Former Tennessee Director of Football Sports Performance joins Bulls’ staff
TAMPA, MARCH 9, 2021 – USF head coach Jeff Scott today announced the addition of A.J. Artis to the Bulls’ staff as Director of Football Strength and Conditioning.
A former wide receiver/tight end at Campbell University (2011-14), Artis comes to USF after three seasons at Tennessee, including being promoted to Director of Football Sports Performance for the Vols in June of 2020.
“A.J. brings tremendous energy, enthusiasm and knowledge to our program and fits the culture we are building perfectly,” Scott said. “He is a young man that has been seen as one of the rising stars in strength and conditioning for some time and we are thrilled to have A.J. in our program and mentoring and coaching our student-athletes daily. He blew us away in his interview, and I am excited for our guys and think they will thrive through their relationships with A.J. and his guidance.”
Artis joined the Tennessee staff in January 2018 and served as assistant director of football sports performance under then director Craig Fitzgerald for two seasons before being promoted to Fitzgerald’s position following his departure to the NFL’s New York Giants. Artis served for one season as director at Tennessee during the 2020 campaign.
Prior to his arrival in Knoxville, Artis spent two seasons at Duke (2016-18) working as assistant director of strength and conditioning. He joined the Blue Devils in the summer of 2016 and primarily trained the football and field hockey programs. He also helped direct high-performance efforts with several other varsity sports. The Duke field hockey squad he trained in 2016 was ranked in the top five for the entire season and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
Artis collaborated with head football sports performance coach Noel Durfey during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The 2017 Blue Devils won the Quick Lane Bowl led by future NFL first round draft choice Daniel Jones, who Artis worked with.
Prior to Duke, Artis had stints at Appalachian State (2015-16) and Campbell (2014-15). As a graduate assistant at Appalachian State, he worked with the Mountaineers football program, which recorded its first-ever bowl win during his tenure. Appalachian State, in just its second season in the Football Bowl Subdivision, beat Ohio in the 2015 Crampton Bowl. Artis also oversaw the strength and conditioning efforts of the Mountaineers’ field hockey and golf programs.
At his alma mater Campbell, he logged valuable experience with football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, softball, track & field and wrestling as a strength and conditioning intern.
Artis was a three-year football letterman at Campbell from 2012-14, playing wide receiver as an underclassman before transitioning to tight end his last two seasons. He was a three-time academic honor roll member and graduated with a degree in exercise science in 2015. He later earned a master’s degree in exercise science from Appalachian State in 2017.
A native of Eden, North Carolina, Artis is married to the former D Janelle Brown of Edmond, Oklahoma.
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and will celebrate its 25th season (22nd at the FBS level) in 2021. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections, and have seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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