South Florida Bulls football team
| South Florida Bulls football | |||
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| First season | 1997 | ||
| Athletic director | Mark Harlan | ||
| Head coach | Charlie Strong | ||
| Stadium | Raymond James Stadium | ||
| Seating capacity | 65,890 | ||
| Field surface | Grass, Tifway Bermuda 419 | ||
| Location | Tampa, Florida | ||
| Conference | The American | ||
| Division | East | ||
| All-time record | 136–103 (.569) | ||
| Bowl record | 5–3 (.625) | ||
| Colors | Green and Gold |
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| Fight song | Golden Brahman March | ||
| Mascot | Rocky D. Bull | ||
| Marching band | Herd of Thunder | ||
| Rivals | UCF Knights | ||
| Website | GoUSFBulls.com | ||
The South Florida Bulls football team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of American football. The Bulls started playing in 1997 and currently compete in the American Athletic Conference (The American) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
In 1997, Jim Leavitt, previously the Defensive Coordinator at Kansas State, was hired as the team's first head coach. Their first team meeting was held under a shade tree, as the school had no proper football facilities on campus
In 2001, after competing for four years as a Division I-AA (now Division I FCS) independent, the Bulls moved to Division I-A (now Division I FBS), where they remained independent. They joined Conference USA in 2003, but only stayed until 2005, when they became a member of the Big East Conference (now the American Athletic Conference).
On December 31, 2005, USF lost to NC State in the Bulls' first-ever bowl appearance, the Meineke Car Care Bowl. On December 23, 2006, USF won its first bowl game, the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl, with a victory over former Conference USA rival, East Carolina. Leavitt would lead the Bulls to 5 straight bowl games, earning a 3–2 record.
South Florida received increased press coverage for their upsets of Top 25 ranked teams such as Louisville (2005), West Virginia (2006, 2007, 2009), Auburn (2007), Kansas (2008) and Florida State (2009). During Leavitt's tenure, the Bulls were 7–12 against opponents ranked in the Top 25.
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