South Florida has made several high-profile attempts over the decades to secure a place as a respected basketball program.
Hiring Lee Rose to lead the men's program in 1980 came about weeks after he had taken Purdue to the Final Four. Needless to say, it earned the Bulls instant credibility and their first post-season tournament bid to the NIT.
Seth Greenberg brought energy and salesmanship to the men before leaving for Virginia Tech. He became a two-time ACC Coach of fhe Year. Bobby Paschal got the Bulls to their first NCAA tournament, a feat Stan Heath later duplicated while leading USF to its first two March Madness wins.
And, of course, no list would be complete without Amir Abdur-Rahim and, last season, Bryan Hodgson. Each of those men proved in their own way that USF could win championships in basketball.
While all of that was going on, the women's program was under the steady leadership of Jose Fernandez. He coached the Bulls for 25 years with sustained success before joining Dallas of the WNBA.
But never in all that time has USF basketball experienced what it is about to.
For the first time in its history, USF basketball teams have new head coaches with records of success at the highest collegiate level.
South Florida surprised the women's basketball world on March 24 by hiring Kristy Curry after she spent 13 seasons as the head coach at Alabama. Curry was a combined 554–322 (.632) across 28 seasons as a head coach at Purdue, Texas Tech, and 'Bama. She took Purdue to the 2001 NCAA national championship game and has 16 20-win seasons.
One day later, Chris Mack accepted the job after Hodgson left for Providence.
Mack is 323–153 (.679) in 15 seasons as a head coach. He took Xavier to eight NCAA tournament appearances, four Sweet 16s, and one Elite Eight, and was the AP Coach of the Year runner-up in 2016.
These are noit young coaches looking to climb the next rung of the ladder. They chose USF as a destination with plans to stay and build the kind of programs that can win consistently and make regular NCAA tournament appearances.
In the case of the women, Curry's charge will be to not only make the March Madness field, but to advance past the first weekend -- something the program has never done. She was attracted to take his job because of the university's strong commitment and investment in women's athletics.
"A strong foundation is in place, and I look forward to building on it as we pursue conference championships and NCAA tournament success," she said.
"Rob (Higgins) and the university's commitment to competing at the highest level—along with the clear vision and alignment at USF—are truly exceptional."
Mack brings the same enthusiasm.
"I'm damn excited to be the head coach here. University of South Florida. Unbelievably excited," he said. "Our teams are going to compete for championships each and every year. We're going to do it with great representatives of this university," Mack said.
That path for both teams begins on November 2 with a men's and women's doubleheader at the Yuengling Center.
The women tip off at 5 p.m. against Furman and the men follow against Charleston Southern.
For USF basketball junkies, this is the era you've been waiting for. Proven coaches who plan to stay, talented rosters built to compete, with legitimate shots for both teams to experience March Madness.
It's going to be fun.
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