Rowdies Cup

Last updated
Rowdies Cup
Other namesMayor's Cup (1972–2005)
Sport Soccer
LocationTampa, Florida
First meetingNovember 5, 1972
South Florida 9–2 Tampa
Latest meetingAugust 14, 2023
South Florida 6–1 Tampa [1]
Next meetingtbd
StadiumsSouth Florida: Corbett Stadium
Tampa: Pepin Stadium
TrophyRowdies Cup
Statistics
Meetings total40
All-time seriesOfficial matches: South Florida (10–7–2)
Exhibition matches: South Florida (16–4–1)
Total matches: South Florida (26–11–3)
Largest victorySouth Florida 21–0 Tampa
(Sept 20, 1973)
Longest win streakSouth Florida: 5 (1985–89, 2015–2019)
Longest unbeaten streakSouth Florida: 7 matches (2005–11)
Current win streakSouth Florida, 2

The Rowdies Cup is a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the annual college soccer derby between the University of South Florida Bulls and the University of Tampa Spartans, two NCAA men's programs based in the city of Tampa, Florida. The rivalry was known as the Mayor's Cup from 1979 to 2005. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

The rivalry was first contested on November 5, 1972. USF won the match, 9–2. That meeting happens to have the greatest margin of victory in the series among games played during the regular season. The following year in a preseason exhibition, USF, who had been in training for over three weeks, overwhelmed the out-of-shape Spartans in the September heat by a count of 21–0. [5] UT would finally taste victory for the first time four years later in a 1977 preseason match, by the score of 3–2. [6]

Rowdies Cup
Locations of USF and UT in Tampa

USF has been a Division I program for all but the first meeting between the two schools, while UT has competed at the Division II level for their entire history. In the early years from 1972 to 1997 all but three of the twenty-two meetings were played during the two schools' regular season. Since the rivalry's renewal in 2005 all of the matches have been part of their preseason exhibition schedules. As of the 2023 edition, USF holds a 26–11–3 edge in the all-time series. [7] [8]

The name "Rowdies Cup" was first used at the 2005 meeting. It comes from the first professional sports franchise in the region, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, whose alumni were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their championship victory in Soccer Bowl '75 on August 24, 1975, with a day-long soccer festival held on August 20, 2005. The Bulls-Spartans exhibition match was the final event of the day and has been played every August ever since, aside from 2020 when the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [9]

In 2011, USF opened the new Corbett Stadium, named after former Rowdies owners and USF alumni Dick and Cornelia Corbett.

Trophy

The winner of the annual match is awarded a traveling trophy and has the honor of hoisting the Soccer Bowl '75 trophy, though the Soccer Bowl trophy remains on permanent display at Corbett Stadium no matter who wins the annual game. The current Rowdies Cup trophy is the second edition of the rivalry trophy. The current one, used since the series was renamed to the Rowdies Cup, is a golden circle with the Rowdies wordmark and a soccer ball inside, while the original was more in the style of a traditional soccer trophy (a large golden cup with a wooden base). [10]

Results

South Florida victoriesTampa victories

Sources: [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

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The Fort Lauderdale–Tampa Bay rivalry, also known as the Florida Derby, refers to the suspended soccer rivalry that most recently involved the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both of whom played in the North American Soccer League through the 2016 season. Over the years the rivalry has spanned more than one hundred matches across eight soccer leagues and several tournaments, and involved nine different teams from the two regions of Florida. At times it has involved players, coaches, management and fans. Even the press has fanned the rivalry's flames at times. From 2010 through 2014, the winner of the regular season series automatically won the Coastal Cup as well. The status of the rivalry beyond 2016 remains unclear because the Rowdies have since joined the United Soccer League, while the Strikers ongoing ownership and legal battles of 2016 and 2017 have left them defunct.

