Major Milestones in USF Athletics

1965: USF plays its first intercollegiate sports event, defeating Florida Southern’s men’s soccer team.

1968: USF is admitted to the NCAA.

1969: Jeff Lewkowicz brings home USF’s first-ever national championship, a 200-yard butterfly swimming title.

1970: The first USF basketball game is played against the University of Florida at Curtis Hixon Hall. USF wins 85-78.

1980: The USF Sun Dome Arena is inflated and booked for concerts, sporting events and commencement ceremonies. The first event is November 29, a basketball game against Florida A&M University.

1997: USF begins its first-ever season of NCAA football. The Bulls, playing in Division I-AA, open with an 80-3 win at Raymond James Stadium over Kentucky Wesleyan before 49,000 fans.

2000: USF enters NCAA Division I-A football.

2006: In only its 10th season, USF football earns its first bowl game title, defeating East Carolina at the Papa John’s Bowl.

2009: The USF women’s basketball team makes program history with a WNIT Championship win.

2011: Lee Roy Selmon, USF’s first athletic director and a driving force behind the introduction of football at USF, passes away. USF President Judy Genshaft announces the University’s athletics center will be renamed in his honor.

2013: The USF women’s softball team wins the first Big East Championship in program history.

2013: Men’s soccer team wins USF’s first American Athletic Conference championship.

2015: Men’s golf and men’s tennis teams post the program’s best-ever NCAA Championship finishes, reaching the final eight and Sweet 16, respectively.

2017: Top 25: Six teams rank in the Top 25 nationally at some point in the season – football, women’s basketball, baseball, men’s golf, women’s soccer and sailing.

2018: Football: USF becomes the fastest Florida FBS team to reach 150 program wins. Men’s Tennis: USF captures its fifth conference tournament title in six seasons.

2021: USF baseball wins the AAC Championship and goes on to advance to the program’s first-ever NCAA Super Regional.

2021: USF collected seven conference championships and sent nine programs to national postseason competition.

2022: USF has produced 16 Olympic athletes, including 2020 soccer gold medalist Evelyne Viens (Canada), and one Olympic Head Coach (Ken Eriksen, Softball).

The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for seven straight years and have posted a program-record 15 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0.

Completed a $3 million renovation to the football locker room and office and opened the $22 million Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility.

2023: Athletics will expand to 21 teams with the additions of women’s lacrosse (2023-24) and women’s beach volleyball (2024-25).