Tampa Spartans football
| Tampa Spartans | |
|---|---|
| First season | 1933 |
| Last season | 1974 |
| Stadium | Tampa Stadium |
| Seating capacity | 46,481 |
| Field surface | Bermuda grass |
| Location | Tampa, Florida |
| NCAA division | Division I |
| Conference | Independent |
| All-time record | 201–160–12 (.555) |
| Bowl record | 3–0 (1.000) |
| Colors | Black, Red, and Gold |
| Rivals | |
| Website | TampaSpartans.com |
The Tampa Spartans football program was an intercollegiate American football team for the University of Tampa located in Tampa, Florida. The team competed in the NCAA Division I as an independent. The school's first football team was fielded in 1933. The football program was discontinued at the conclusion of the 1974 season.
The University of Tampa football team was founded in 1933 and remained for thirty-three seasons until 1974. Their first game was played on October 12, 1933 in LaGrange, Georgia, a 28-0 win for the team in their inaugural game of their inaugural season. The University of Tampa football team played against three of the top football schools in the state of Florida at their time. University of Tampa played Florida State University for nine years straight starting in 1951. They won 14-6 in 1951 and 39-6 in 1952 before losing the next seven to Florida State University. In 1963, the head coach at the time, Fred Pancoast, encouraged the team be moved up to play Division 1 football. They officially joined Division 1 in 1971. On November 11, 1974, in front of a crowd of 21,564 fans, the University of Tampa played their final football game, a 35-10 win over Florida A&M University. The team finished with an all-time record of 201-160-12.
Although playing a Division I schedule, the school itself had only about 2,000 students during the 1970s. Among the reasons cited when the program was pulled under president B.D. Owens were that it was too expensive for the college and there were fears about whether competition with a new NFL franchise would further erode attendance. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were organized in 1974 and their first season was 1976.
Plant Field was the first stadium the team used. Named after Henry B. Plant, the stadium hosted the first ever Major League Baseball game in the Tampa Bay area. At the stadium, is a plaque to commemorate 4,300 fans who attended the game and saw Babe Ruth hit the longest home run. The University of Tampa football team used Plant Field from 1933–1936.
Phillips Field opened on October 4, 1937 and was the home to University of Tampa football for thirty years. The stadium had wooden seating, in a horseshoe and was on the banks of the Hillsborough River.
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