The University of South Florida (USF) is located in Tampa, Florida and they are known as the USF Bulls.
Their colors are green and gold and their official mascot is Rocky D. Bull.
USF has the third largest enrollment in the state of Florida. In 2007 it was ranked in the top 10 in the country for enrolled students.
The university has become known as one of the top research universities in the nation. USF is accredited to award degrees at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels.
The main campus is located in northeast Tampa with most of the enrolled students attending classes there. Approximately 39,000 of the total 45,000 students enrolled in USF attend classes on the main campus. There are also satellite campuses in St. Petersburg, Lakeland, and Sarasota-Manatee.
The school was founded in 1956 to address the needs of the rapidly growing population in the region. In September of 1960 approximately 2,000 students started taking courses on the main campus grounds in Tampa.
In spite of the fact that it is located on the west coast of Central Florida, it was named the University of South Florida. At the time it was founded, it was the most southern public university in the state. This has caused some confusion through the years.
The University of South Florida played its first football game in 1997. On September 16th, 2007, they were ranked in the top 25, which is a NCAA record for the fastest top 25 ranking football program in the modern day era. They joined the Big East Conference in 2005 after leaving the Conference USA. The Big East consists of Louisville, Connecticut, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, USF, Rutgers, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Marquette, Villanova, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Providence, DePaul, and St. John’s.
The varsity sports that the University of South Florida participates in are Baseball, Football, Men & Women’s Basketball, Men & Women’s Cross Country, Men & Women’s Golf, Men & Women’s Soccer, Men & Women’s Tennis, Men & Women’s Track & Field, Women’s Sailing, Softball, and Women’s Volleyball.
The University of South Florida’s main campus in Tampa sits on more than 1,700 acres and is in one of the fastest growing areas of the city. It was originally built on the site of Henderson Air Field, which was a World War II airstrip. It has good access to the Tampa highway system and is in close proximity to Busch Gardens.
Less than 20% of the students enrolled in the college live in campus housing. Many apartment complexes in the area cater to the USF students, which makes up for the lack of on-campus housing. There is also a large Greek presence at the University of South Florida with a Greek Village that houses 14 national fraternities and sororities.
USF is one of the few universities that host all three of the ROTC programs - Army, Navy, & Air Force. The University is close in proximity to 3 major military commands. The Student Government is very active on campus and the student newspaper, The Oracle, is published 5 times a week.
Come down to USF in Central Florida and see some of the best athletes the Big East Conference has to offer.