New USF president will be a vital player as the Bulls continue to build athletics

Last week, Moez Limayem was announced as the sole finalist to be the University of South Florida's next president. Leadership change at that level can have major implications for all parts of the university, including, of course, athletics.

He is currently the president at the University of North Florida, which competes in Division I basketball but does not have a football program.

Outgoing president Rhea Law was a positive force for the dramatic expansion of the USF athletics department. She worked tremendously well with trustee chair Will Weatherford and vice chair Mike Griffin. Since Griffin headed the search committee that selected Limayem, we assume he is aligned with the vision for athletics.

Still, he hasn't publicly addressed that yet -- he's been a little busy. So, it was worth asking head football coach Alex Golesh his thoughts on USF's new leader.

"I have not met him ince the announcement. Will, Mike Griffin, and our leadership do an awesome job keeping me in in the loop," he said.

"I think when you know what our board has done since, since I've gotten here, from what they've done to what President Law has done to now, MK (Michael Kelly) to Jay Stroman to Rob (Higgins). If the president isn't on board with the athletics piece, I don't know that he would be the president."

Limayem clearly is comfortable with the business side of the job. He served as the dean of the Muma Business Center for 10 years and raised $126 million during that time.

He joined UNF in 2022 -- a year before Golesh arrived. Bulls football was staggering under the weight of four wins in three seasons at that point.

Things are better now.

Limayem, who currently serves as president of the University of North Florida, is an accomplished, energetic and passionate higher education leader with deep ties to USF and the Tampa Bay region. Limayem was the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business at USF for 10 years prior to becoming UNF’s president in 2022.

“We conducted a thorough process that included reviewing an outstanding group of highly qualified candidates from across the nation before deciding that Moez is the best choice for our USF community," Griffin said.

"He brings a strong track record of presidential success in Florida in his current role, and we experienced the impact of his leadership firsthand when he led our Muma College of Business. We are confident that Moez is the right person to accelerate our momentum and lead us to even greater heights in the next chapter of our university.”

That business background will be critical for USF athletics in the next few years as the Bulls angle for a spot in a Power Four conference. Often, the invitation to a power league comes with financial strings attached, usually resulting in lower media rights fees shares in the first few seasons of membership.

The Bulls will also have to monetize the $340 million on-campus football stadium in ways that extend beyond six home games a year. Presumably, Limayem will have some ideas about that.

"There's a huge, huge commitment here to getting this entire athletic department to take huge steps, not baby steps, not one step at a time here, but to take huge steps as we continue to build," Golesh said.

"I think they understand that athletics, certainly football, is the front doorstep of any university, and they're going to continue to invest in making this program the very best that it can be. I think the president is certainly part of that. I've not had a chance to interact yet with them, but I look forward to meeting him as we go."

Limayem is scheduled to visit all three USF campuses on October 13.