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The University of South Florida (USF), known within it's system as USF Tampa, is a public university system located in Tampa, Florida, USA, with an autonomous campus in St. Petersburg, and branch centers in Sarasota and Lakeland. The main campus is located in North Tampa, near the City of Temple Terrace. It is bordered on the south by Fowler Avenue and on the north by Fletcher Avenue with Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to the west and 50th Street on the east side. The university is in close proximity to the Museum of Science and Industry as well as Busch Gardens and the University Mall shopping center.

The university is the third largest in the state of Florida, with a total enrollment of 44,038 for the 2006 academic year. USF is currently ranked ninth in the country in terms of enrolled students.

USF is also one of three public universities in the State (with the University of Florida and Florida State University) to have received first-tier research university status by the Carnegie Foundation, a mission first started by former USF president Betty Castor in the 1990s. As such, the university takes great pride in advancing its position as a research university in promotional advertisements and brochures.

USF's mascot is the Bull and its colors are green and gold. The university's sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I-A level. In 2005, USF joined the Big East Conference. USF previously belonged to Conference USA, the Metro Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference.

USF is currently the national headquarters for Phi Alpha Theta, a professional history honor society which promotes the study of history.

History

USF was founded in 1956, though it was not even named until the next year and classes didn't commence until 1960. Some of the original proposed names included "University of the Western Hemisphere", "Citrus State University", "Sunshine State University" and "The University of Florida at Temple Terrace." Former US Representative Sam Gibbons was instrumental in the school's creation when he was a state representative and is considered by many to essentially be the school's founder. It was built on the site of Henderson Air Field, a World War II airstrip. Although located in west-central Florida, at the time of establishment USF was the southernmost public university in the State of Florida, a geographic situation that lent USF its sometimes confusing name.

The university first grew under the leadership of John Allen, who was the president from 1957 until 1970. During this time, the university expanded rapidly, due in part to the first graduate degree programs commencing in 1964. Allen elected to resign and retire in the early 70's. Today, the main administration complex is called The John and Grace Allen Center, named after him and his wife.

USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1980s under the presidency of John Lott Brown, Ph.D. President Brown appointed scholarly administrators such as Jim Strange, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Letters, and Andor Szentivanyi, Dean of Medicine. Two university hospitals, The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and USF Psychiatry Center, as well as the college of public health were built during Brown's presidency.

USF is considered one of the top universities in Florida, being named a first-tier research university in 1998. USF has surpassed the $300 million mark in research grant funding . In addition to a heightened emphasis on research and academia, the university played its first football game in 1997, with its marching band, the Herd of Thunder, forming in 1999.

University and student media

USF's first student newspaper was the Campus Edition of The Tampa Times, a now defunct local afternoon newspaper. It was succeeded by The Oracle which was first published on September 6, 1966 as a weekly. Today The Oracle is published five times a week and has a circulation of more than 12,000.

The student radio station, WBUL, is located in the Phyllis P. Marshall Center, the student union named for an administrator who spent 40 years at USF.

The school also operates WUSF, an FM station which offers classical and jazz music and National Public Radio (NPR) programming.

USF is home of the WUSF-TV studios. The station is funded by local corporate and private contributors as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and is affiliated with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It has been serving the Tampa Bay area for nearly 50 years. Full-time employees as well as part-time student trainees and those seeking Mass Communication course credit staff the state-of-the-art facility.

Current events

USF's fiftieth anniversary was in 2006. Part of the celebration year were numerous special events, announced plans for a bigger student union and famous guest lecturers such as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Fernando Chavez, Judy Shepard (mother of Matthew Shepard), and controversial conservative author Ann Coulter, all part of the University Lecture Series. The Campus Activities Board (CAB) has brought comedians Monique, Dane Cook and Bruce Bruce among others. CAB has continued and begun new traditions such as the Yacht Party, Winter Wonderland and Movies on the Lawn.

Art

USF's Contemporary Art Museum features regular exhibitions of contemporary art, including a show of faculty work every three years and an annual juried student show. USF also operates Graphicstudio, an art studio and printshop which has hosted artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist. Regular exhibitions of student work are featured in the William and Nancy Oliver Gallery and the student-run Centre Gallery in the Marshall Center. The art department puts on an event called "art house" that happens the same night as the annual juried student show where all of the studios are open with current work on display for people to walk through.

Music

USF's School of Music has been steadily growing since the university opened in 1956. The school now boasts some of the finest, world-renowned faculty who travel internationally as performers, clinicians and lecturers in their respective fields.

