USF Athletics

Message from VP of Athletics Michael Kelly

March 20, 2020

Dear Bulls Family,
 
What a time we are living through. While America and the world fights the spread of the COVID-19 virus and works through the adjustments that continue to be made to everyday life and bring wide-ranging impacts, we hope that you, our Bulls family, are staying healthy and positive. We will meet the challenges ahead of us together. There is no time like a crisis to witness the power of family and community. Ours is very strong and we at USF Athletics will do everything we can to both help curb the spread of the virus and support our collective return to normal. Our first priority is the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff and community at large.
 
Just over a week ago, our spring sports teams were in action. Fans were cheering on the green and gold in the stands and our nearly 450 outstanding student-athletes were practicing or competing in some capacity while continuing to do great work in the classroom.  
 
Softball had downed Penn State, 1-0, to improve to 16-9 and mark its 10th victory over a "power" conference team as the Bulls were ramping up for conference play and the battle for their third straight conference title. Baseball had defeated Pittsburgh and Northwestern and lost a 2-1 nail-biter at the tail of a three-game series at No. 1 Florida. Both the men's and women's golf teams had won tournaments held in the Bay Area and were off to promising starts. Men's tennis extended a four-match win streak to improve to 9-4, and women's tennis continued to build with a young roster as they prepared for the conference home opener vs. Houston. Women's basketball improved to 19-13 after another trip to the conference tournament semifinals and was anticipating its 16th postseason appearance in the last 17 years with a WNIT bid, while men's basketball was on the verge of opening play in the conference tournament in Fort Worth. Sailing was in the heart of its spring campaign and preparing to log another top national finish, while track and field was set to host its first home event under new head coach Erik Jenkins, March 20-21. Meanwhile, the football team got its first spring practice in under new head coach Jeff Scott and the soccer and volleyball programs were getting valuable team work in and competing in some out-of-season contests.
 
On March 12, the NCAA canceled all spring and winter sports competition, including the NCAA basketball tournaments, which USF was set to host the men's first- and second-round games at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa. The American Athletic Conference suspended all competitions shortly thereafter and, on March 16, after consultation with conference athletic directors and state and local authorities, made the decision to cancel all competition and championships for the remainder of the academic year. All conference teams have suspended practice activities and the NCAA has instituted a nationwide recruiting "Dead Period" through at least April 15 as well as a moratorium on the issuing of any financial aid agreements through that date.
 
Our spring football game, previously set for April 18, has now been canceled, as has Pro Day. We continue to evaluate whether the resumption of some form of spring practice is prudent or possible down the road. We have also made the decision not to hold the BullsFest auction this year, have postponed the USF Football Golf Tournament with Jeff Scott to a date to be determined in late July, and rescheduled the Volleyball Golf Tournament to August 1. In accordance with the CDC's recommendations limiting gatherings of people for at least eight weeks, I do not anticipate any athletics activities until at least after May 7.
 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Board of Governors (BOG) have directed all state universities, including USF, to continue providing remote instruction for the duration of the spring semester.  USF students are currently on spring break through March 22 and will not return to campus this semester.
 
While classes will be delivered remotely, USF's campuses remain open and certain university operations will continue, including Student Health Services and USF Health clinical operations. All university-sponsored events on campus, at other USF instructional sites or off campus are postponed or canceled until further notice, including USF's spring 2020 commencement ceremonies scheduled for May and now postponed until further notice.
 
It is certainly a difficult time for our student-athletes and coaches, as it is for everyone. They had worked hard and prepared both mentally and physically to compete, achieve goals and dreams and represent our university with pride. We feel for them, but also understand and embrace the responsibility to do our part for the greater good. I have confidence in their resiliency and that they will return stronger from this experience.
 
I, our athletics staff and coaches continue to support our student-athletes, communicate often and offer a source of stability as we serve them to the best of our ability in the coming weeks. Access to the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center and our other athletics facilities (including all outdoor athletic fields) has been closed until further notice and we have been actively sterilizing those facilities in preparation for future opening. 
 
The NCAA Division I Council leadership has agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for student-athletes competing in spring sports due to the cancelation of their championships and remaining season. The AAC Athletic Directors are meeting regularly via conference call to discuss how we will work through providing these opportunities as well as the many other challenges to returning to normal functioning presented by the current COVID-19 crisis.
 
As you are likely aware, the cancelation of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship comes with very impactful financial repercussions for all member schools. While the NCAA has some insurance to offset the loss of revenue, we are actively planning on how to deal with that reduction in revenue as well as other budgetary impacts.
 
Our talented and dedicated athletics staff are working remotely and meeting daily over the phone or via the internet as we continue the business of supporting our student-athletes and moving forward a highly competitive athletics program. We are all looking ahead with optimism to the day in the not-too-distant future when we can reunite our Bulls family and cheer on our student-athletes in competition, but until then we must all do our part and look out for one another.
 
As we wait to see you in person again, we will continue to communicate regularly and maintain the close ties of our very special community. I will be posting a new "Bull Speed Ahead!" podcast each Friday with updates. We will also be starting a new weekly podcast called "Kelly's Conversations" in which I will talk to former USF standouts and reflect on their memories as well as update where their life has taken them.
 
Thank you for all your support of USF Athletics. We wish you and your loved ones all the best as we navigate the challenges ahead and look forward to seeing you again soon.

We are ONE USF! Go Bulls!
 
Michael Kelly