
Damu Cherry Damu Cherry (born November 29, 1977, in Tampa, Florida) is an American hurdler. Her personal best time is 12.44 seconds, achieved in July 2006 in Lausanne. Cherry competed for the University of South Florida The University of South Florida ...
, 2000, Olympic track & field athlete * Jason Pierre-Paul, 2009, NFL defensive end, two-time
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
Champion (
XLVI 46 (forty-six) is the natural number following 45 and preceding 47. In mathematics Forty-six is * a Wedderburn-Etherington number, * an enneagonal number * a centered triangular number. * the number of parallelogram polyominoes with 6 c ...
with the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and
Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...
with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) *
Paige Railey Paige Railey (born May 15, 1987 in Clearwater, Florida) is an American sailor who races in the Laser Radial division. She has been a member of U.S. Sailing Team since 2005 and is also a member of the Harken and McLube Speedteam. She was awarded i ...
, 2010, three-time Olympic sailor for the U.S. * Sam Barrington, 2012, NFL linebacker *
Christiane Endler Claudia Christiane Endler Mutinelli (born 23 July 1991) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Chile national team. She has previously played for Colo-Colo, Valencia, Paris Sain ...
, 2014, member of the Chile Women's National Football Team and Olympique Lyon, 2021 FIFA Best Women's Goalkeeper of the Year,
2012 Copa Libertadores The 2012 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2012 Copa Santander Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized ...
champion, 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League champion, and eight-time champion in various club leagues *
Chase Koepka Chase Koepka (born January 30, 1994) is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He is the younger brother of Brooks Koepka, who is also a professional golfer. His great uncle is former Major League Baseball player Dick Groat. Ko ...
, 2016, professional golfer *
Shane McClanahan Shane Peter McClanahan (born April 28, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020. Early life McClanahan was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and lived ther ...
, 2018, first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to make his debut in the postseason * David Villar, 2018, baseball player for the San Francisco Giants *
Évelyne Viens Evelyne Viens (born 6 February 1997) is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Damallsvenskan club Kristianstads DFF, Kristianstads, on loan from National Women's So ...
, 2020, member of the
Canada Women's National Soccer Team The Canada women's national soccer team (french: Équipe du Canada féminine de soccer) represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. The ...
and NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2020 Olympic gold medalist


Businesspeople

*
John R. Patrick John Russell Patrick (born August 5, 1945) is a business executive and author in the information technology industry. During his tenure as a vice president at IBM, he helped launch the IBM ThinkPad and the OS/2, OS/2 operating system and was later ...
, MS 1971, former vice president of IBM *
George Reyes George Reyes is the former CFO of Google. He was formerly a director of BEA Systems, Symantec, and LifeLock. Reyes was the CFO of Google from 2003–2008, his announcement of retirement came in 2007. He became the CFO, Senior VP in 2006. Reyes re ...
, 1976, former CFO of Google, former director of BEA Systems,
Symantec Symantec may refer to: *An American consumer software company now known as Gen Digital Inc. *A brand of enterprise security software purchased by Broadcom Inc. Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier ...
, and LifeLock *
Jordan Zimmerman Jordan William Zimmerman (born April 28, 1975) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners in 1999, then later also pitched for the Long Island Ducks of the ...
, 1978, MBA 1980, founder of Zimmerman Advertising, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world * Jim Atchison, 1988, President/CEO of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment *
Robert B. Carter Robert B. Carter is the current executive vice president and chief information officer for the FedEx Corporation. Carter was born in Taiwan in 1959 and he grew up in Florida. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in computer and information s ...
, 1990, co-chief executive officer and chief information officer of
FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...


