It's a new-look American Athletic Conference, a legendary football program rolling into town, a history-making volleyball season, rugged competition in men's soccer, a revamped men's basketball roster, a final go-round in women's soccer … and more.
It's already shaping up as a busy and notable fall for South Florida athletics. Here's a look at 12 things — USF's Dandy Dozen — to expect right up until we turn the calendar to begin 2024:
1. Big-Time Volleyball
Coach Jolene Shepardson's team opens its season with the high-profile Road 2 Tampa Bay Volleyball Invitational, a two-day event featuring USF, Florida, Georgia Tech and Penn State. The Bulls meet the No. 20-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, coached by former USF great and Athletic Hall of Famer Michelle Collier, on Friday night (Aug. 25) at downtown Tampa's Amalie Arena. Penn State and Florida will meet in the night cap. The season-opening event shifts to USF's Yuengling Center on Saturday night (Aug. 26), when the Bulls face the No. 11 Florida Gators. Penn State and Georgia Tech will meet in the evening's opening match. The college volleyball season will begin and end in Tampa. USF and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission will host the NCAA Volleyball National Championship at Amalie Arena, with the semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 14 live on ESPN and the championship on Sunday, Dec. 17 live on ABC.
Road 2 Tampa Bay Volleyball Invitational
August 25 Tickets | August 26 Tickets
NCAA Volleyball National Championship
https://www.ncaatickets.com/championship/womens-volleyball/champinfo
2. Last Ride With Coach Denise
It's the final USF women's soccer season for Coach Denise Schilte-Brown, who's headed to the new USL Super League Tampa Bay team in 2024 as the franchise's first head coach. The season began with a 1-0 victory at LSU. Your first chance to see the Bulls is Thursday night's home opener at Corbett Stadium against Alabama A&M, which features a schedule magnet giveaway. The American Athletic Conference home opener is against Charlotte (Thursday, Sept. 21, Special Olympics Night and Faculty/Staff Appreciation) and the AAC finale is against Florida Atlantic (Thursday, Oct. 26, Senior Night/Alumni Night). USF, which was picked to win the AAC's East Division, has defender Vivianne Bessette, forward/midfielder Serita Thurton and midfielder Madison Schwartzenberger on the AAC Preseason Watch List.
USF Women's Soccer Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2021/8/2/womens-soccer-tickets.aspx
3. Powerful Men's Soccer Opponents
Coach Bob Butehorn's men's soccer team, coming off a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and an AAC Tournament runner-up finish in 2022, has one of the most ambitious schedules in program history. The Bulls host eight-time national champion and No. 2-ranked Indiana (Friday, Sept. 8, Camper Night) and three-time national champion and No. 9-ranked Clemson (Tuesday, Sept. 12, Athlete 4 Athlete Game). USF's home AAC opener against SMU (Friday, Sept. 22) will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The Bulls feature Shion Soga, a preseason All-AAC selection, along with key returners Oscar Resano, Brian Schaefer and Ajmeer Spengler.
Men's Soccer Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2021/8/2/mens-soccer-tickets.aspx
4. Debut For Football Head Coach Alex Golesh
Coach Alex Golesh's will begin his first season as a head coach when the Bulls travel to Western Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 2 to open the 2023 season. Fans can watch the 3:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS Sports Network. The football team opens its home schedule against the Florida A&M Rattlers (Saturday, Sept. 9) at Raymond James Stadium in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Golesh, who guided last season's top-ranked offense at Tennessee, says the Bulls will feature a fast-paced attack and an aggressive, ball-hawking defense. It's the fifth USF-FAMU meeting in Tampa and the Rattlers come in with a high-flying reputation and a nine-game winning streak (rallying for a 9-2 record last season after an 0-2 start). And if you like non-football entertainment, you've come to the right place. Halftime is certain to be rocking with USF's Herd of Thunder band and FAMU's world-renowned Marching 100 performing.
Football Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2021/5/27/football-tickets.aspx
5. Alabama Rolls Into Tampa
The USF home football schedule has a red-letter date — or maybe it's a crimson letter? — when Coach Nick Saban's No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide face the Bulls at Ray Jay (Saturday, Sept. 16) for an ABC nationally televised event. Saban has guided SEC powerhouse Alabama to six national championships in his 16 seasons, but he came up short in the Tide's last visit to Tampa (Clemson defeated Alabama 35-31 on Jan. 9, 2017 in the national-title game at Ray-Jay). A very large crowd is expected, but some tickets remain for the marque match-up.
Football Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2021/5/27/football-tickets.aspx
6. Home-Course Advantage
Coach Steve Bradley's men's golf team, led by returning All-AAC juniors Shubham Jaglan and Jake Peacock, will host the USF Intercollegiate Tournament on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 9-10 at Brooksville's Southern Hills Plantation Club. Southern Hills has been a recent site of both men's and women's American Athletic Conference championships and is where the Bulls won their last AAC title in 2021. Admission to the tournament is free.
7. Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Three
The USF Athletic Hall of Fame will induct three new members — Jeff Attinella (men's soccer, 2007-10), Kelly Lagedrost (women's golf, 1997-2001) and Evelyne Viens (women's soccer, 2016-19) – this fall. USF's Hall will swell to 34 individuals and one team after inducting its first athletes from women's golf and women's soccer. Induction ceremonies will be held on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Hilton Downtown Tampa and the new Hall of Famers will be recognized during the Saturday, Nov. 11 Temple-USF football game at Ray Jay.
8. Fall Softball Clash
Coach Ken Eriksen's softball team will host the Puerto Rico National Team in a fall exhibition on Monday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. That's appealing enough, but there are additional USF connections. Bulls assistant coach Karla Claudio Rivera, also a former Bulls player, is the Puerto Rico team's captain and drove in the winning run in July when Puerto Rico came from behind to defeat China, 2-1, in Valencia, Spain. That clinched a spot for Puerto Rico in the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cup Finals. The 2023 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, Kathy Garcia-Soto, and Camille Ortiz-Martinez also played for Team Puerto Rico over the summer.
9. New Conference Rivals
With the American Athletic Conference's expansion, USF fans have some new programs, traditions and fan bases to experience. On July 1, the AAC officially welcomed Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), Charlotte, Florida Atlantic (FAU), North Texas, Rice and the Texas-San Antonio (UTSA).
In football, the Bulls will host the Rice Owls (Saturday, Sept. 23, Cancer Awareness Game), the Florida Atlantic Owls (Saturday, Oct. 14, Homecoming) and the Charlotte 49ers (Saturday, Nov. 25, Fan Appreciation Game).
Men's soccer hosts Charlotte (Sunday, Oct. 8, Breast Cancer Awareness/Bark in the Park), UAB (Saturday, Oct. 21, Alumni/International Night) and FAU (Wednesday, Nov. 1, Senior Night).
Women's soccer hosts Charlotte (Thursday, Sept. 21, Special Olympics Night/Faculty-Staff Appreciation), North Texas (Thursday, Oct. 12, Breast Cancer Awareness/Athletes 4 Athletes/International Night) and FAU (Thursday, Oct. 26, Senior Night/Alumni Night).
Volleyball hosts UAB (Friday/Saturday, Sept. 29-30, Salute to Service/Camper Reunion), Charlotte (Friday/Sunday, Oct. 13 and 15, Homecoming/Volloween/Dig Pink), North Texas (Friday, Oct. 20, Black Out) and Rice (Wednesday, Nov. 22).
10. Women's Basketball On A Roll
Coach Jose Fernandez's women's basketball team, which is coming off a 27-7 season and the program's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance (and its eighth in the past 11 seasons), is gearing up for another challenging schedule. The non-conference slate at the Yuengling Center is highlighted by a visit from the ACC's NC State Wolfpack (Saturday, Dec. 16), who went 20-12 last season. USF faces UT Arlington (Monday, Nov. 6) in the home opener. The Bulls return three starters, including AAC Newcomer of the Year Sammie Puisis (109 made 3-pointers, ranking fifth nationally), forward Carla Brito and point guard Aerial Wilson.
Women's Basketball Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2020/4/2/womens-basketball-tickets.aspx
11. Fresh Look For Men's Basketball
Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, in his first USF season after building Kennesaw State into a conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant, is preparing the Bulls for their home opener against South Carolina State (Thursday, Nov. 9). The Bulls have 10 new players, including three who followed Abdur-Rahim from Kennesaw State after winning an ASUN championship — 6-3 guard Kasen Jennings, 6-6 guard Brandon Stroud and 6-4 guard Chris Youngblood. Stroud was the 2022-23 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year while Youngblood, a 1,000-point scorer, earned First Team All-ASUN honors and was a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year. There are three veterans returning from last season's team, including 6-6 forward Sam Hines Jr., 6-4 guard Selton Miguel and 6-8 forward Corey Walker Jr.
Men's Basketball Tickets
https://gousfbulls.com/sports/2020/4/2/mens-basketball-tickets.aspx
12. Lacrosse Now On The Scene
In preparation for its first competition season in the spring of 2025, Coach Mindy McCord's women's lacrosse team now has a definite presence on campus with 21 freshmen and seven transfers enrolled and practicing. USF is planning an initial exhibition "play-day'' on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Corbett Stadium against Stetson and Rollins (three matches total).
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Bulls will host Florida Southern and Stetson. On Saturday, Oct. 28, it's USF against Embry-Riddle and Saint Leo. All exhibition matches are free admission.
McCord said her program also plans to stage a fan participation event at the tailgate area of a USF football game (the date is not finalized) with a mini-field, mini-lacrosse sticks and cages where fans can interact with players while learning about lacrosse rules and techniques.
– #GoBulls –
