USF Athletic Hall of Fame
Sporting the “GroHawk” for much of his highly successful career, Polk County native Matt Grothe made his mark as one of the most recognizable and beloved Bulls in USF football history.
Despite missing most of his senior campaign following a career-ending injury in Game 3 of the 2009 season, the quarterback finished his career as the all-time Big East Conference leader in total offense with 10,875 yards. That mark stood as a USF record until it was broken by Quinton Flowers in 2017.
The 2006 Big East Rookie of the Year and Sporting News Freshman All-America Honorable Mention, posted a 28-13 (.682) record as a starting quarterback, ranking third in wins and winning percentage on the USF charts. Grothe was at the helm for major USF victories at No. 13 Auburn and vs. No. 5 West Virginia as the Bulls earned the program’s first national Top 25 ranking and climbed to a program-record No. 2 AP Poll ranking in Week 7 of the 2007 season. He returned the following season to post a victory over No. 11-ranked Kansas.
Grothe led USF to three bowl game appearances and two bowl victories, including the program’s first-ever bowl win in the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl. He was also named the 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl MVP as he passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 83 yards in a 41-14 win over Memphis.
Grothe led USF in passing, rushing and total offense in three seasons and owns three of the top six total offense seasons in program history. His 3,542 total yards in 2007 were a program record until broken by Flowers and now stand third. His 2,911 passing yards in 2008 were a USF season record until broken in 2023, as was his 63.7% pass completion percentage in 2006. He owns two of the top three season pass completion percentages in program history and three top 10 passing yardage marks.
At the time of his election to the Hall of Fame, Grothe stood as the program’s second all-time leading passer (8,699 yards) and fifth all-time leading rusher (2,206 yards) as well as ranking second in completions (717), passing yards per game (206.4) and total offense plays (1,693), and third in passing touchdowns (52), 200-yard passing games (18) and pass efficiency (133.2).
Grothe was inducted into the USF Athletic Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024.