Entertainers and writers

* Richard Oppel, 1964,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning journalist, director of American Society of Newspaper Editors *
Lobo Lobo may refer to: Places *Lobo, Batangas, a municipality in the Philippines *Lobo, Texas, a ghost town *Lobo, Indonesia *Lobo, Cameroon, a town in Cameroon *Lobo Hill, near Belchite, Aragon, Spain * Lobo, Ontario, near London, Ontario, Canada Pe ...
, 1965, singer/songwriter, three Billboard top-10 songs *
Robert Stackhouse Robert Stackhouse (born 1942 in Bronxville, New York, United States) is an American artist and sculptor. Stackhouse graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida in 1965. He later earned a master's degree at the Univ ...
, 1965, artist and sculptor *
James Carlos Blake James Carlos Blake (born May 26, 1947) is an American writer of novels, novellas, short stories, and essays. His work has received extensive critical favor and several notable awards. He has been called “one of the greatest chroniclers of the my ...
, 1969, MA 1971, author, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction *
Jack E. Davis Jack Emerson Davis is an author and professor of history in Florida. He holds the Rothman Family Endowed Chair in the Humanities and teaches environmental history and sustainability studies at the University of Florida. In 2002-2003, he taught o ...
, 1983, MA 1989, author,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning author. *
Gallagher Gallagher may refer to: Places United States * Gallagher Township, Pennsylvania * Gallagher, West Virginia, an unincorporated place People * Gallagher (comedian) (1946–2022), American stand-up comedian * Gallagher (surname) Fictional characte ...
, 1970, comedian * Heather Graham Pozzessere, 1975, best-selling author * Richard King, 1976, sound engineer, four Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing * Guy Babylon, 1979, musician, keyboardist/composer, noted for his work with
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
*
Ann Liguori Ann Liguori is a nationally known sports radio and television personality, talk show host, journalist, author, and television producer in the world of sports media. She was the first woman to host a call-in sports show on WFAN-New York, where sh ...
, 1982, sports journalist *
Kerry Sanders Kerry Sanders is an American journalist. He is a correspondent for NBC News.Aasif Mandvi, 1988, actor and comedian *
Lucia M. Gonzalez Lucia M. Gonzalez is a children's author and librarian. In 2020 she was elected as president of the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association. She was president of REFORMA in 2010-2011. Personal life She was ...
, MA 1991, children's author, winner of the Pura Belpré Award, library director,
Alice G. Smith Lecture The Alice G. Smith Lecture, established in 1989, is sponsored by the University of South Florida, School of Information. The lecture is an annual recognition of a scholar or author whose achievements have been instrumental in the development of l ...
. *
Greg Pitts Greg Luke Pitts (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Drew in the film ''Office Space''. Career He has taken bit roles in films and television series, including ''Grey's Anatomy'' and ''Sons & Daughters ( ...
, 1992, actor * Mark Consuelos, 1994, actor * Nicole Johnson, 1996, DPH 2013, Miss America 1999, now an activist for diabetes research *
Kissy Simmons Kissy Simmons is an American actress. "Kissy" is short for Kissimmee, the Floridian city near Orlando about 80 miles from Floral City where she was born. She is best known for playing Nala in the Broadway production of ''The Lion King'' and as o ...
, 1998, actress * Matthew Lopez, 2000, playwright, Tony Award for Best Play nominee *
Quentin Earl Darrington Quentin Earl Darrington (born July 9, 1977) is an American actor and singer known for his work in theatre. He has performed in Broadway productions and national tours of shows including ''Once on This Island'', '' Cats'', and ''Memphis''. He orig ...
, 2004, Broadway actor and singer * Grace Byers, 2006, actress *
Marcus DeSieno Marcus DeSieno is a lens-based artist from Albany, New York who is based in Ellensburg, Washington. His work explores the longstanding relationship between photography and science and combines classical and contemporary photographic techniques. ...
, MA 2015, artist


