Normally at Green, Gold, and Bold, we write about USF athletics in the context of what happens on the field, but today we’ll have to move out of our lane a bit.
That’s because Rhea Law announced on Monday that she will step down as USF’s president after the school finishes a national search to find her replacement.
Personally, I hope that the committee takes its sweet time because Law will be greatly missed when she's gone, not only by students and faculty but especially by the USF athletic department. The university’s leadership hasn’t always worked well with athletics, but that changed on Law’s watch.
#USF President Rhea Law announces plans to step down after national search to select a successor.
— University of South Florida (@USouthFlorida) February 17, 2025
“During my tenure we established bold goals — and thanks to our talented, dedicated team of faculty, staff, administrators and students — we exceeded them, sometimes soaring beyond… pic.twitter.com/IaR8J2yk1K
The team of Law, Trustee Chairman Will Weatherford, and Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly have transformed USF athletics in a relatively short time.
Since Law took over in August 2021 – first as the interim president and later as the permanent one – athletics has changed in ways that frankly never seemed possible before.
Funding for athletics was often dicey at USF before Law arrived, but you don’t hear any complaints now.
The $22 million Indoor Performance Center was built on Law’s watch. An on-campus football stadium never got past the “we’re studying it” stage, but last fall, USF broke ground on that project with a projected 2027 opening. The stated goal of the overall program is to "provide an unparalleled student-athlete experience."
Head football coach Alex Golesh has repeatedly said he has all the tools and support needed to build a sustainable winning program. USF added women’s lacrosse this season and the program is off to a flying start. USF has added beach volleyball as well, and has been implementing a major upgrade of the school’s athletic facilities and support systems.
They’ve done this in lockstep with the primary reasons athletes are enrolled in a university: To earn their degrees and be prepared to make a difference in the world.
In the fall of 2024, USF highlighted the “student” part of student-athlete with a collective 3.46 GPA.
They’ve done all this while navigating around the quicksand of the NIL world and the revolving door of the transfer portal. Like the late Amir Abdur-Rahim said, this ain’t the same old South Florida.
In 2023, USF became first public university in Florida to be invited to join the Association of American Universities in nearly 40 years. While former president Judy Genshaft deserves recognition for the emphasis she put on academics, she was carrying out a goal established in 2008 by the USF Board of Trustees.
Law was the chair of the board at that time.
I would hope Rhea Law gets a statue outside the new football stadium. And although not as many people are aware of the vital role Will Weatherford has played in this, his tenure should be celebrated as well.
He was the go-go guy who got things moving, and Law was there with green light to turn concepts into realities.
Law graduated from USF in 1977. She was the first of her family to attend college, and she later earned her law degree from Stetson University in 1979.
Rhea Law is a USF Bull, through and through.
Along with Weatherford, she changed the trajectory of a place once nicknamed “Drive Thru U.” And to bring it full circle, USF athletics has never had a better friend in the president’s chair than Rhea Law.