In 2005 the School of Music held the first annual Robert Helps Festival and Composition Competition. The festival and competition is named for the beloved late Piano and Composition professor Robert Helps and is held the 2nd week in February. The international composition competition is for young adult composers and features a $10,000 prize and premieres of the winning work both during the festival at USF and in New York City's Merkin Hall. The festival includes clinicians and lectures from renowned musicians in addition to nightly concerts performed by students and faculty, including the traditional Valentine's Day concert started by Robert Helps featuring the USF faculty.

The School of Music will be moving to a new building in 2009, a project the students and faculty have been pursuing for years. The new building will feature two recital halls, state-of-the-art classrooms, large rehearsal rooms, chamber music rehearsal rooms, private studios and practice rooms.

Athletics

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2007)

American Football

See also: South Florida Bulls football

There has been unprecedented growth in the school's football program. USF began football play as a 1-AA independent in 1997, moved to 1-A in 2001, then to Conference USA in 2003, and now competes in the Big East conference (as of 2005) with its Bowl Championship Series (BCS) tie-ins.

USF's rapid advancement to the Big East Conference and the associated gains in recruiting have been helped greatly by its facilities. The Bulls recently opened a $18 million athletic facility on campus, and the football team plays its home games in Raymond James Stadium, also the home field of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Coach Jim Leavitt has enjoyed success in the first nine seasons, and the program is seen as a program on the rise, and a model for establishing a football program at other colleges. On September 24, 2005, USF defeated ninth-ranked University of Louisville, for its first victory over a Big East rival as well as a Top Ten opponent. As a result, USF received its first-ever votes in the AP college football poll. USF saw its second win over a ranked opponent by beating widely favored #7 West Virginia University on November 25, 2006.

USF, which was passed up for bowls in 2001 and 2002, was extended an invitation to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on December 31, 2005 against N.C. State from the ACC. The bowl game was only the 100th football game in school history, a feat unmatched in NCAA Division 1-A history. In 2006, USF was invited to the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama defeating East Carolina University for the first bowl victory in in program history.

Student housing

Most students live off-campus and commute to the campus. Despite the rise in demand for on-campus housing, thirteen percent of USF's student body, which is approximately 5,600 students, lives in a university residence hall. Many students find it more cost effective and desirable to live in area apartment complexes that cater to students. These "resident commuters" make up the majority of the student body.

In recent years, Residence Services acquired the houses of various fraternities and sororities on campus and relinquished control of Fontana Hall, a high rise residential hall located outside campus boundaries.

Most on-campus housing was built from 1960 to 1965, and each hall was named after a Greek letter. During this period, an ambitious fundraising campaign called "Dollars for Dorms" was initiated and appealed to individual and business interests in the Tampa Bay area. Older residence halls, such as Beta Hall (which houses freshmen only), Betty Castor Hall (formerly Gamma Hall, women-only), and Kosove Apartments (formerly Alpha Hall, upperclassmen) received extensive remodeling in the early 2000s. The other Greek letter residence halls (named in order from Delta to Mu) are built in a confined community area known as the Andros Complex.

Newer housing subdivisions, such as the Cypress Suites and Apartments, Maple Hall, Holly Apartments, and the Magnolia Apartments, were built in the late 1990s. The last of them, the Cypress complex, was completed in the summer of 2004.

Greek life

USF has a very large community centered around Greek life, comprising of a number of fraternities and sororities. Listed below are the fraternities and sororities sponsored by USF, and the years in which they were founded on the campus.

Fraternities

Alpha Epsilon Pi 1985 Alpha Phi Alpha 1972 Beta Theta Pi 1992 Chi Phi 1983 Delta Chi 1998 Delta Epsilon Psi 2005 Delta Sigma Pi 1970 Iota Phi Theta 2003 Kappa Kappa Psi 2001 Kappa Sigma 1968 Lambda Chi Alpha 1968 (Suspended 2006) Lambda Theta Phi 1998 Omega Psi Phi 1972 Phi Beta Sigma 1974 Phi Delta Theta 1967 Phi Mu Alpha 1968 Pi Kappa Alpha 1968 Sigma Alpha Epsilon 1968 Sigma Chi 1979 Sigma Beta Rho 2001 Sigma Lambda Beta 1995 Sigma Nu 1967 Sigma Phi Epsilon 1968 Zeta Beta Tau 2005

Sororities

Alpha Delta Pi 1967, Alpha Kappa Alpha 1972, Alpha Omicron Pi 1985, Chi Omega 1968, Delta Delta Delta 1966, Delta Gamma 1969, Kappa Delta 1967, Sigma Delta Tau 1988, Sigma Sigma Rho 2002, Zeta Phi Beta 1980 (Alpha Eta), and Zeta Tau Alpha 2003.

