South Florida Bulls beach volleyball

Last updated
South Florida Bulls volleyball
South Florida Bulls wordmark.svg
Founded2026
University University of South Florida
Athletic director Michael Kelly
Head coachPri Piantadosi-Lima (1st season)
Location Tampa, Florida
Nickname Bulls
ColorsGreen and gold [1]
   

The South Florida Bulls beach volleyball team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's beach volleyball at the NCAA National Collegiate level [lower-alpha 1] beginning in spring 2026. In June 2023 USF hired Pri Piantadosi-Lima as the team's first ever head coach. [2]

Contents

Their future conference affiliation is to be announced, as the Bulls main conference, the American Athletic Conference, does not sponsor the sport of beach volleyball. The Bulls will play their home games on campus, with a new three court facility set to be built on the north side of the Yuengling Center before their first season. [3] [4]

History

The team was first announced in February 2022 and will become the university's 21st varsity sports team (and 12th women's team) when they begin play in spring 2026. [3] [5] The team was originally scheduled to start in 2025 but was postponed to 2026 in June 2023. [6] At the time of the team's founding, beach volleyball was the newest NCAA sport and was sponsored by 86 teams across the NCAA's three divisions. [7] [8] NCAA beach volleyball championships are competed at the National Collegiate level rather than division levels like most NCAA sports, meaning that Division I, II, and III schools all compete directly against each other.

Pri Piantadosi-Lima was hired as the first head coach on June 6, 2023. She previously helped lead Eckerd College to an AVCA National Championship as an assistant coach. [2]

See also

Notes

  1. "National Collegiate" means that NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III schools all compete against each other directly instead of being separated into divisions. USF is a member of Division I for all other NCAA sports.

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The South Florida Bulls cross country program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of cross country. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. Both of the Bulls cross country teams are coached by Erik Jenkins, who is also the coach of the Bulls track and field teams. The teams practice and host meets at both the USF Track and Field Stadium and The Claw golf course.

The South Florida Bulls volleyball team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of women's volleyball. The Bulls compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The team plays their home games at The Corral inside the Yuengling Center on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida. They are coached by Jolene Shepardson who was hired after the 2019 season. The Bulls have reached seven NCAA women's volleyball tournaments and won a combined 18 regular season and tournament conference championships in their history, the most of any women's team at USF.

The South Florida Bulls golf program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of golf. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. The Bulls men's golf team is coached by Steve Bradley and the women's team is coached by Erika Brennan. They host meets at The Claw golf course adjacent to USF's campus in Tampa, Florida.

The South Florida Bulls tennis program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of tennis. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. The Bulls men's tennis team is coached by Ashley Fisher and the women's team is coached by Cristina Moros. Both teams play their home matches at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida.

The South Florida Bulls lacrosse team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's lacrosse beginning in spring 2025. They will compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Bulls will play their home games at Corbett Stadium on USF's Tampa campus, which they will share with the USF men's and women's soccer teams. It is the university's newest varsity sports team and the first new USF team since football was established in 1997. It will be the first new women's team in an NCAA sport at USF since women's soccer in 1995.

References

  1. USF Athletics Brand Guide (PDF). August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Pri Piantadosi-Lima Named First Head Coach of USF Beach Volleyball". USF Athletics. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  3. 1 2 "USF to Add Women's Beach Volleyball in 2024-25". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  4. "Beach Volleyball". www.gousfbullsmp.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  5. Camargo, Alberto (2022-02-02). "USF Athletics announces addition of women's beach volleyball". The Oracle. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  6. "USF Beach Volleyball To Begin Competition in 2025-26 Season". USF Athletics. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  7. "NCAA Division II and Division III membership approves Sand Volleyball as 90th championship".
  8. "NCAA Directory - Directory - Member Listing". web3.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2022-02-14.