USF Athletics

Inside USF Athletics With Mark Harlan

November 09, 2017

Harlan Podcast Talking Points
Learn more about the topics Director of Athletics Mark Harlan is discussing in his first podcast below:

Part 1

Football
Harlan reflects on the impressive progress the football team made during its school record 12-game winning streak, how the program grew during the magical run, and what has to happen for the Bulls to get to the conference championship.

Notable Football Feats During Undefeated Run

• USF owned the nation's longest active streak with a school record 12 straight wins and hadn't lost in more than a year.
• Head coach Charlie Strong and the Bulls set another school record by starting the season at 7-0.
• USF set an NCAA record with 24 straight games scoring at least 30 points. It marked the longest such streak in the AP Poll era (since 1936).
• USF won eight consecutive American Athletic Conference games, nine straight league home games and rushed for at least 150 yards in 25 straight games.

Building Momentum for Regular Season Home Finale
Harlan marveled at the way Strong's Bulls responded from the loss to Houston and how USF will need its fan support for the regular season home finale against Tulsa on Thursday, Nov. 16. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN from Raymond James Stadium. Purchase tickets HERE.

The Tulsa game will be a special night for a program-changing senior class that includes "beloved" Quinton Flowers. Harlan shares one of his favorite Flowers moments that occurred after the Houston game, when he was the last remaining Bull on the field signing autographs for young fans.

"They came in when we were a two-win football team that year. They believed, they came here with that belief, they wanted to change the culture. Not only did they completely change it, they blew the whole thing up. They showed you can win a bunch of games, you can be great in the community, and oh, by the way, improve and have record GPAs as a team both in fall and spring semesters."
- Harlan on the senior class

Charlie Strong
Harlan talks about the process of hiring Coach Strong and how he's seen Strong's leadership abilities impact USF, especially since the loss to Houston.

"He's such a great motivator of young men."

Success Under Strong

• Ranked No. 22/21 in the national polls, USF continues on its record run of 15 straight weeks in the top 25.
• USF sprinted out to the best start in program history at 7-0 and improved to 8-1 with a win at UConn over the weekend. Quinton Flowers set a program record with 516 yards of total offense and threw for a career-high 385 yards and three touchdowns in the 37-20 victory.
• USF posted a program-record streak of 12 straight wins, which was the longest active streak in the nation at the time.
• USF currently ranks second nationally with 17 interceptions, third in turnover margin (plus-1.44), 10^th in rushing offense (276.7 ypg), 12^th in total offense (502.3 ypg), 13^th in rushing defense (118.2 ypg)  and 19^th in total defense (319.8 ypg).

 
USF Football Center
Harlan talks about the announcement of the Bulls' plans to "really take the next step as an athletic program" with the USF Football Center and what's gone into the planning process. It will be a multi-purpose indoor facility that will provide USF's football team and all other sports programs a state-of-the-art place to practice, weight train, rehab injuries and much more. The USF Football Center is estimated to cost $40 million and will be a donor-driven project that will expand upon the Morsani Football Practice Complex.

Check out USF's vision for the center HERE.

A Look at the Center

• A stunning entry lobby and multi-purpose space for recruiting.
• Indoor practice facility with a 100-yard turf field.
• More than 12,000-square foot football strength and conditioning center.
• Nearly 10,000-square foot football locker room.
• Players' lounge and adjacent social patio.
• Team auditorium with tiered seating.
• Sports medicine and rehabilitation facility.
• Nutrition center.
• More than 12,000 square feet of team and position meeting spaces.
• Coaches and staff offices.
• Equipment room, video operations, laundry and other support operations.

Bulls Unveil Fishman Family Center
Harlan reflects on the tremendous support USF received to complete the Fishman Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center, a $750,000 state-of-the-art facility housed in the Selmon Athletics Center.

The renovation was made possible by a generous lead gift from the Fishman Family Foundation, as well as contributions from other donors. USF welcomed all the donors and other special guests to a highly attended unveiling of the center last week. Learn more HERE.

Fishman Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center Features

• Nine tutorial rooms.
• 31 computer stations.
• Three Sharp digital annotation boards.
• Two digital information boards.
• Open individual and group learning spaces.
• Six one-on-one academic coordinator meeting spaces.
• Learning specialist areas.
• New offices for USF's Student-Athlete Enhancement and Behavioral Health services.
• The center also houses USF Athletics Academic Services and Compliance departments.