Coed Service Fraternity

Alpha Phi Omega Founded May 5, 1968, declared inactive in 1992, Rechartered March 27, 2004 (Tau Mu)

Points of interest

• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
• Raymond James Stadium (home stadium of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used by the USF Bulls for football games)
• University of South Florida Botanical Gardens
• USF Sun Dome
• WUSF
• WBUL

School Songs

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!

Notable alumni

Graduates

• Chucky Atkins, professional basketball player, Memphis Grizzlies
• Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999
• William E. Brown, president, Cedarville University
• Kurt S. Browning, Florida Secretary of State
• Eddie Carpenter, President, Disneyland International and CFO, Walt Disney Attractions
• Mark Chung, Major League Soccer player
• Mark Consuelos, actor (All My Children)
• Frank Davis, pro football guard, Detroit Lions. First person of Panama in an NFL game.
• Tom Fitzgerald, soccer coach
• Leo Gallagher (better known as Gallagher), comedian
• Emilio T. Gonzalez, director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Anthony Henry, professional football cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
• Drake Hogestyn, actor (Days of our Lives)
• Melissa Howard, former MTV The Real World cast member
• Pam Iorio, current Tampa mayor (master's degree)
• Kenyatta Jones, ex pro football tackle, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins
• Joybubbles, early phreaker
• Debra Lafave, teacher arrested in 2004 for having sex with a 14-yr-old student
• Tony La Russa, manager St. Louis Cardinals
• Ann Ligouri, broadcaster on WFAN and The Golf Channel
• Lobo, musician
• Stephen Nicholas, professional football linebacker, Atlanta Falcons
• Kawika Mitchell, professional football linebacker, New York Giants
• John Patrick, former IBM VP of Internet Technology, Opera Software Board of Directors
• Mike Pride, editor of The Concord Monitor
• Michael Rao, president, Central Michigan University
• Kerry Sanders, correspondent for NBC News
• Robert Stackhouse, artist
• Ronda Storms, Florida State Senator
• Roy Wegerle, former professional soccer player, Tampa Bay Mutiny
• Kurt Wimmer, screenwriter and film director
• Tony Zappone, broadcaster, journalist, photographer. Member, founding staff of The Oracle, campus newspaper

Former students

• Terry Bollea (better known as Hulk Hogan), professional wrestler
• Elayne Boosler, comedian
• Lauren Hutton, supermodel and actress
• Mark Keil, tennis player

External links

• Official website
• USF Library
• Official athletics website
• The Oracle Online
• Southfloridabulls.com
• USFBullsEYE.com
• USF Herd of Thunder Athletic Bands
• USF Ice Hockey
• USF Athletics Message Board
• USF Events Page
• USF chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ
• USF Men's Lacrosse
• USF Women's Lacrosse
• USF Men's Rugby

v t e The State University System of Florida
Campuses	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida Atlantic University Florida Gulf Coast University Florida International University Florida Polytechnic University Florida State University New College of Florida University of Central Florida University of Florida University of North Florida University of South Florida University of West Florida
Chancellors	J. Broward Culpepper (1954–1968) Robert B. Mautz (1968–1975) E. Travis York (1975–1981) Barbara W. Newell (1981–1985) Charles B. Reed (1985–1998) Adam W. Herbert (1998–2001) Judy G. Hample (2001) Debra D. Austin (2003–2005) Mark B. Rosenberg (2005–2009) John Delaney (2009) Frank T. Brogan (2009–2013) Marshall Criser III (2014–2022) Ray Rodrigues (2023–)
Governing body	Florida Board of Control Florida Board of Regents Florida Board of Governors
Other	University Press of Florida Florida Institute of Oceanography List of State University System Libraries Bright Futures Scholarship Program Florida Student Association Advisory Council of Faculty Senates
State University System of Florida - Founded in 1905

v t e Big East Conference
Full members	Butler Bulldogs Creighton Bluejays DePaul Blue Demons Georgetown Hoyas Marquette Golden Eagles Providence Friars St. John's Red Storm Seton Hall Pirates UConn Huskies Villanova Wildcats Xavier Musketeers
Men's soccer associate	Akron Zips
Lacrosse associate	Denver Pioneers (men's & women's)
Field hockey associates	Liberty Lady Flames Old Dominion Monarchs Quinnipiac Bobcats Temple Owls
History	Big East Conference (1979–2013) 2010–13 Big East realignment

28°3′16.42″N 82°24′47.01″W / 28.0545611°N 82.4130583°W / 28.0545611; -82.4130583

• University of South Florida
• Tampa, Florida
• Educational institutions established in 1956
• Universities and colleges in Florida
• Big East Conference
• Tampa Bay Area
• Schools of public health
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities