USF Athletics

Episode 5: Paul Griffin

April 22, 2020

Episode 1: Chad Barnhardt
Episode 2: Courtney Williams
Episode 3: Chucky Atkins
Episode 4: Austin Reiter
 

TAMPA, APRIL 22, 2020 – Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly has the honor of chatting with Paul Griffin, one of his mentors and USF's former Director of Athletics, in the fifth episode of Kelly's Conversations.

Kelly's new weekly podcast series will feature USF standouts of the past, reliving their exciting moments in Bulls history and informing listeners on what they're up to now.
 
 
Griffin's USF Feats

• USF's Director of Athletics from 1986-2001.
• Launched USF's football program. Recruited and hired Lee Roy Selmon, who was a "one of the critical assets to launching the program."
• Responsible for developing the plan that initiated USF's football program in NCAA Division I-AA and then readied the program for its move to Division I-A in 2001.
• Bulls captured 63 conference titles during his tenure.
• Instrumental in the university's charter membership in Conference USA.
• Honored as the 1999 Southeast Region Athletics Director of the Year for Division I-AA/ I-AAA by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
• Represented Conference USA on the NCAA Championships Cabinet. He was subsequently appointed to the subcommittee for football certification, which certifies bowl games and preseason events.
• Under his leadership, USF made its first-ever NCAA Championship appearances in men's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's track and field, and women's fastpitch softball.
• Helped the Tampa/St. Petersburg local organizing committee land the 1999 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 1994 NCAA Men's Basketball first and second rounds, and the 1998 NCAA Men's South Regional. USF also hosted the 1990 and 1991 NCAA Men's Soccer Championships under his leadership.
• Appointed Michael Kelly as the executive director of the 1999 Men's Basketball Final Four Organizing Committee for the event held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. 

 
Other Interesting Griffin Facts

• Earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from University of Maryland-College Park in 1969. Received a Master of Science degree in college student personnel from Long Island University in 1972.
• Went to the University of Maryland on a lacrosse scholarship.
• As a head coach, led Roanoke College men's lacrosse to the Division II national title in 1978 and posted a 77-41 record with the program from 1973-81. Griffin was Roanoke College's athletic director from 1977-81.
• After Roanoke, he was the athletic director at Jacksonville University for five years until he headed to USF.
• Following his time at USF, he was a special consultant for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association and served as Director of Athletics at Arkansas State University.
• He was Georgia Tech's Senior Associate Director of Athletics from 2002 until he retired in 2015. Returned to Georgia Tech as interim athletic director in 2016.
• Currently lives in Atlanta with his wife, Maureen.
• Griffin and Maureen have one son, Michael, and three grandchildren.

 
 
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 began in 1965 and is in its 54th season in 2019-20. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 19 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, and own 120 conference titles overall. Eleven USF programs reached national postseason competition in the 2018-19 season and six were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fourth straight year in 2018-19 and have posted a program record 10 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had 309 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
 
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