TAMPA, FLA., July 22, 2025 – USF Football Head Coach Alex Golesh, senior center Cole Best and senior cornerback De'Shawn Rucker will represent the Bulls at the 2025 American Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25.
 
Coaches and players from the American's 14 teams will meet the media and engage with fans at the Charlotte Convention Center starting Thursday afternoon. Fans can watch coverage of the event on two feeds on ESPN+ on Friday starting at 8 a.m.
 
ESPN+ - Friday Broadcasts:
ESPN STUDIO SHOW
American Football Kickoff on ESPN+
9:00 AM – USF Head Coach Alex Golesh
Conference coaches appear from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
                 
PRESS CONFERENCES
American Football Kickoff Press Conference Feed
8:15 AM – American Commissioner Tim Pernetti
8:40 AM – USF Head Coach Alex Golesh
Conference coaches appear from 8:40 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.
 
The Bulls will open their third season under Golesh in a nationally televised game on ESPN on Thursday, Aug. 28, vs. Boise State. That game is set for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
 
USF, which is one of 15 programs to have won a bowl or playoff game in each of the last two seasons, returns 12 starters in 2025 (six on offense and six on defense). Quarterback Byrum Brown, who passed for a program-record 3,292 yards and ran for 836 in 2023, returns after an injury-shortened 2024 season. The Bulls also return four starters on the offensive line and wide receiver Keshaun Singleton, who broke out mid-season in 2024, posting two 100-yard games and 408 receiving yards in the final seven games.
 
On defense, USF returns its top tacklers from both the 2023 and 2024 seasons in linebackers Mac Harris and Jhalyn Shuler. Harris led the team with 82 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in 2024, while Shuler logged a team-best 97 stops to go with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2023. Three starters also return in the secondary, led by safety Tavin Ward, who led the team with three interceptions and finished second with 62 tackles in 2024.
 
Up Next:
The Bulls open fall camp on Mon., July 28. USF will hold the annual Kickoff Luncheon on Aug. 20 at Armature Works in downtown Tampa. The annual event will feature head coach Alex Golesh and the entire USF team and coaching staff. Public tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
 
Tickets:
Season tickets for the 2025 USF football season tickets are on sale and may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or visiting this LINK.
 
Single-game tickets for the 2025 USF football season can be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or visiting this LINK.
 
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 28th season in 2024 with its second-straight bowl victory in the Hawai'i Bowl. The Bulls are one of 15 programs to win a postseason game each of the last two years as head coach Alex Golesh became the first USF coach to record bowl victories in each of their first two seasons. USF completed construction on a new $22 million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke ground in the fall of 2024 and is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 17 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including one in 2024), as well as 33 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and the Bulls have made 12 bowl game appearances (going 8-4). USF posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings during the 2007 season.