The South Florida Bulls men's soccer team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of soccer. The Bulls currently compete in the American Athletic Conference within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). USF plays in Corbett Stadium, which opened in 2011 and is also used by the USF women's soccer team. Prior to that, they played at USF Soccer Field from their first season in 1965 until 1978 and USF Soccer Stadium from 1979 until 2010. They are coached by Bob Butehorn, who is in his sixth year with the Bulls as of the 2022 season.

The 2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the current Tampa Bay Rowdies' third season of existence, and second in the North American Soccer League. Including the original Rowdies franchise and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 25th season of a professional soccer team fielded in the Tampa Bay region.

The 1977 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the first season of the new team, and the club's eleventh season in professional soccer. It is also the first ever incarnation of the club's new name. Previously they were known as the Miami Toros. The 1977 squad won the North American Soccer League's Eastern Division of the Atlantic Conference, and was the top team in regular season with 19 victories for 161 points.

Mayor's Cup may refer to:

The Coastal Cup is a trophy and soccer competition among the USL Championship (USL) teams based in Florida. Established in 2010, the trophy was originally awarded to the best team in regular season play among Florida-based franchises. Head-to-head playoff games, U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies have no bearing on the outcome of this competition. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers did not field a team in 2017 and were later dissolved. The Tampa Bay Rowdies also participated in this cup from 2010 though 2016, before leaving the NASL for the USL. With Miami FC joining the USL, the competition restarted in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida–UCF football rivalry</span>

The South Florida–UCF football rivalry, better known as the War on I-4 is an American college football rivalry between the South Florida Bulls football team of the University of South Florida and UCF Knights football team of the University of Central Florida. As of the 2022 meeting, the Knights hold a 8–6 lead in the series.

The 2019 South Florida Bulls men's soccer team represented the University of South Florida during the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2019 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season. The regular season began on August 30 and concluded on November 5. It was the program's 55th season fielding a men's varsity soccer team, and their 7th season in the AAC. The 2019 season was Bob Butehorn's third year as head coach for the program.

The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the designated Athletics District on or adjacent to its Tampa campus, one on its St. Petersburg campus, and one elsewhere in Tampa. 18 of the 19 teams have some sort of facility in the USF Athletics District.

The 2020–21 South Florida Bulls women's basketball team represented the University of South Florida during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The season marked the 48th women's basketball season for USF, the eighth as a member of the American Athletic Conference, and the 21st under head coach Jose Fernandez. The Bulls played their home games at Yuengling Center on the university's Tampa, Florida campus. The 2020–21 team was the first in USF women's basketball history to win a regular season conference championship, doing so on March 2, 2021 with a win against rival Central Florida. Nine days later they beat Central Florida again to win their first ever conference tournament. Despite their 18–3 record being one of the best in the nation and being ranked 19th in the AP Poll at the time of selection, the Bulls were selected as the eighth seed in the Mercado Region of the 2021 NCAA tournament. Their season ended on March 23, 2021 with the Bulls losing to No. 1 seed NC State in the Round of 32.

References

  1. "2023 Men's Soccer Schedule". gousfbulls.com.
  2. Bulls Looking to Bring Rowdies Cup Back to USF - GoUSFBulls.com—Official Athletics Web Site of the University of South Florida
  3. "Bulls Down Spartans to Claim Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  4. "Bulls Retain Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  5. Vorse, Barry (September 21, 1973). "USF swamps Tampa, 21-0". The Tampa Times. p. 4C. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. "Spartans Boot USF In Exhibition". Tampa Tribune. September 22, 1977. p. 3C. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  7. "Rudderham Scores Hat Trick, Bulls Retain Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  8. "Spartans Take Rowdies Cup With 1-0 Victory Over USF". Tampa Spartans. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  9. "Bulls face Spartans for Cup". St. Petersburg Times. August 20, 2005. p. 5C. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  10. "UT History Series: Men's Soccer and The Mayor's Cup". 2021-08-11.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "South Fla. Series History". TampaSpartans.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  12. "Men's Soccer History vs University of Tampa from Aug 18, 2007 - Aug 18, 2012". gousfbulls.com. August 19, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2019.