Support for USF Student-Athletes Grows at Bulls Blast
November 15, 2017 | General, Bulls Club
BULLS BLAST PHOTO GALLERY
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, NOV. 15, 2017 – Bulls Blast has built a strong tradition of ensuring bright futures for USF student-athletes.
Back on Nov. 2, Bulls' sports program coaches, alumni and supporters united for a fun day of shooting at Tampa Bay Sporting Clays that benefited scholarships for USF male and female student-athletes. This year's event set a new record with $112,050 raised.
Coordinated through Philanthropy Partners, LLC, Bulls Blast has raised more than $660,000 in the past 12 years. The proceeds of Bulls Blast events support USF student-athletes through the Linda and Randy Simmons Endowed Athletic Scholarship Fund at the USF Foundation.
This year's scholarship recipients were senior linebacker Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) and women's basketball senior forward Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark).
"From a very humble start with only a handful of teams in 2005, we now cap the event at 60 teams annually and sell out every year," Randy Simmons said. "The event has become a fall favorite of the community and the USF Athletics family."
Each year, participants form four-person teams and begin the event with a sporting clays 101 class from shooting expert Gene Gray. After a mandatory safety talk, the teams spend the morning making their way through the course while sharing their love for the program's lifeblood – student athletes. This year's event featured more than 300 shooters and volunteers.
"Philanthropy Partners looks forward to another historic year for the USF Athletic program and to the next Bulls Blast," Simmons said.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, having begun with a men's soccer contest in 1965. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 13 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2016-17, and own 110 conference championships overall. Ten USF programs reached national post-season competition in the 2016-17 season and nine were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a program-record 86 percent Graduation Success Rate in 2016, logged an annual department grade-point average over a 3.0 for the second straight year and saw 106 student-athletes earn their degree during the 2016-17 academic period.
Follow @USFAthletics on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, NOV. 15, 2017 – Bulls Blast has built a strong tradition of ensuring bright futures for USF student-athletes.
Back on Nov. 2, Bulls' sports program coaches, alumni and supporters united for a fun day of shooting at Tampa Bay Sporting Clays that benefited scholarships for USF male and female student-athletes. This year's event set a new record with $112,050 raised.
Coordinated through Philanthropy Partners, LLC, Bulls Blast has raised more than $660,000 in the past 12 years. The proceeds of Bulls Blast events support USF student-athletes through the Linda and Randy Simmons Endowed Athletic Scholarship Fund at the USF Foundation.This year's scholarship recipients were senior linebacker Auggie Sanchez (St. Petersburg) and women's basketball senior forward Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark).
"From a very humble start with only a handful of teams in 2005, we now cap the event at 60 teams annually and sell out every year," Randy Simmons said. "The event has become a fall favorite of the community and the USF Athletics family."Each year, participants form four-person teams and begin the event with a sporting clays 101 class from shooting expert Gene Gray. After a mandatory safety talk, the teams spend the morning making their way through the course while sharing their love for the program's lifeblood – student athletes. This year's event featured more than 300 shooters and volunteers.
"Philanthropy Partners looks forward to another historic year for the USF Athletic program and to the next Bulls Blast," Simmons said.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, having begun with a men's soccer contest in 1965. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 13 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2016-17, and own 110 conference championships overall. Ten USF programs reached national post-season competition in the 2016-17 season and nine were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a program-record 86 percent Graduation Success Rate in 2016, logged an annual department grade-point average over a 3.0 for the second straight year and saw 106 student-athletes earn their degree during the 2016-17 academic period.
Follow @USFAthletics on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Athletic program.
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