Mental Health Awareness
Harlan talks about the importance of USF Athletics having a behavioral health expert on a full-time basis with Dr. Lee Dorpfeld helping student-athletes throughout their seasons.

USF and The American brought mental health awareness to the forefront with their planned initiatives for the month of October. Learn more HERE.



Bulls Blast a Hit
Harlan talks about USF continuing another special fundraising tradition called Bulls Blast on Nov. 2.

Incredible USF supporters Linda and Randy Simmons have hosted the event the past 12 years at Tampa Bay Sporting Clays, where attendees generate more than $100,000 annually for scholarships while shooting alongside Bulls coaches. Senior linebacker Auggie Sanchez and senior women's basketball forward Maria Jespersen were this year's scholarship recipients.

USF will honor the Simmons family and announce the proceeds raised during this year's event at USF football's regular season home finale against Tulsa on Thursday, Nov. 16.


Part 2

Conference Glory for NCAA Tournament Host Women's Soccer
Harlan talks about how head coach Denise Schilte-Brown has USF women's soccer primed for another NCAA tournament run after the Bulls defeated rival UCF in penalty kicks to win their first-ever American tournament championship on Nov. 5. Check out the recap HERE.

• USF received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which will be the Bulls' third NCAA trip in the past four years.
• USF will host Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA first round 1 p.m. Saturday at Corbett Stadium. Purchase tickets HERE.
• After winning the conference, USF was ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and moved up to No. 15 in the RPI.
• Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown has led USF to all four of its NCAA appearances in program history (2010, 2014, 2015, 2017).
• At 12-3-2, USF has posted its sixth consecutive 10-plus win season after going 11-3-1 in the regular season.
• Before beating SMU and top-seeded UCF in the conference tournament, USF went 7-1-1 in regular season league play and finished second behind the eighth-ranked Knights.

Bulls Excited for Basketball Season
Harlan touches on how much support has grown for USF basketball that includes the nationally ranked women's team led by 18^th-year head coach Jose Fernandez.

Women's Basketball Notables

• USF will start the season ranked No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll after going 24-9 in 2016-17, which marked the program's fifth straight 20-win season.
• Oct. 26 was declared USF Women's Basketball Team Day by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn during the Bulls' visit to the mayor's office.
• USF returns four starters from last season: WBCA All-America honorable mention Kitija Laksa and senior Maria Jespersen – both preseason all-conference picks – along with star point guard Laia Flores and reigning American Freshman of the Year Tamara Henshaw.
• USF has made three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and was picked to finish second behind UConn in the conference preseason coaches' poll.

Men's Basketball Notables

• The new era of USF men's basketball begins under the direction of head coach Brian Gregory, who previously posted nearly 250 combined wins at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11).
• Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and has led his programs to six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT championship.
• USF's new-look roster features 10 new players and three veteran graduate transfers: Stephan Jiggetts, Terrence Samuel and Payton Banks, who sank six three-pointers in USF's 94-66 exhibition win over Flagler College on Nov. 3.
• Gregory also is excited about three new talented freshmen: Justin Brown, David Collins and Alexis Yetna, who won a bronze medal with France at the 2017 FIBA U20 European Championship.

Season-Opening Doubleheader Details
Both USF basketball teams will tip off the regular season at the Sun Dome on Friday, Nov. 10.

• Women's basketball opens the doubleheader with a test against LSU at 5:30 p.m.
• Men's basketball then hosts Florida Atlantic at approximately 8 p.m.

USF's Remaining Home Schedule for This Week
Friday

• Volleyball vs. Houston, The Corral, 3 p.m. | Tickets

Sunday

• Volleyball vs. Tulane, The Corral, noon | Tickets
• Women's basketball vs. Houston Baptist, Sun Dome, 2 p.m. | Tickets

 
Student-Athlete Profile: Cameron Ruff
Harlan interviews senior Cameron Ruff, the starting center on the football team, that's highly involved in USF Athletics as the Bulls' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee co-president.

Learn about how Ruff, a USF graduate, enhanced his leadership skills at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum HERE.
 
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 50^th 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 12 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including four in 2016-17, and own 109 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 (2016) in the last reporting, 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.