USF's on-campus football stadium will boldly change everything about the university

Be Bold.

Let it be known that USF lived up to the university’s motto in ways that for many years seemed impossible. This is one of the most significant weeks in its history.

I didn’t just limit that statement to USF athletics, even though it mostly centers around sports. The groundbreaking of the on-campus football stadium on Friday will lead to a transformation of the entire campus in ways that must be experienced to fully appreciate.

When completed, the $340 million stadium will be a magnet for both students and alumni. It’s a statement to the Tampa Bay community that USF’s leadership drowned out the naysayers and moved forward with a long-range vision that was the next logical step for a university on the move.

It's a smart move economically because USF will control all the revenue the stadium will generate, unlike its deal now at Raymond James Stadium.

Aesthetically, it's even better.

If you attended another university that had an on-campus stadium, then you know what I mean. Football is the link that draws past and present together, and it also lights the way forward in the future.

Look at what happened at UCF when its leaders took the bold step of building an on-campus stadium. OK, the “Bounce House” looked like an erector set when it opened. USF’s stadium, on the other hand, will be first class in every way.

But what UCF showed is that if you build it, everything about your community changes.

Like USF, the Knights played football in the massive facility we now call Camping World Stadium. They could draw 35,000 fans and the stadium still looked empty. That image sent a message that UCF was second-rate.

But when students and alums alike started showing up on campus to watch football, everything changed. The atmosphere was charged, and that was something everyone wanted to be part of. It naturally followed that the Knights got better on the field, and now they reside in a Power 4 conference.

USF’s leadership back then stubbornly clung to the idea that playing home at Raymond James Stadium was the way to go. They believed that playing in an NFL stadium sent the message that the Bulls were big time. There were games that attracted large crowds, but not enough of them. There was no urgency to buy tickets because fans always knew they walk to the gate on game day and be assured of a seat.

Worse, the 12-mile distance between the main USF campus and Ray-Jay created a disconnect for students. It was as if the football team didn’t belong to the students.

That’s all going to change.

USF is a powerhouse academic school – a member of the rarefied Association of American Universities. The once-sleepy campus is alive with activity. A football stadium within walking distance of the dorms and nearby apartments was the only thing that has been missing.

USF has the vision and the leadership to pull it off. And when that stadium opens in 2027, it will be a day to boldly celebrate.