Military

* Matthew L. Nathan, 1984, Vice Admiral and former Surgeon General of the United States Navy * John Kirby, 1985,
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
, Press Secretary for the United States Department of Defense and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs *
Adam M. Robinson Jr. Adam Mayfield Robinson Jr. (born November 9, 1950) Marquis Who's Who on the Web is a United States Navy vice admiral who served as the 36th Surgeon General of the United States Navy (2007–2011). Biography Robinson entered the naval service i ...
, 1994, Vice Admiral and former Surgeon General of the United States Navy *
Michael S. Devany Michael S. Devany is a former vice admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who last served as the deputy under secretary for operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from January 2, 2014 to April 2016. He previousl ...
, 1996, Vice Admiral in the United States Navy


Politicians

* H. Lee Moffitt, 1964, founder,
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Houston Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nonprofit cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida. Established in 1981 by the Florida Legislature, the hospital opened in October 1986 on the University of South ...
; former Florida Speaker of the House *
Michele Elliott Michele Irmiter Elliott OBE is an author, psychologist, teacher and the founder and director of child protection charity Kidscape. She has chaired World Health Organization and Home Office working groups and is a Winston Churchill Memorial Trus ...
, 1967, psychologist and founder of child protection charity
Kidscape Kidscape is a London-based charity established in 1985, by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children's safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay ...
* Dale Fischer, 1977, Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California * Mark Meadows, A.A. 1980, former
U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and White House Chief of Staff *
Kurt S. Browning Kurt S. Browning is an American Republican politician and former Secretary of State of Florida. He currently serves as Superintendent of Schools for Pasco County, Florida. Career Kurt S. Browning's political career began in 1975 when he star ...
, 1982, M.A. 1994, former Florida Secretary of State *
J. Michelle Childs Julianna Michelle Childs (born March 24, 1966), known professionally as J. Michelle Childs, is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States federal judge, U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Co ...
, 1988, Judge of United States District Court for the District of South Carolina *
M. Rony Francois M. Rony Francois is an American doctor, health administrator, and academic professor. He is currently the Director of the Georgia Division of Public Health. He previously served as Secretary of the Florida Department of Health under then Florida ...
, M.D. 1994, MSPH 1998, PhD 2003, former U.S. Delegate to
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
* Pam Iorio, M.A. 2001, Mayor of
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
from 2003 to 2011


Scientists

*
Joanna Fowler Joanna Sigfred Fowler (born August 9, 1942) is a scientist emeritus at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. She served as professor of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and director of Brookhave ...
, 1964, director of Brookhaven National Laboratory's Radiotracer Chemistry, Instrumentation and Biological Imaging Program, National Medal of Science award winner * Alan Boss, 1973, astrophysicist and chair of multiple International Astronomical Union and NASA grounds * Monica Webb Hooper, 2005, behavioral scientist, clinical psychologist, and deputy director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities * Mark Hulsbeck, 1978, Oceanographic Operations Field Manager and research diver for the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory * David Mearns, 1986, Director of Blue Water Recoveries;
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
holder for deepest shipwreck ever found * Donna K. Arnett, PhD 1992, epidemiologist, one of the world's leading experts in hypertension *
Katherine Seley-Radtke Katherine Seley-Radtke is an American medicinal chemist who specializes in the discovery and design of novel nucleoside or nucleotide based enzyme inhibitors that may be used to treat infections or cancer. She has authored over 90 peer-reviewed pub ...
, 1992, cancer researcher, Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County *
Michael S. Devany Michael S. Devany is a former vice admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who last served as the deputy under secretary for operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from January 2, 2014 to April 2016. He previousl ...
, MPH 1996, former Chief Operating Officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration *
Carlos Del Castillo Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...
, PhD 1998, Program Scientist for the Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program at NASA, winner of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (one of the highest honors bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers) * Saraju Mohanty, 2003, Director of Smart Electronic Systems Laboratory, 2020 Fulbright Specialist award winner ''*bachelor's degree unless otherwise noted''


Notes


References


External links

*
South Florida Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Florida, University of University of South Florida 1956 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Tampa, Florida Educational institutions established in 1956 Education in Tampa, Florida University of South Florida Schools of public health in the United States Tourist attractions in Tampa, Florida Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges in Hillsborough County, Florida American Athletic Conference schools