Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
South Florida Bulls football
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| South Florida Bulls | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Head coach | Jim Leavitt | ||
| 11th year, 74–43 | |||
| Home stadium | Raymond James Stadium | ||
| Capacity 66,321 (41,441 lower bowl) - Grass | |||
| Conference | Big East | ||
| Website | GoUSFBulls.com | ||
| Team records | |||
| All-time record | 74–43–0 | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 1–1 | ||
| Pageantry | |||
| Colors | Green and Gold | ||
| Fight song | Golden Brahman March | ||
| Marching band | Herd of Thunder | ||
The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS college football program that plays its home games in Tampa, Florida. The team began playing in 1997, holding its first team meeting under a shade tree as the school had no proper football facilities on campus.[1] Jim Leavitt is the only head coach in the program's history. After competing their first four years as a Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) independent, the Bulls moved to Division I-A, now Division I FBS, in 2001 but remained independent. They joined Conference USA in 2003 until becoming a member of the Big East in 2005.
The Bulls' starting quarterback for the 2007 South Florida Bulls football team is sophomore Matt Grothe, who was awarded the Big East Rookie of the Year award in 2006 after being the most productive freshman in total offense with 258.5 yards per game.[2] South Florida is also home to sophomore defensive end George Selvie, who was named the school's first Consensus All-American in 2007. [3]
South Florida received increased press coverage for their upsets of Top 25 ranked teams such as West Virginia (in 2006 and 2007), Louisville (in 2005) and Auburn (in 2007). The 2007 football season marked their first ascent into the AP Poll, first placing at #23, rising to #18 in Week 4, jumping to #6 after the win against West Virginia, rising one more spot to #5 in week 6 after a victory over Florida Atlantic University, and jumping 3 more spots to #2 with 11 first place votes after beating the University of Central Florida. The Bulls' high ranking was short lived, as South Florida lost its next 3 games and tumbled out of the rankings. However, the Bulls rebounded towards the end of the season, finishing the regular season ranked #21 in the BCS standings and #23 in the AP poll. Following their final regular season game, they have accepted a bid to play in the upcoming Sun Bowl against the Oregon Ducks.
USF won its second ever bowl game with a victory over their former Conference USA rivals, the ECU Pirates on December 23, 2006 in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The previous year, USF lost to the NC State Wolfpack in the Bulls' first-ever bowl appearance, the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Contents |
Raymond James Stadium is a $168.5 million facility which opened September 20, 1998 with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Chicago Bears. Two weeks later, the Bulls debuted in their new home with a 80-3 win over Kentucky Wesleyan in front of 32,598 fans.[4] For USF games, the lower half of the stadium is opened, allowing for a capacity of 41,441[5], although the upper deck has been opened numerous times to accommodate crowds in excess of what the lower bowl can handle. The largest crowd to see the Bulls play a home game came on September 28, 2007 against then #5 ranked West Virginia, when 67,012 saw the #18 Bulls win.[6] The Bulls played at Houlihan's Stadium in 1997.
The Bulls have continued to enjoy a winning edge in Raymond James, building a 43-11 record since 1998.[7] , including one streak of 21 straight victories at home.[8]
- DeJuan Green - Running Back, Oakland Raiders
- Anthony Henry - Cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
- Kawika Mitchell - Linebacker, New York Giants
- Frank Davis - Offensive Guard, Detroit Lions
- J.R. Reed - Safety, Philadelphia Eagles[9]
- Andre Hall - Running Back, Denver Broncos
- Stephen Nicholas - Linebacker, Atlanta Falcons
- Jeremy Burnett - Strong Safety - Minnesota Vikings
- S.J. Green - Wide Receiver, Montreal Alouettes (CFL)
- DeAndrew Rubin - Wide Receiver/Cornerback, Orlando Predators (AFL)
- none to date
- Meineke Car Care Bowl-2005[10] (NC State Wolfpack 14, USF Bulls 0)
- Papajohns.com Bowl - 2006[11] (USF Bulls 24, ECU Pirates 7)
- Sun Bowl - 2007 (USF Bulls vs. Oregon Ducks, Dec 31, 2007)
Bulls football games currently air on the radio in Tampa on 970 WFLA-AM. Play-by-play man Jim Louk is teamed with color analyst and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mark Robinson in the booth for the broadcasts. Many of the televised games air locally on ESPN Plus outlet WFTS-TV, as does Coach Leavitt's weekly show. Some replays of the games can be seen on Catch 47. Due to USF's affiliation in the Big East athletics conference, most games can be seen on one of the many channels ESPN owns.
