TAMPA - The University of South Florida has hired Andy Morris as the Director of Marketing & New Media for the Bulls.

Morris comes to USF from South Carolina, where he was the coordinator of digital and social media for the Gamecocks.

"We are extremely excited to add Andy Morris to our staff," said Ayo Taylor-Dixon, Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing. "I think Andy's combination of unique experiences will assist us in numerous avenues and will be of great benefit to serve all of our sports, student-athletes, coaches and the entire campus community."

Morris developed the department's first-ever digital and social media plan, was the editor for GamecocksOnline.com and was the content manager and strategist for the school's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. He also created and distributed e-mail marketing as well as wrote content for the official athletics blog SpursUpBlog.com.

Prior to that assignment, Morris was a Revenue Development Coordinator for South Carolina, where he was part of a staff responsible for implementing a seating plan for USC Football that now generates nearly $7 million annually for the athletics department.

While completing his master's degree in sport and entertainment management, Morris was a marketing assistant for the Gamecocks. In that role he created and executed the marketing and communication plan for men's soccer, improving average attendance by 17 percent. He also executed the marketing plan for baseball, created public address scripts and managed on-field promotions for football, basketball and baseball games.

Morris earned his bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in marketing from Appalachian State University and his master's degree from South Carolina.