Addition of second women’s program in three-month span will bring USF’s women’s varsity teams to 12 and add to USF’s highly-successful women’s sports programs that have won 59 conference titles
TAMPA, FEB. 2, 2022 – University of South Florida Athletics announced the addition of a second women’s program in a three-month span Wednesday as Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly announced the addition of beach volleyball beginning in the 2024-25 season at the Stampede for Women banquet in Tampa.
The addition of beach volleyball joins the fall announcement of the addition of women’s lacrosse to USF’s highly-successful women’s sports programs, bringing the total number of Bulls’ women’s athletics teams to 12 and USF’s total varsity sports program count to 21.
“Adding two new sports represents a great step forward for women’s athletics at the University of South Florida,” said USF President Rhea Law. “Beach volleyball has proven to be a highly competitive, immensely popular sport at the intercollegiate and Olympic level. And the participation of our female student-athletes makes all of us better at USF – their hard work, talent, and impressive achievements are part of the fabric of this university. As with lacrosse, the addition of women’s beach volleyball is an example of how we are committed to excellence and inclusiveness in all aspects of the university.”
A spring competition season sport with its championship held in May, USF beach volleyball is slated to begin competing in the 2024-25 season. There are currently 86 schools that sponsor NCAA beach volleyball, 64 at the Division I level. Eleven programs reside in the state of Florida, including seven Division I programs: FAU, FGCU, Florida State, FIU, UNF, Jacksonville and Stetson. An NCAA Championship has been held in the sport since 2016, with USC claiming three titles and UCLA two. The NCAA Tournament bracket will expand to a 16-team field in 2022 with the tournament annually held in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The Bulls’ team will play home games at a new facility to be constructed on the USF campus. Plans and the location for that facility will be announced at a future date.
A search for a head coach to lead the beach volleyball program will begin in 2023. USF is currently evaluating options for conference affiliation as the American Athletic Conference does not currently sponsor women’s beach volleyball.
“We are very excited to add beach volleyball to a strong lineup of women’s sports programs and opportunities for female student-athletes to compete at a very high level and win championships at USF,” Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. “Together with the addition of women’s lacrosse and our current women’s programs that have garnered 59 conference championships, we are making USF a destination for successful female collegiate athletes. I think our fans and the community will enjoy the addition of these highly entertaining and growing women’s sports and we will invest the necessary resources to be very competitive.”
Women’s varsity athletics began at USF in 1972 with the start of the women’s basketball program. USF women’s athletics programs have won 59 conference championship trophies. USF’s conference titles in women’s athletics have come from eight different sports, including tennis (13), volleyball (12), softball (8), soccer (7), golf (6), track and field (6), cross country (5) and basketball (2).
In 2020, USF launched the Stampede for Women fundraising campaign specifically targeted at raising funds to add further support and opportunities for the Bulls’ female student-athletes and teams. Information on the fund or contributions can be made HERE.
All inquiries regarding the USF women’s beach volleyball program should be directed to the program’s e-mail address: wbeachvb@usf.edu.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics currently sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference, which will expand to 21 teams with the recently announced additions of women’s lacrosse (2023-24) and women’s beach volleyball (2024-25). The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and completed its 55th season in 2020-21. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 26 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including seven trophies in the 2021 calendar year, and own 135 conference titles in department history. The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for seven straight years and have posted a program-record 14 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0 as of fall of 2021. USF has had nearly 500 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
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