Due to the youth of the program and the aggressive growth that it has experienced, establishing a permanent rival has posed somewhat of a challenge. Rapidly changing conference affiliations and a quick ascension through the NCAA football ranks have made an annual rivalry difficult. On the heels of upsets that have garnered national attention, the seeds of rivalry have been planted with powers such as Louisville and West Virginia, and to a lesser extent with Pittsburgh. Additionally, due to the close geographic proximity of the two schools, the University of Central Florida has expressed interest in extending their four game series with the Bulls' by establishing an annual home-and-home series. However, according to the Tampa Tribune report released on 7 July 07, USF does not plan on renewing the game with UCF after 2008. [12]
Likely candidates for a future rival game include Louisville, (another former member of Conference USA before its move to the Big East) West Virginia, and Miami as USF has announced a 6 year series with the University of Miami, to be played on Thanksgiving weekend. The last 4 games of the USF/UM series (2010-2013) will be televised by one of the ESPN networks on Thanksgiving weekend. [13] With UM locked up for 6 years, USF appears very unlikely to continue the series with UCF, but instead focused on potentially establishing a rivalry with Miami, in spite of the high attendances these games drew.. [14]
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The Bulls have never been shut out in a regular season football game. The only shutout they suffered was a 14-0 loss to North Carolina State in the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl, officially the Bulls' hundredth game.[15] [16]
- The Bulls were the opponent of The University of Alabama on August 30, 2003 in the Crimson Tide's final game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
- USF has won every home opener in school history (11-0).
- Bill Gramatica holds the record for the longest field goal in school history at 63 yards.[17]
- USF plays in the largest stadium (65,657), the stadium with the largest student section (12,501) and has the largest enrollment (44,038) of any school in the Big East.[18]
- USF was ranked for the first time exactly 10 years and 10 days after its inaugural game against Kentucky Weslyan in 1997.[19]
- USF rose at an unprecedented pace, earning an AP ranking 104 polls after becoming a full-time, bowl eligible FBS member in 2001. Boise State had the previous record, getting ranked after 115 AP polls during their seventh season.[20]
- USF became the fastest team in the modern era of college football to go from upstart NCAA FBS school to a top-10 ranking on Sunday, Sept. 30. There were 106 AP polls and 112 Coaches Polls since USF became a full-time FBS member in 2001.[21]
- The same can be said about the top-5 ranking, which took USF 107 weeks to achieve.[22]
Golden Brahman March (Fight Song)
- USF Bulls are we,
- We hold our standard upright and free.
- For Green and Gold we stand united.
- Our beacon lighted and noble to see.
- USF Bulls are we,
- For USF will always be.
- With all our might we fight the battle
- here and now, and we will win the victory!
- (shout!) S-O-U-T-H F-L-O-R-I-D-A
- South Florida, South Florida
- Go Bulls!
Alma Mater
- Hail to Thee, our Alma Mater
- May thy name be told,
- Where above thy gleaming splendor,
- Waves the green and gold.
- Thou our guide in quest for knowledge.
- Where we all are free
- University of South Florida,
- Alma Mater, Hail to thee!
- Be our guide in truth and wisdom
- As we onward go,
- May thy glory, fame and honor
- Never cease to grow;
- May our thoughts and prayers
- be with thee through eternity,
- University of South Florida,
- Alma Mater, Hail to thee!
- ^ Hayes, Matt (2007-10-05). Meet the driving force behind South Florida. Rivals.com. Retrieved on 2005-10-05.
- ^ Official Big East website
- ^ GoUSFBulls.com
- ^ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 142, 4th game of 1998 season
- ^ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 10, sixth paragraph.
- ^ 67,018
- ^ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide. Includes the 2006 results
- ^ University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf file) page 142, 1st game of 2000 season to 4th game of 2003 season
- ^ Current NFL Players
- ^ South Florida Historical Data
- ^ Papajohnsbowl.com
- ^ http://www.tbo.com/sports/bulls/MGBNB9NBT3F.html
- ^ http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/01/Sports/USF_adds_statement_se.shtml
- ^ http://www.tbo.com/sports/bulls/MGBQX2WKD2F.html
- ^ http://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf4/40222.pdf
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=37331&SPID=2981&DB_OEM_ID=7700&KEY=&Q_SEASON=2007
- ^ http://www.arenafootball.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3500&ATCLID=245818&Q_SEASON=2006
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1265537
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1265537
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1265537
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1265537
- ^ http://www.gousfbulls.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=1265537
- GoUSFBulls.com Official site of USF athletics
- ESPN.com's South Florida Bulls Football Clubhouse
- TheBullsPen.com
- Bulls Index
- University of South Florida Bulls 2006 Football Media Guide (pdf): USF 2006 Football Media Guide
- Unofficial Football Website Go Bulls!
|
|
|---|
| Football: Cincinnati (Bearcats) • Connecticut (Huskies) • Louisville (Cardinals) • Pittsburgh (Panthers) • Rutgers (Scarlet Knights) • South Florida (Bulls) • Syracuse (Orange) • West Virginia (Mountaineers) |
| Non-football: DePaul (Blue Demons) • Georgetown (Hoyas*) • Marquette (Golden Eagles) • Notre Dame (Fighting Irish*) • Providence (Friars) • St. John's (Red Storm) • Seton Hall (Pirates) • Villanova (Wildcats*) |
| *These schools field football teams outside of the Big East |
