As we prepare to escort 2024 to the dustbin of history, it’s time to reflect on the last 12 months of USF athletics to catch the high, low, and in-between moments.
The athletic program at USF made incredible strides this year, both on and off the field. Yes, USF teams generally were competitive and, in some cases, championship caliber. You can’t do that without the proper support, though, and that’s where USF has excelled in recent years.
The infrastructure to support the athletes on the field and in the classroom has never been better. The substantial monetary investments the university has put into each of its athletic programs have paid immediate dividends and will pay more.
So, let’s look back, shall we? You can’t know where you’re going until you realize where you’ve been.
JANUARY: Men’s basketball served notice that, as head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim famously said, “It ain’t the same old South Florida, my brother.” The Bulls won seven of eight American Athletic Conference games in January to run their record to 14-5.
The highlight was a 74-73 win at Memphis on January 18 when the Bulls rallied from 20 points down to beat the Tigers.
The women’s team, beset by injuries, struggled to find consistency but did achieve a landmark. A 54-40 win over East Carolina to close out the month was the 750th in program history and improved USF to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in the AAC.
Men’s tennis ended January with a 1-1 record, while the women were 1-2.
FEBRUARY: Why stop now? The men’s basketball team roared into February with four wins to open the month. That set up a showdown with 24th-ranked Florida Atlantic, a Final Four team from the previous year. The Bulls treated a sellout crowd of 10,659 at the Yuengling Center and a national TV audience to a stirring 90-86 victory.
It was the largest home crowd in USF history.
The women went 4-4 during the month and stood at 16-13 overall and 8-8 in the conference.
Baseball and softball seasons opened as well.
Baseball finished the month with a 4-3 record, while softball was 12-5 heading into March.
The men’s track team won the AAC indoor championship meet, and sprinter Abdul-Rasheed Saminu finished eighth in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA indoor meet. For that accomplishment, Saminu was named a first-team All-American.
Shevioe Reid was a second-team All-American in the 200-meter dash.
MARCH: Men’s basketball clinched the first regular-season conference title in program history with a 76-61 win at Charlotte. The men also achieved the program’s first national ranking, climbing to No. 24.
A loss at Tulsa broke a 15-game winning streak heading into the AAC Tournament. After an opening win there over East Carolina, the Bulls were beaten in the semifinals by UAB, erasing any chance for an NCAA bid.
Amir Abdur-Rahim was named the AAC Coach of the Year, the first men’s basketball coach at USF to achieve that honor. Chris Youngblood was named the AAC Co-Player of the Year.
The team accepted an NIT bid and opened with an 83-77 win at That School In Orlando – OK, UCF – but fell in the second round to VCU at home to finish 25-8.
The women finished at 19-13 after losing in the second round of the conference tournament 58-56 to UTSA.
The baseball team finished 26-29 and failed to qualify for the AAC Tournament.
Women’s tennis finished 12-11 while the men finished 10-17.
APRIL: The baseball Bulls ended the month with a 22-22 record, while the softball team finished the month with a 32-20 overall record, 11-13 in the conference.
The men’s track team was en fuego. The Bulls took home three championships at the prestigious Penn Relays, and USF set its 30th program record of the season. Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Erik Jenkins called it “a historic weekend for the University of South Florida.”
MAY: The baseball team finished a disappointing 26-29 and missed qualifying for the AAC Tournament. Two days after the season ended, VP for Athletics Michael Kelly announced a “change in leadership” for the program.
Head coach Billy Mohl was out after seven seasons.
The softball team lost 2-1 to Tulsa in the opening round of the conference tournament to finish 34-22.
The men’s track team won the AAC overall championship and had 10 event champions. They had 12 qualifiers in seven NCAA East preliminary round events.
JUNE: USF hired veteran baseball coach Mitch Hannahs, who led Indiana State to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments and the 2023 NCAA Super Regional.
Men’s track star Abdul-Rasheed Saminu became the first Bull to earn first-team All-American in two events at the same NCAA championship meet. He finished fifth (10.02) in the 100-meter dash final and third in the 200-meter dash.
