University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a public university system located in Tampa, FL, with an autonomous campus in St. Petersburg, and branch centers in Sarasota and Lakeland. The main campus is located in North Tampa, near the City of Temple Terrace. The university is the third largest in the state of Florida, with a total enrollment of 44,891 for the 2007 academic year. USF is currently ranked ninth in the country in terms of enrolled students. The Princeton Review has ranked the University as one of the best Southeastern colleges and best value colleges.
USF's mascot is the Bull and its colors are green and gold. The university's sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I-A level. In 2005, USF joined the Big East Conference. USF previously belonged to Conference USA, the Metro Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. The most notable USF athletic program is its football team which, in 2007, became the youngest program ever to be nationally ranked in Division I-A. USF only started playing football in 1996 at the Division II level. The team was ranked as high as number 2 as of October 14, 2007, though they later lost three consecutive games to finish the regular season at 9-3. The 2007 team won an invitation to the Sun Bowl, their most prestige bowl appearance to date.
Significance
USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus is the current school of REDdimension Wiki Circle member Pamela Harper. She is a senior and is scheduled to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hopitality Management in the spring of 2009.
Notable Alumni
- Chucky Atkins - pro basketball player, Memphis Grizzlies
- Nicole Johnson - Miss America 1999
- Kurt S. Browning - Florida Secretary of State
- Eddie Carpenter - President, Disneyland International and CFO, Walt Disney Attractions
- Mark Consuelos - actor (All My Children)
- Frank Davis - pro football guard, Detroit Lions.
- Leo Gallagher (better known as Gallagher) - comedian
- Emilio T. Gonzalez - director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Anthony Henry - professional football cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
- Drake Hogestyn - actor (Days of our Lives)
- Pam Iorio - current Tampa mayor
- Kenyatta Jones - ex pro football tackle, New England Patriots and Washington Redskins
- Tony La Russa - pro baseball manager, St. Louis Cardinals
- Stephen Nicholas - pro football linebacker, Atlanta Falcons
- Kawika Mitchell - pro football linebacker, New York Giants
- John Patrick - former IBM VP of Internet Technology, Opera Software Board of Directors
- Kerry Sanders - correspondent for NBC News
- Robert Stackhouse - artist
- Ronda Storms - Florida State Senator
Related Links
- University_of_South_Florida on Wikipedia
- Official website
