USF announces preferred site, $5 million gift in quest to give Bulls on-campus stadium

The business of college football stays booming, and the trend of going with smaller, boutique-like stadiums for on-campus programs typically at the Group of 5 level is poised to have another new addition.

This week, USF officials revealed a preferred on-campus site for a new football stadium to house the Bulls’ program, not yet 30 years old in its history and preparing to enter Year 3 under former Clemson assistant coach Jeff Scott.

USF has targeted the Sycamore Fields are on the east edge of the Tampa, Florida, campus. The Bulls have utilized Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs and the Outback Bowl, as their football home. 

“The impact of the University of South Florida’s on-campus stadium will be transformational in ways that extend well beyond football,” said USF President Rhea Law in the school’s release that announced the preferred stadium site. “Choosing a location with strong connectivity to other important areas on campus supports our vision for a project that helps drive the overall university experience.

“Our recommended site will give students, faculty, staff, alumni and the surrounding communities a place to come together, develop stronger relationships and build memories across generations.”

As they announced a preferred place on campus that USF would seek to formally adopt as the stadium’s future home as the next step in the process, school officials also revealed a signature, $5 million lead gift in the endeavor, which has not yet been given an estimated cost.

But Carol and Frank Morsani, for whom the Bulls’ practice facility already is named, were revealed as having pledged the $5 million gift toward the new stadium’s site selection and construction.

“Sycamore Fields is not only the stadium location that presents the most advantages,” USF athletics director Michael Kelly said in the release, “but it is without doubt the most historically fitting. Our football program was literally born on those fields a quarter century ago, and they served as our primary practice and development area for over a decade as USF football rose to national prominence at an unprecedented pace.

“To have the stadium reside in an area that possesses that history and is also within our current Athletics footprint, adjacent to many other athletic facilities and parking, is a tremendous opportunity to build on our tradition in a very smart way.”

While the move this week represented an important next step in the stadium process for the Bulls’ program, multiple elements remained as key in the stadium’s actualization. USF’s stadium committee will again present additional detailed information on the projected site, as well as its logistical impact to that area of campus, at a future meeting.