Oh yeah, athletes have to attend actual classes. At USF, they do more than just attend.
The Bulls had all 16 rated programs post a 965 or better multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR), including 13 with scores over 974.
Nine teams had perfect single-year APR scores, and five had perfect multi-year scores.
That’s a big deal.
Oh yeah, Part II: Green, Gold, and Bold was launched on the Fansided platform, giving another outlet for information-hungry fans to read about their Bulls.
JULY: USF sent five athletes to the Summer Olympics in Paris -- the most of any AAC school.
USF also acknowledged the new reality in college athletics by hiring Andrew Warsaw to lead the school’s new NIL strategy unit.
"College athletics is changing and evolving rapidly, and the University of South Florida intends to be on the forefront of that evolution," AD Michael Kelly said.
"We are building a model athletic department for these modern times. As the era of permissiveness with what we can provide student-athletes and revenue sharing continues to evolve, South Florida intends to be as aggressive as we can be and continue to meet every new standard."
Warsaw didn’t have to go far. He has been the chief of staff for football coach Alex Golesh since 2022.
AUGUST: The football team was picked to finish third behind Memphis and Tulane in the AAC preseason media poll.
There were great expectations as the season opened on August 31 with a 48-3 win over Bethune-Cookman.
Meanwhile, the men’s soccer team finished August with a 1-1-1 record, while the women rebounded from a 5-0 opening-game loss to defending national champion Florida State with three wins and a tie to close out the month.
SEPTEMBER: The football team traveled to 4th-ranked Alabama and played before 100,077 fans, the largest crowd to ever see a USF game. The Bulls gave the Crimson Tide all they wanted and a little more, trailing by just five points with less than six minutes left before the Tide erupted for three TDs in the final 5:50 to win by a deceiving 42-16 score.
After an easy win at Southern Miss, the bottom fell out for the Bulls. Miami routed USF 50-15, followed by a 45-10 loss the following week at Tulane to open the AAC schedule. Even worse, quarterback Byrum Brown suffered a broken leg and did not play again in the regular season.
Men’s soccer opened conference play with a 4-1 loss at Charlotte, while the women finished the month 6-2-3 overall and 1-1-2 in the conference.
After starting the season 0-3, the volleyball team upset 10th-ranked Florida in Gainesville and followed that with a win the next day over Ohio State. The Bulls finished the month 4-7 overall, but better days were coming.
OCTOBER: Hurricane Milton forced USF to move its home football game against Memphis to Orlando. The Tigers took down the Bulls 21-3 as backup quarterback Bryce Archie stood in for the injured Brown. It was USF’s third consecutive loss, but the Bulls closed the month with a 35-25 win over UAB.
Women’s soccer nearly ran the table for the month, winning five games and tying one. They were all conference games. The Bulls gave up just two goals in those six games.
The volleyball team was 7-2 and entered November atop the AAC standings.
NOVEMBER: With much hoopla, USF held the official ground-breaking on its $340 million on-campus football stadium. It will be the crown jewel of the Bulls’ massive investment in athletics.
Football coach Alex Golesh made national headlines for barely smacking the extended hand from FAU coach Tom Herman after the Bulls’ nationally televised 44-21 win. It appeared to be payback for Herman running up the score on the Bulls the previous season with a trick play late in the game when the issue had been long decided.
A win in the home finale over Tulsa made the Bulls bowl eligible for the second straight season, but a chance for their seventh win evaporated when they lost to Rice in the last game of the regular season.
The volleyball team won its first regular-season title since 2002 and went to the AAC tournament as the top seed. After winning their opening match, the Bulls were upset by home-standing Wichita State, costing USF an NCAA bid.
The women’s soccer team, seeded second in the AAC tournament, were beaten in the second round on penalty kicks by East Carolina.
DECEMBER: Aloha! The football team traveled 4,700 miles to Honolulu to play San Jose State in the Hawai`i Bowl. It turned out to be a game for the ages as the Bulls treated a national TV audience on Christmas Eve to a five-overtime win over San Jose State.
The Bulls also welcomed 25 new players on the early signing day.