Jose Fernandez built USF women's basketball from chaos to championships

USF women’s basketball was lower than a snake’s belly when Jose Fernandez, then just 29 years old, was named the head coach on November 14, 2000.

He had only been on the staff as an assistant for seven months when a discrimination charge against then-coach Jerry Ann Winters rocked the program and she was eventually fired.

Fernandez, who functioned as the interim head coach while Winters fought to keep her job, was given a two-year contract and a ticket aboard the RMS Titanic – the last part is a metaphor for the condition of the program at that time.

The team finished 4-24 in his first season.

Flash forward to today. Fernandez is about to enter his 25th season as the Bulls head coach. USF had only three winning seasons, and all were 14-13 finishes before he took over.

Since then, USF has had nine NCAA appearances (including eight in the last 12 years). The Bulls have 11 20-win seasons and made the post-season 18 of the last 21 years. His Bulls won two American Athletic Conference championships and probably would have won several more if UConn hadn't been in the same league for many years.

After the Women’s Final Four next spring in Tampa, he will take over as president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

USF plans to celebrate his 25th season with a special night on November 14 when the Bulls host Vanderbilt.

“It seems like just yesterday. Young Michael Kelly was right down the hallway; I was 28 years old, and he was working in one of those offices up there. And now it is full circle that I work for him.”

Michael Kelly is USF’s Vice President for Athletics.

First things first, though. There is a season to prepare for, and after chatting with Fernandez, he clearly believes this year’s USF team can be something special after last year’s injury-plagued 19-14 finish. Others apparently agree; the Bulls were picked to finish first in the AAC preseason coaches poll.

“I think we brought in some very, very good pieces and some very talented players, and the returners that we brought back were the ones we wanted to bring back,” he said.

Start with redshirt senior forward Romi Levi, who was named the AAC Preseason Player of the Year. Graduate student point guard Mama Dembele from Manlleu, Spain, came to USF through the transfer portal from Missouri.

“We're definitely gonna play faster with Mama. It forces your post players to rim run, and your wings to run really, really hard and go spot up, just because she pushes the ball so well, and she's good with the ball in her hands, and got really really good vision,” Fernandez said.

Sophomore guard Vittoria Blasigh from Udine, Italy, was the AAC Freshman of the Year last season. And 6-1 guard Sammy Puisis returns from a knee injury that cost her almost all last season. She has long-range shooting skills that will open up offensive opportunities for other players.

This is gonna be a very good basketball team.

The Bulls will take on all comers, too. Their ballyhooed non-conference schedule includes defending national champion South Carolina, UConn, Louisville, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Duke. That strength of schedule should pay dividends come tournament seeding time.

Still … 25 years. Where did they go? From where USF was when Fernandez took over to where the Bulls are now is a story of hard work, perseverance, and commitment. It’s rare in any sport for someone in college to stay as long at one place as Fernandez has at USF.

“It has gone by quickly, but this is a special place,” he said. “USF and the Tampa Bay community have just been amazing for my family and me.”