TAMPA (May 19, 2026) – The American Conference announced on Tuesday that its annual football kickoff and media day event will come to St. Petersburg in July. The event, scheduled for July 23-24, will take place at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront.
The Sunshine City will host the American's signature preseason event for the first time, as all 14 head coaches and 28 student-athletes gather for two days of media interviews, and behind-the-scenes content creation and fan-friendly fun. Media availability will begin Thursday afternoon, July 23, and continue Friday, July 24. Friday's program will feature opening remarks from Commissioner Tim Pernetti, followed by press conferences with each of the league's 14 head coaches.
ESPN+ will provide live coverage of the Kickoff on Friday, July 24.
The American was one of only four conferences, joining the Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC, to have three teams finish with 11 wins during the 2025 season. Last season, the American was the only conference to beat teams from the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and ACC in non-conference play.
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About USF Football
The South Florida football program first took the field in 1997 and will play its 30th season in 2026. In 2025, the Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. South Florida completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023, and construction is in progress on an on-campus stadium and football operations center slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), and 35 first-team all-conference honorees. South Florida has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), tied for the third-most nationally in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. South Florida 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. The Bulls 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 AP rankings during the 2007 season.
