For sports fans, USF's move into the BIG EAST speaks volumes about the quick progression of athletics at the University. But the move is every bit as important to the entire University.
In addition to knocking heads with traditional athletic powers like Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Louisville, Cincinnati and so many more, the move also aligns USF, a Research I University, with other Research I institutions including Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse.
“(After meeting with BIG EAST officials) It was clear to me that if we were to join the BIG EAST, we would be in the company of universities that represent who we are and who we aspire to be,” said USF President Judy Genshaft. “And if you compare our strategic plan and the goals we have set for ourselves with the profiles of these universities, you will see that they are institutions that share our values and commitments to excellence in academics as well as athletics.
“For USF, joining the BIG EAST is about scholarship and sportsmanship. It's a great opportunity to be affiliated with these great institutions, to see USF the way I see USF. These are universities that will be solid university partners over the next decades, and I believe that our affiliation with them will advance our brand as a national research university. Academically and athletically, it's a strategic position that we love.”
Much can be told about the neighbors one keeps, and in the BIG EAST, USF is clearly in an affluent neighborhood, academically and athletically.
The move also exposes USF to a large group of metropolitan areas that have interests in the fellow BIG EAST institutions. USF now has access to spread its message in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and much of the Eastern Seaboard.
The growth of USF and its athletic department truly mirror each other. Founded in 1956, USF opened for classes in 1960. Since then USF has developed into one of the nation's major public research universities. USF is classified as Doctoral/Research Extensive by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and is ranked among the top 100 public research universities in the annual report "The Top American Research Universities." The University receives more than $200 million a year in external funding to support research and development projects.
With 41,392 students from all 50 states and 116 countries, USF awards more than 4,650 bachelor's degrees and 1,700 master's degrees annually. In its short history, USF has awarded more than 180,000 degrees.
Athletically, USF started with humble aspirations, fielding soccer, tennis, golf and baseball in the early stages. By 1976, the University was a founding member of the Sun Belt Conference, where it remained until 1991 when the Bulls moved up to the Metro Conference.
By 1995, the neighborhood became even more affluent, when USF joined Conference USA as a charter member. In the last 12 years, USF has now climbed the nation's “athletic ladder” by two rungs into the BIG EAST.
Regardless of conference affiliation, USF has enjoyed broad-based excellence in athletics, winning 23 conference championships in the past eight years alone. In that same span of time, USF teams have competed in 43 NCAA Championships.
“Our goals are set high at USF,” says Director of Athletics Lee Roy Selmon. “We aim to remain focused on doing our very best in every endeavor we undertake, and we aspire to build even further on our past successes.”
