The year in USF sports: 3 stories that dominated the conversation

With the loss Sunday by the USF softball team in the NCAA Fayetteville Region final, the Bulls' athletic year is drawing to a close.

There are individuals from the track and field team headed to the NCAA East first rounds in Lexington on May 27. The men's golf team will travel to Columbus on May 18 for the NCAA regional. But the bulk of the 2025-26 year for the Bulls is over.

With that in mind, over the next several days Green, Gold and Bold will be taking a subjective look at significant moments and performances throughout the year -- some good, some not.

Today we'll look at the three biggest news stories of the year.

1. All gas, no brakes. When Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly left on June 4 to become the athletic director at the U.S. Naval Academy, USF embarked on the obligatory nationwide search for his replacement.

It turned out that the hometown guy was the home run hire. Rob Higgins. As the executive director for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, he really put Tampa on the Big Boy sports map. He was the mastermind who brought the Super Bowls, Final Fours, Frozen Fours, early-round NCAA basketball tournament games, and all the other major sports events that Tampa has hosted with excellence over the years.

He is a USF grad, a former student manager for the men's basketball team, he met his wife at USF, and he was introduced at his new job on his 24th wedding anniversary.

But he's not the athletic director. He is USF's first CEO of Athletics, a title and job description better suited for life in the ever-evolving world of Division I sports.

“When Michael came to us and told us he was leaving, we knew that was a unique moment in time and that USF could not afford to get this wrong,” then-Trustee Chairman Will Weatherford said. “We needed vision, we needed execution, and we needed someone who could bring passion to the table. And we knew that Rob had all three of those things, but we decided we were going to make him earn it, and I mean that in the most serious sense, meaning we wanted him to go through a process.”

Higgins admits he only sleeps about four hours a night, frequently arriving to his office before the sun comes up. Overseeing 21 sports, new football stadium construction, and USF's desire to join a power conference requires complete commitment and vision.

Higgins has it.

“As you look at realignment and take a hard look in the mirror at this very moment, we currently check two to three of the four boxes needed,” Higgins said. “We have the academics and the television market. Our resources are improving, and now our (on-field) performance is starting to trend in the right direction.

“We have a very small window here before the realignment discussions are likely to begin, and it requires all gas and no brakes.”

2. That winning feeling. There was a lot to celebrate for several of USF's athletic teams in 2025-26.

It started in the fall when the women's volleyball team earn its first NCAA tournament bid since 2002 after finishing second in the American Conference.

The men's basketball team, under new coach Bryan Hodgson, won both the regular season and conference tournament championships, earning the Bulls' first trip to March Madness since 2012. The Bulls went toe-to-toe with Louisville before falling 83-79.

The women's lacrosse team, in just their second season, won the American regular-season title and advanced to the conference tournament championship game before falling to James Madison. Unbelievably, the Bulls were left out of the NCAA tournament as the selection committee ignored their No. 17 ranking in RPI.

No team ranked that high had ever been denied a tournament bid.

The softball team, under head coach Ken Eriksen, shared the regular-season American title with Wichita State, then won the conference tournament. They advanced to the NCAA Fayetteville regional finals before falling to Arkansas.

3. Coaching carousel. It's a good thing Higgins was gassed up when he started his new job because in short order he had to hire four new head coaches.

The first move was to hire George Kiefer as the men's soccer coach. It was a homecoming for Kiefer as he led USF from 2002 to 2016. His teams had 162 wins, four conference titles, and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances

There was a huge surprise shortly before the women's basketball season began as longtime coach Jose Fernandez resigned to take the head coaching job with the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. His top assistant, Michele Woods-Baxter, was named the interim coach and led the Bulls to 20 wins.

Higgins opened up the search for a permanent replacement and, in a surprise move, lured Kristy Curry from Alabama to bring her impressive resume to USF.

In the middle of all that, head football coach Alex Golesh left the day after the regular season ended to take the same job at Auburn. Within days, Higgins stunned much of the college football world by hiring Brian Hartline, the highly respected offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Hartline had been the radar of many schools looking for a head coach, and he was USF's top target.

"You don't have to get ready if you stay ready,'' Higgins said. "I think we were prepared for every scenario as the season continued to unfold. So, the moment that we found out that Coach Golesh would be headed to Auburn, we got out our playbook, we executed our playbook, and 60 hours later, we had our dream candidate in coach Brian Hartline. 

"When you swing for the fences, every now and then, you hit the ball and you knock it out of the park with a grand slam, and that's what happened.''

Oh, and remember Hodgson? He left shortly after the NCAA appearance to become the head coach at Providenc College. But Higgins landed a highly respected replacement in Chris Mack, who inherited a roster with literally no players. He has now filled out the squad and hopes are high that the Bulls can build on their success from last season.

Higgins also just learned he needs a new beach volleyball coach. After completing the team's initial season, head coach Pri Piantadosi-Lima abruptly resigned

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