The University of South Florida, or USF, is a public university located in Tampa, Florida, with branch campuses in St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Lakeland. The main campus is located in the extreme northern part of Tampa, near the town of Temple Terrace, and is in close proximity to the Museum of Science and Industry as well as Busch Gardens.

The university is the third largest in the southeastern United States (after the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida), with a fall 2004 enrollment of 41,571. [1]

USF's mascot is the Bull, while its colors are green and gold. They participate in NCAA's Division I-A sports as a member of Conference USA; in 2005, USF will move to the Big East.

USF is currently the national headquarters for Phi Alpha Theta, a history honor society. The university's current president is Judy Genshaft.

Contents

1 History 2 Famous students 2.1 Graduates 2.2 Former students 3 External links

History

USF was founded in 1956, though it wasn't even named until the next year and classes didn't commence until 1960. Former US Representative Sam Gibbons was instrumental in the school's creation when he was a state representative and is considered by many to essentially be the school's founder. It was built on the site of Henderson Air Field, a World War II airstrip.

The university first grew under the leadership of John Allen, who was the president from 1960 until 1970. During this time, the university expanded rapidly, due in part to the first graduate degree programs commencing in 1964. However, growing student unrest pressured Allen to resign from his post; he had traditionally been very firm in punishing protesters in a time of general unrest throughout the nation.

USF emerged as a major research institution during the 1990s, under the presidency of Betty Castor, and is currently considered one of the top universities in Florida. In addition to a heightened emphasis on research and academia, the university played its first football game in 1997, with its marching band forming in 1999. In the 2004 football season, USF's main rival was Army; Army won one of its two victories at USF's homecoming, which surprised much of the student body, who had assumed Army would be an "easy win."

Its reputation came under fire during the tenure of Castor's successor, Judy Genshaft, by the controversy surrounding Professor Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian's alleged connections to Palestinian terrorist groups brought national media attention to USF following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The school's newspaper is named The Oracle, which was first published on September 6, 1966. The newspaper has been redesigned many times since then; in 1966 the paper was published once a week, today The Oracle is published five times a week. The school's journalism program is also showcased by the WUSF complex of radio and television broadcasting, located near the Phyllis P. Marshall student center.

Famous students

Graduates

• Chucky Atkins , basketball player
• Mark Consuelos, actor (All My Children)
• Lincoln Diaz-Balart, U.S. Congress
• Tom Fitzgerald, soccer coach
• Leo Gallagher (better known as Gallagher), comedian
• Anthony D. Henry , football player
• Drake Hogestyn, actor (Days of Our Lives)
• Melissa Howard, former MTV The Real World cast member
• Pam Iorio, current Tampa mayor (master's degree)
• Nicole Johnson , Miss America 1999
• Debra Lafave, accused pedophile
• Tony La Russa, manager St. Louis Cardinals
• Lobo, musician
• Ruth Paine, friend of the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald
• Robert Stackhouse , artist
• Roy Wegerle, soccer player

Former students

• Elayne Boosler , comedian
• Terry Bollea (better known as Hulk Hogan), professional wrestler
• Lauren Hutton, actress

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics website