USF news roundup: VolleyBulls lead AAC, athletic dept. named among nation's best

The USF volleyball team cooked Rice Wednesday night in a showdown between the co-leaders in the American Athletic Conference.

Now, there is only one leader. The Bulls beat the preseason AAC favorites 25-21, 25-14, 25-23 to move to 7-0 in the conference and 11-7 overall. It was USF’s seventh consecutive win.
The 7-0 start is the Bulls' best conference start since they started 12-0 in 2002 while playing in Conference USA 12-0.

Maria Clara Andrade had 21 kills for USF, her 12th consecutive double-digit outing. She needs only five more to reach 1,000 for her career.

Also, Naiya Sawtelle had 19 kills for USF.

The Bulls will try to keep it going on Sunday with a 1 p.m. match at Florida Atlantic. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and will also be carried on radio by Bulls Unlimited.

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT AMONG COLLEGES’ BEST

USF has been named one of Front Office Sports' "Best College Athletic Departments" for 2024.  

USF joins Clemson, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wake Forest, and Fairfield on the prestigious list.

Under Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly, USF has been on an ambitious expansion of its athletic facilities and services to its student-athletes.

In 2022, USF opened its $22 million state-of-the-art Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility

Later this year, USF will also break ground on its $340 million on-campus stadium, which will host football and lacrosse games.

Since 2018, USF has earned 17 AAC team championships, two divisional titles, and two NCAA championships.

During the last fiscal year, the Bulls Club, USF Athletics' fundraising backbone, raised a record $42 million to support student-athletes.  

"USF Athletics intends to be a model athletic department for modern times, and this award is proof that we are moving in the right direction," Kelly said.

"Our athletics department and university are aligned, and together we are on a great trajectory to build a deep sense of community for all those that come to USF."  

STOKES HONORED AGAIN

Senior punter Andrew Stokes was named to the Ray Guy Award’s weekly national honor roll for the second straight outing following his performance against Memphis.

In that game, the 6-foot-6 Australia native punted seven times for a 46.6 yard average, including pinning the Tigers inside their 20-yard line  a career-best five times.

Stokes was also named to Ray’s 8 following a strong outing at Tulane. He set a school record with 157 consecutive punts without a block.

ATKINS CLOSING IN ON SCHOOL RECORD

With five catches in last week's 21-3 loss to Memphis in Orlando, USF slot receiver Sean Atkins tied Andre Davis' school record for career receptions with 153.

With just six receiving yards Saturday against UAB, he will move up to fourth place on USF’s all-time receiving yardage list.

BASKETBULLS WILL GET EXTENSIVE TV EXPOSURE

USF’s men’s basketball team will be featured in 14 nationally televised contests while the women's team will have three national TV appearances in the upcoming season as the AAC released all tip-off times and TV designations.

The men open the season at 8:30 p.m. on November 4 against the Florida Gators on the SEC Network.  on November 4 at 8:30 p.m. The Bulls will have three games televised on the ESPN family of networks during the Myrtle Beach Invitational on November 21-24.

They also appear on the USA Network for the first time on December 7 at Loyola Chicago.
 
The first conference road game, at Wichita State on January 6, will be on ESPN2. Eight of the final 11 games of the season will be on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The women’s games against Duke and Rice will be shown on ESPNU, while the game against South Carolina will be shown on the SEC Network.

Most of their games will also be available on ESPN+.