By Why This May Be the Most Exciting Time in South Florida Athletics History
By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
TAMPA — There have been some great moments in the history of South Florida athletics.
South Florida football climbed all the way to No. 2 in the nation in 2007, and the Bulls won 11 games in 2016.
Men’s basketball made its memorable NCAA Tournament run in 2012. Along the way, the program has had conference championships, NCAA appearances, and plenty of individual stars.
But has there ever been a better time to be a USF Bulls fan than right now?
I don’t think there has.
Because what is happening at South Florida isn’t about one team, one coach, or one great season.
For the first time in school history, it feels as though the entire athletic department is moving in the same direction. And that direction is up.
The Football Revival Started It
To understand where South Florida is today, you have to remember where the football program was just a few years ago.
When Alex Golesh arrived before the 2023 season, he inherited a program that had gone 4-29 during the previous three seasons.
South Florida went 1-11 in 2022.
Then Golesh changed everything.
In his first season, the Bulls went 7-6 and finished it by crushing Syracuse 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl. It was the largest turnaround in program history.
Three seasons later, South Florida was 9-4, had made three consecutive bowl games, returned to the AP Top 25, and appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time.
The 2025 season ended with a disappointing 24-10 loss to Old Dominion in the Cure Bowl, but there was no mistaking what Golesh had accomplished.
South Florida football mattered again.
Then Golesh left for Auburn.
A few years ago, that might have felt like another devastating setback.
Instead, new CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins went out and hired Brian Hartline.
Think about that for a moment.
Hartline came to Tampa after eight seasons on Ohio State’s full-time staff, including three seasons coordinating the Buckeyes’ offense.
He had developed some of the best receivers in college football, established himself as one of the nation’s premier recruiters, and helped Ohio State win the 2024 national championship.
Hartline explained part of the attraction this spring.
“I wanted to move to a place where there’s literally no ceiling, and that’s how I feel about USF,” Hartline said.
That might be the perfect description of South Florida Athletics right now. There is no ceiling.
Basketball Has Joined the Party
Football isn’t carrying this athletic department by itself.
Bryan Hodgson arrived before the 2025-26 men’s basketball season and produced arguably the greatest season in program history.
The Bulls won the American Conference regular-season championship.
Then they won the conference tournament championship, defeating Wichita State 70-55 in Birmingham.
That gave South Florida its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
South Florida entered the NCAA Tournament 25-8 and riding an 11-game winning streak before falling 83-79 to Louisville in Buffalo.
The Bulls finished 25-9. Hodgson then left for Providence.
Again, South Florida didn’t retreat.
Higgins hired Chris Mack.
Mack has won 323 games as a college head coach, taken teams to nine NCAA Tournaments, and coached at Xavier, Louisville, and College of Charleston. His résumé includes four Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight.
That’s not a rebuilding hire.
That’s a statement.
Kristy Curry Makes Another Statement
Then there was women’s basketball.
Following Jose Fernandez’s departure, Higgins needed to replace the most successful basketball coach in school history.
Michele-Woods-Baxter was hired as interim coach for the 2025-26 season, leading the Bulls to a 20-12 overall record.
Then Higgins struck again, plucking Kristy Curry from Alabama.
Curry spent 13 seasons at Alabama, took the Crimson Tide to five NCAA Tournaments in her final six seasons, and previously coached Purdue to the 2001 national championship game.
When Curry was introduced, Higgins offered a quote that could serve as the athletic department’s mission statement.
“We don’t equate success with potential, we do not believe in tapping the brakes, and we don’t believe we deserve anything less than the best,” Higgins said.
That’s a long way from simply hoping South Florida can compete.
The expectation is becoming that South Florida should compete.
And It’s Bigger Than Football and Basketball
Look around the rest of the department.
Ken Eriksen’s softball program won both the American Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2026, reached its 19th NCAA Regional, and advanced all the way to the Fayetteville Regional final before falling to Arkansas. The Bulls finished 44-17.
Women’s lacrosse, in just its second season as a Division I program, went undefeated in conference play and captured the American regular-season championship.
USF reached the conference championship game for the second straight year before losing to James Madison.
Track and field continues to be one of USF’s strongest programs.
The men’s team won its fifth consecutive American Conference indoor or outdoor team championship in 2026, while Jaleel Croal ran a wind-aided 9.75 in the 100 meters at the outdoor conference championships, the third-fastest time under any conditions in collegiate history.
Baseball had a disappointing 2026 season, finishing 32-21 and missing the American Conference Tournament by one game.
But Mitch Hannahs has a proven résumé.
Before arriving at USF, he won 355 games, six conference championships, and reached five NCAA Regionals during 11 seasons at Indiana State.
The pieces aren’t just falling into place in one sport.
They’re appearing everywhere.
The Biggest Symbol Is Rising Out of the Ground
And then there is the stadium.
For decades, South Florida football has talked about having an on-campus home. Now you can literally watch it being built.
The 35,000-seat stadium and football operations center are scheduled to open Sept. 4, 2027, when USF hosts Louisville.
The project is about $348.5 million, and Higgins said it remains on budget and on schedule this summer.
That stadium is more than steel, concrete, luxury suites and seats.
It’s a declaration of where South Florida believes it belongs.
“It’s one thing to show people renderings,” Higgins said. “ (And) “another when you can hear the sounds and see the sights of a transformative and game-changing new home for us.”
For longtime Bulls fans who wondered if an on-campus stadium would ever happen, drive down Fowler Avenue and look.
Bulls Fans Can Feel Something Changing
Maybe that’s what made Bulls Fest so significant.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, South Florida held its inaugural Bulls Fest at the Yuengling Center, giving fans a chance to meet players and coaches and celebrate the start of the 2026-27 athletic year.
It represented something larger than a fan event.
It represented connection.
For years, South Florida has talked about growing its fan base, engaging alums, and becoming more deeply connected to Tampa Bay.
Now fans have something tangible to rally around.
Winning. Championships. Big-name coaches. Investment. Facilities. And an on-campus stadium.
This Is What South Florida Fans Have Been Waiting For
South Florida history has had bigger moments.
Nothing will erase the feeling of seeing the Bulls ranked No. 2 in the country in 2007.
But this feels different.
This isn’t one football team catching fire.
It’s an athletic department building something.
South Florida won six American Conference championships during the 2025-26 athletic year.
When regular-season and tournament titles are counted separately, men’s basketball won two, softball won two, while lacrosse and men’s indoor track and field each won one.
Now Hartline is leading football. Mack is leading men’s basketball. Curry is leading women’s basketball. Eriksen keeps winning in softball.
Track and field keeps producing champions.
Lacrosse has become nationally relevant almost overnight.
And a $348.5 million football stadium is rising out of the ground.
For years, South Florida fans talked about what the Bulls could become.
You don’t have to imagine it anymore. You can see it.
Listethe construction. Look at the championship banners. You can look at the coaches who have chosen to come to Tampa.
And you can feel the expectations changing.
South Florida isn’t acting like an athletic department hoping to become nationally relevant someday.
It’s acting like one that expects to get there.
That’s why, after nearly three decades of South Florida football and generations of Bulls athletics, this might be the most exciting time South Florida fans have ever experienced.
And here’s the best part.
It feels like they’re just getting started.
